An Accelerator Mass Spectrometer Pelican Stone Was Found at a Site at Chilao Flats in (AMS) Radiocarbon Assay on a Bone San Bernardino National Forest (Rozaire 1958)

REPORTS

An Accelerator Mass Spectrometer pelican stone was found at a site at Chilao Flats in (AMS) Radiocarbon Assay on a Bone San Bernardino National Forest (Rozaire 1958). "Hook Stone" No definitive criteria are established in the literature to determine an ideal profile of southern HENRY C. KOERPER California "pelican stones" or "bird stones." Dept. of Anthropology, Cypress College, Cypress, CA 90630. However, examples indisputably belonging to this class of artifact are characterized by a bulbous ARMAND J. LABBE Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana, CA 92706. base, a vertical stem, and a lateral extension per CHRISTINE PRIOR pendicular to the top of the vertical stem at the Radiocarbon Laboratory, Univ. of Califomia, Riverside, point of contact. Generally, the extension tapers CA 92521. from the point of contact outward, often angling R. E. TAYLOR downward in the general direction of the bulbous Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Califomia, Riverside, base, but pointing outward from it. The base may CA 92521. be perpendicular to the stem or angled, sometimes as much as 45°. More often than not, the stem is A San Nicolas Island "hook stone" man ufactured of marine mammal bone was AMS characterized by rectilinear, rectanguloid, and dated to 3,480 ± 60 RCYBP. The vast majority curvilinear cross sections. It is herein suggested of bird/pelican/hook stone effigies are of steatite that these criteria may be employed to establish an or some other lithic material, and they are "ideal" profile to determine the probability that placed in the Late Prehistoric Period. If the genre begins well before Late Prehistoric times, similar forms are homologous to the classic "peli then the earlier artifacts were probably being can stones" or "bird stones." Generally, creative fashioned of less durable materials (e.g., wood). latitude is greatest at the base, where, for instance, However, the early date of this "hook stone" the normal bulbous form may be absent, replaced may simply be the consequence of artisans selecting old bone to carve. instead by a design element closely resembling a lateral extension, thereby forming a "hook stone." EFFIGIES variously called "bird stones," "peli Despite three ethnographic references to bird can stones," and "hook stones," interpreted by stones, two cursory (de Cessac 1951; Harrington some as dimorphic sexual symbols (Koerper and 1942) and one detailing the artifact's role in a Labb^ 1987) and by others as anthropomorphic ritual laden with fertility/fecundity symbolism figures (Lee 1993), are assigned to Late Pre (Yates 1889:305; see Koerper and Labb6 1987: historic times and were probably features of 113-115), Cameron (1988) posited use of the magico-religious practice into the early contact genre as limited to A.D. 800 to 1400. Indian in period (Koerper and Labb^ 1989). These artifacts formants in the early 1880s identified the effigies are known throughout mainland and island Chu as "pajaritos" or "inhabitants of the air" (de mash and Gabrielino areas (e.g., Hoover 1974a, Cessac 1951:2). Two of Harrington's informants, 1974b; Hudson and Blackburn 1980; Lee 1981:48; Luisa Ignacio and Fernando Librado, reported Cameron 1983; Wallace 1987). At least one stea carved steatite "hook stones" for the Barbarefio tite specimen was recovered in Luiseno territory and Venturefio Chumash, respectively (1942:13- (Koerper and Labb^ 1987, 1989), and a serpentine 14). 122 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY

