Puvunga
Encyclopedia
Puvunga is an ancient village and burial site believed to have once been populated by the Tongva (Gabrieliño) people, who are the indigenous
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 inhabitants of the region around Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

. The site is located on the campus of present day California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...

 along the banks of a now channelized creek
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

, about three miles (5 km) from the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

. Believed to be the birthplace of Chingishnish, a Tongva prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...

, Puvunga is considered sacred by some indigenous people. It is also believed by some Tongva to be the place of creation.

A portion of the site (which is unmarked with a sign or other informational marker) comprises a natural area located at the edge of campus, near a parking lot. At one time this site had a natural spring, and the location is sometimes referred to as Puvunga Spring. Another similar (but larger) Tongva site is Kuruvungna Springs
Serra Springs (California)
Serra Springs is California State Historical Landmark number 522, and is located on the campus of University High School in Los Angeles County, USA. The springs, called Kuruvungna by the native Gabrieleno Tongva people, were used as natural fresh water source by the Tongva people since the 5th...

 on the grounds of University High School in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

.

Since the 1960s the Tongva people have sought to preserve the Puvunga site from development, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1974 http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/CA/Los+Angeles/state7.html. However, the university has challenged this designation, claiming they were not consulted when the application was filed. In 1992, when the university began its first attempts to build a strip mall
Strip mall
A strip mall is an open-area shopping center where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front...

 on this last undeveloped portion of the campus, the Tongva people initiated protests and filed a lawsuit which have temporarily stalled any construction. The site remains as an undeveloped grassy area, with a few trees.

Ethnohistoric evidence clearly identifies Puvungna with Rancho Los Alamitos
Rancho Los Alamitos
Rancho Los Alamitos takes its name from a Mexican land grant in southwestern Los Angeles County and northwestern Orange County, California. Los Alamitos means the Little Cottonwoods or Poplars in Spanish, after the native Fremont Cottonwood trees there.Rancho Los Alamitos originally included...

, a portion of which became the Cal State Long Beach campus. More than a dozen archaeological sites spread over an area of about 500 acres (2 km²) on and near the campus have been identified as Puvungna village sites. Most of these have been destroyed by development.

In 1972, campus workmen uncovered portions of an Indian burial on one of these sites, LAn-235, located on the western edge of campus. These remains were placed in CSULB's archaeology lab. A few years later, LAn-235 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places to "represent" Puvungna "as a means of perpetuating the memory of these native peoples and their religion, and as an aid to the program of public education." Two other sites were included in the National Register: the adjacent LAn-234 and LAn-306, located just east of campus on the grounds of the historic Rancho Los Alamitos.

External links



See also

  • Pubugna, California
    Pubugna, California
    Pubugna is a former Tongva-Gabrieleño Native American settlement in Los Angeles County, California.It was located at Rancho Los Alamitos, in present day Long Beach, California.The significant Puvunga archaeological site is located in this area.-See also:...

  • Tongva
  • Population of Native California
    Population of Native California
    Estimates of the Native Californian population have varied substantially, both with respect to California's pre-contact count and for changes during subsequent periods. Pre-contact estimates range from 133,000 to 705,000 with some recent scholars concluding that these estimates are low...

  • Native Americans in the United States
    Native Americans in the United States
    Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...


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