CALIFORNIAN CULTURES AND THE CONCEPT OF AN ARCHAIC STAGE CLEMENT W. MEIGHAN W VESTERN archaeologists have almost their validity or significance. It would be pre- unanimously shunned the term "Ar- mature to accept the early dates at face value, chaic" in describing their finds. In the few however, since all of them are open to question cases where the word has been used at all, it at the present time. [This was written before has generally been qualified by using quotation the publication of Carter 1957. See Addendum. marks, a question mark, or some statement in- -EDITOR. ] dicating the author's belief that this is not a Much later in time, but still of great import- real Archaic culture. As a result, none of the ance to western prehistory, are the dates ob- described western cultures is conventionally tained from midden and cemetery material on labeled "Archaic." Avoidance of the term has Santa Rosa Island. There are two dates: 4870 stemmed from two conditions: a) a desire B.C.-?160to (L-257) and, an average of three avoid confusing western cultures with those measurements, 5120 B.c.?250 (L-290D, Orr generally called Archaic in the East; and b) 1956:the 5-6). These dates apply both to exten- temporal implications of the word "Archaic." sive midden and to cemeteries from which The continuity of some western cultures leads many burials have been taken. The dates imply to a paradox when certain manifestations which coastal occupation of California throughout the actually persisted until the recent historic Altithermal period. period are labeled Archaic. As a result of At present the Santa Rosa dates are the old- these problems, the literature has tended to est coastal dates in the west, although still older emphasize the distinctive features of western dates have been obtained by Cressman on cultures and only a few attempts have been material from inland Oregon. However, on made to observe fundamental features of con- typological grounds it may be assumed that tinent-wide distribution. some of the southern California sites are older In order to compare the culture history of the than the 5000 B.C. surely demonstrated by western margin of the continent with that of radiocarbon dates. The Topanga site, for exam- eastern areas, it is most convenient to discuss ple, with its heavily altered soil and crude western prehistory from two directions: a tem- chopper-scraper complex, should be consider- poral view, equating early developments on ably older than the described material from both sides of the continent; and a view of the Santa Rosa. It has not been possible to obtain Archaic as a culture stage, showing the con- organic material from the Topanga site for tinuity and relative lack of change in the west. dating. Detailed artifact comparisons cannot be made until the Santa Rosa specimens are TEMPORAL AND REGIONAL COMPARISONS published, yet the Santa Rosa dates suggest that Recent radiocarbon dates show three very sites like Topanga are likely to be pre-Altither- old dates for a relatively small area of southern mal, perhaps dating back to 8000 B.C. as a California. They include: Scripps Campus, La guess. Jolla, 19,550 B.C.?700 (W-142, Rubin and Recent evidence shows rather clearly that Suess 1955), Santa Rosa Island, 27,700 B.C.? the west coast was occupied as early as any 2500 (L-290R, Orr 1956) and Texas Street, San other part of the country, rather than being Diego, older than 36,050 B.C. (Lamont, unpub- marginal and only lately settled by migrants lished, from George Carter, personal communi- from the east or north. There is reason to be- cation). A preliminary discussion of the Santa lieve that California was occupied by people Rosa Island date has been published by Orr who were contemporaneous with the Folsom (1956: 7); the other dates are not yet reported and perhaps the Clovis cultures of the South- in detail. All of these dates are reported to west and Plains. Unfortunately, the cultural apply to "hearths" although evidence for hu- picture of these ancient peoples cannot yet be man utilization of these "hearths" is not yet drawn. The oldest dated cultures have not yet conclusively demonstrated. Until full publica- been described, and other remains of presumed tion of the circumstances of the occurrence of antiquity yield only fragmentary information. the samples is made, it is not possible to assess Hence it is not possible at this writing to make 289 This content downloaded from 136.168.2.9 on Mon, 09 Oct 2017 18:12:46 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 290 AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [ XXIV, 3, 1959 a cultural comparison between the west flutedcoast points of a rather crude sort at the Borax and other areas on a time level of more than Lake site. Similar fluted points have been about 5000 years ago, even though the west found at site Nap-131, which is believed