Chumash Steatite Heating Stone

ca. 15th - 18th Century

5.375" L x 4" W x 1" Deep

Flat Stone Tool with Hole used to Cook Small Food Items

Excellent Condition

The Chumash people, indigenous to the coastal regions of Southern California (primarily Santa Barbara County and the Channel Islands), were skilled artisans who utilized steatite—also known as soapstone—a soft, heat-resistant metamorphic rock. This material was quarried mainly from Santa Catalina Island and traded widely across the region. While steatite is best known for Chumash cooking vessels like ollas (spherical bowls) and skillets, it was also fashioned into smaller artifacts, including what appear to be specialized heating stones for food preparation. These stones were heated in fires and used in stone boiling techniques to cook foods in watertight baskets or other containers without direct flame exposure.

Provenance:  From the Len and Toni Wood Private Collection, Laguna Beach, California