What Type of Shelter Did the Chumash Indians Live In?

The Chumash lived in a house called an “ap.” This shelter was shaped like half an orange and was made into a circle shape with willow poles that were bent in at the top in order to form a dome, and smaller saplings or branches were tied on crosswise.

The outside was covered with layers of bulrush or cattails overlapping each other like shingles on a roof. A hole at the top of the dome was made to provide air circulation. The hole was covered with a skin when it rained. The houses were 12 to 20 feet in diameter.