to rep- coast was probably occupied for at least twice resent the basement complex for Napa County that period. (Meighan 1953b: 316). Several finds of human skeletons that appear The oldest published cultural remains giving to be of great age have been made in California. a reasonably complete picture of Californian Probably the best contender for contemporane- peoples are those of the Desert cultures of ity with fossil animals is "Los Angeles Man," southern a California, the Topanga culture from skeleton found in excavation of a large drainage near Los Angeles, and the Early Central Cali- ditch in 1936. Nearby, bones of the Imperial fornia remains from near Sacramento. Several elephant (Archidiskodon) were recovered, other and Californian cultures of presumably equal recent fluorine dating suggests the finds toor begreater age are known and currently under of the same age (Heizer 1952: 7). Other "early study. These include Orr's "Dune Dwellers" man" finds are discussed by Heizer (1948, on Santa Rosa Island, the lower levels of the 1952). West Berkeley site on San Francisco Bay, and Artifacts of the fluted point traditions are the lower levels of the Karlo site in Lassen generally absent in California. A few scattered county, northeastern California. This roster points have been reported, but their cultural includes cultures separated by millenia in time affiliations are not clear. Points of the Middle and by some 800 miles in distance; hence it is Central California culture are frequently con- not surprising that variation in artifact types cave-based and have basal thinning, suggesting may be seen among the cultures named. In- but not duplicating the fluted appearance ofdeed, it is a little surprising that not more vari- Clovis points. The Californian examples are ation is present. most often of obsidian and are sometimes The features of some sample cultures (inso- shaped by very careful pressure flaking. far Theas they are available to me) are indicated in greatest number of such points is reported a schematic way in Figures 1 through 4. The from the Borax Lake site in northern California correlation chart (Fig. 6) is arranged according (Harrington 1948). There is considerable di- to the areas shown in Figure 5. The charts and vergence of opinion over the position of the illustrations have been prepared to substitute Borax Lake site and its fluted points, but there for lengthy descriptive text. They are all sub- now seems to be general agreement that the ject to change, particularly the correlation chart points are not to be equated typologically with which would be prepared quite differently by Folsom points. The temporal placement of the other western archaeologists. I have followed site is also disputed, although it appears to a conservative dating throughout and have represent the basement complex for the North placed on the chart only those cultures which Coast Ranges (Meighan 1955: 26). The Borax have been defined to some extent in publica- Lake problem is further complicated by the tion. There are at least a dozen additional presence of a few points which could be in the named complexes, some of which will prove Clovis-Folsom tradition. Harrington (1948, Fig. to be very important to our understanding of 21, P1. 14 a) illustrates some and I have seen western prehistory. I have omitted cultures three or four more in the collection of C. C. of disputed existence - Texas Street and Mal- Post of Berkeley. This group of points is excep- pais, for example -as well as those not yet tional and anomalous in the Borax Lake collec- published by their discoverers. Dates given on tion: the points are of gray or brown flint, the chart are based on radiocarbon dating, esti- although the overwhelming majority of Borax mates of the discoverers, and typological cross- Lake objects is obsidian; the type is not dupli- ties. I have accepted dates estimated by the cated in the obsidian artifacts; and the work- various authors except where a contrary view manship is also unusual compared with the hasrest been developed in print; in such cases I of the artifacts from the site. This is not clearly have tried to follow the majority opinion as evident from the published illustrations. wellThe as I could judge it. The charts may em- possibility should be considered that the con-phasize the stylistic differences; a discussion of vincingly "Folsom" specimens are somehow the in- general similarities is given below. trusive and not actually a part of the Borax Southern California is characterized, in the Lake complex, although there are definitely early period, by cultures called "Early Milling This content downloaded from 136.168.2.9 on Mon, 09 Oct 2017 18:12:46 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms MEIGHAN ] CALIFORNIAN CULTURES AND THE ARCHAIC STAGE 291 TO PA\NGA TYPE 51TE: TOPANGA (TANK SLTE) LAn-l DATING '.