Yates' (1889:305) ethnographic notes described vitulina). It is 1.9 cm. in length, 0.9 cm. wide, the use of bird stones, like the specimen illustrated and weighs 1.19 g. Abrasion marks covering the in Abbott (1879:215, Fig. 96), in a magico- surface of the piece resulted from removal of the religious ritual: enamel. The polish visible on the surface may . . . twenty of [the stone effigies] were arranged in have been by human hand or may have resulted a sqtiare, five on each side, in the center was a from storage in a bag, perhaps one belonging to a bowl of water, beside which stood the medicine shaman (P. Langenwalter, personal communication man, with a long stone pipe shaped like a cigar. . . 1991). The [pipe] smoke was first directed toward the bowl of water, then toward the stones. The people came In form, this artifact more closely resembles a and moistened their faces with the water of the bowl "hook stone" than a "bird stone" or "pelican . . . This ceremony brought rain, caused death to stone." It is nearly identical to a specimen of enemies, and various other things. marine mammal bone pictured in Gifford's classic Blackburn (personal communication 1986), in work, "California Bone Artifacts" (1940:225, checking Yates' reference to Abbott (1879), Fig. AA). Gifford (1940) could assign no function confirmed diat the 20 artifacts "arranged in a to this piece, also from San Clemente Island, al square" actually were bird stones, not charm- though he seemed to have recognized the close re stones, thereby correcting a long-standing error in semblance to hook stones. Due to the small size the literature (e.g., Grant 1978:514). of specimen SDM 6069, no attempt was made to The vast majority of "bird stones" is fashioned remove material for AMS analysis. of steatite and cannot be directly dated. There Three other specimens of marine mammal fore, the authors wished to locate specimens made bone, all from San Nicolas Island, were selected of organic materials for radiometric assay. Since for sampling. Specimen SN-10 (Fig. 2b) is 7.85 no "bird stone" had heretofore been subjected to cm. long, 3.4 cm. wide, and weighs 39.86 g. Its radiocarbon analysis, it was hoped that such deter form is closer to a "hook stone" than to a classic minations might establish, with high confidence, a "bird stone." Specimen SN-14 (Fig. 2c) is in minimum antiquity for this artifact category, or complete, but it appears to be similar to the perhaps further support the hypothesis of a post- previously described example. It measures 5.2 A.D. 1400 occurrence of the motif in southern cm. long, 2.2 cm. wide, and weighs 12.23 g. California aboriginal culture. Specimen SN-Misc (Fig. 2d) more closely resem This report documents four specimens made of bles a classic "bird stone." It is 8.1 cm. in organic material, one of tooth and three of marine length, 3.4 cm. wide, and weighs 39.79 g. mammal bone. It further reports the surprising COLLAGEN TESTS results of AMS dating of one of the bone speci mens from San Nicolas Island (Fig. 1). AMS Prior to preparation of any AMS sample target, technology was chosen in order to minimize dam the three bone artifacts were tested to determine age to the artifact. whether enough residual collagen was available for dating purposes. From the least conspicuous area DESCRIPTIONS of each item, a small amount of material was re Four bird stone/hook stone artifacts manu moved with a drill bit. A few milligrams of die factured of datable material were located within resulting bone powder were used to test the organ the collections of the San Diego Museum of Man. ic content of each sample. First, the total carbon Specimen SDM 6069 (Fig. 2a) was recovered on and nitrogen percentages were measured with a San Clemente Island (Fig. 1) and is fashioned Carlo Erba NA 1500 N/C/S analyzer, and then the from a tooth, possibly that of a harbor seal {Phoca samples were hydrolyzed in 6N hydrochloric acid REPORTS 123

Fig. 1. Location of San Nicolas Island and San Clemente Island. and their amino acid compositions determined by 6N hydrochloric acid and a total amino acid ion exchange liquid chromatography (HPLC). fraction extracted through ion exchange chro Specimens SN-14 and SN-Misc exhibited extreme matography. The total amino acid fraction was ly low nitrogen values (below 0.1%) and their combusted to COj in a sealed VYCOR tube at amino acid compositions did not resemble that of 9(X)°C for three hours. After collection and collagen. In contrast, Specimen SN-10 contained purification, an aliquot of the COj was reserved 2.7% nitrogen and 10.8% carbon by weight, and for stable isotope analysis (6'^C), and the rest was its amino acid profile indicated the presence of