Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology

Cultural landscapes include places where California Indians have interacted with the supernatural aspects of their world. These places can be landmark rocks with power that had to be maintained and managed. The rocks may have unusual shapes, or they may have been modi ed by incising, carving, or grinding; for example, they may have been ground or drilled to create cupule petroglyphs. One criterion probably used by prehistoric people in selecting a residential location would have been the proximity of rocks with power, which were sometimes enhanced or accessed with cupules. Ethnographic and archaeological data suggest that cupules were an accessible way for people to contact the supernatural as part of their everyday existence.