converted to graphite under hydrogen using a co collagen. Since the amount of nitrogen in a sam balt catalyst in a method described by Vogel et al. ple is proportional to the amino acid content, low (1987a). When the reaction was complete, the nitrogen values indicate that very little organic graphite powder was tamped into an aluminum material is present for analysis. A "non-collagen- target holder and sent to the Center for Accel like" amino acid profile suggests that the original erator Mass Spectrometry at the University of Cal organic content of the bone has been subject to ifornia Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory various digenetic effects and may not provide a (LLNL) for counting (CAMS No. 12349). Details reliable age determination. Thus, it was decided of die operation of the accelerator at LLNL may that only Specimen SN-10 contained sufficient be found in Vogel et al. (1987a, 1987b). collagen for a reliable radiocarbon age. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION TARGET PREPARATION AND ANALYSIS Because collagen tests indicated virtually no A 194-mg. sample from Specimen SN-10 residual collagen for Specimens SN-14 (Fig. 2c) (UCR Laboratory No. 2456) was hydrolyzed in and SN-Misc (Fig. 2d) and minimal residual colla- 124 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 2. Bird/hook stones: (a) Specimen SDM 6069, tooth, San Clemente Island; (b) Specimen SN-10, marine mammal bone, San Nicolas Island; (c) Specimen SN-14, marine manmial bone, San Nicolas Island; (d) Specimen SN-Misc, marine mammal bone, San Nicolas Island. gen for Specimen SN-10 (Fig. 2b), the authors an these effigies. ticipated the possibility of a pre-Late Prehistoric It is also possible that Late Prehistoric artisans Period date. AMS analysis yielded a determina on San Nicolas Island collected old marine mam tion of 3,480 ± 60 RCYBP (UCR-2456/CAMS mal bone to carve bird/hook stones. If so, this No. 12349). This conventional date is adjusted for study provides a cautionary note, adding to the list a 6'^C measurement of -16. lo/oo. The calibrated of examples for which the date of the sample age at one sigma is 1,882 B.C. to 1,733 B.C. material is unrelated to a cultural event. For ex It is conceivable that the genre occurred as ample, one "pelican effigy" in the collections of early as around the Middle/Late Holocene inter the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History ap face and endured for three millennia, but there is pears to be manufactured from fossil whalebone no independent evidence to support a continuity (Hudson and Blackburn 1980:181). It seems that between such antiquity for bird/hook stones and this study has introduced more questions than it the relatively late steatite examples. Speculatively, has answered. bird/hook stones may have been carved of com paratively nondurable material, particularly wood, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS over a possibly long period of time for the artifact We appreciate the efforts of Deborah Gray, who type. Lee (1981:48) has listed wood and yellow produced Figure 1, and Joe Cramer, who drew the ochre as among the materials for manufacture of artifacts in Figure 2. We thank Ken Hedges and the REPORTS 125 staff of the San Diego Museum of Man for loan of the Park: Ballena Press Anthropological Papers four specimens discussed in our study. The colla No. 30. boration of John Southon of the Lawrence Livermore Koerper, Henry C, and Armand J. Labb6 National Laboratory is gratefully acknowledged. The 1987 A Birdstone from San Diego Coimty, Cali UCR Radiocarbon Laboratory is supported by the fomia: A Possible Example of Dimorphic Gabrielle O. Vierra Memorial Fund, the Intramural Sexual Symbolism in Luiseno Iconography. Research Fund, and the College of Humanities and Joumal of Califomia and Great Basin Anth Social Sciences, University of Califomia, Riverside. ropology 9(1): 110-120. Finally, we are grateful for the conmients of anony mous reviewers. 1989 "Libidinal Symbolism," Etcetera. . . Re joinder to Cameron (1988). Pacific Coast REFERENCES Archaeological Society Quarterly 25(3):46- 52. Abbott, C. C. 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