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HfiiTin^wdiUKeikift' SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 130 ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT BUENA VISTA LAKE KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA By WALDO R. WEDEL WITH APPENDIX SKELETAL REMAINS FROM THE BUENA VISTA SITES, CALIFORNU By T. D. STEWART SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 130 ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT BUENA VISTA LAKE KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA By WALDO R. WEDEL WITH APPENDIX SKELETAL REMAINS FROM THE BUENA VISTA SITES, CALIFORNIA By T. D. STEWART UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1941 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D, C Price 55 LETTEK OF TRANSMITTAL Smithsonian Institution, BuEEAu OF American Ethnology, Washington, D. O., June W, 19Ifi. Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a manuscript entitled "Archeological Investigations at Biiena Vista Lake, Kern County, California," by Waldo R. Wedel, with an appendix entitled "Skeletal Remains from the Buena Vista Sites, California," by T. D. Stewart, and to recommend that it be published as a bulletin of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Very respectfully yours, M. W. Stirling, Chief. Dr. C. G. Abbot, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. CONTENTS PAGE Foreword 1 Acknowledgments 2 Introduction 3 Geographical background 3 Historical and ethnic background 12 Archeologj^ 17 Location and general description of sites 17 Site 1 20 House remains 30 Fireplaces 33 Clay-lined basins 34 Pocket caches 34 Dog "burials" 35 Burials 35 Objects of material culture 37 Work in asphaltum 37 Work in bone and horn 40 Work in clay 45 Articles of European make 48 Pigments 49 Work in shell 49 Work in steatite 53 Work in chipped stone 61 Work in ground stone 68 Site 2 72 The camp site 82 Burials (upper level) 85 Burials (deep level) 88 Material culture 88 Work in asphaltum 88 Work in bone and horn. 89 Work in clay 92 Pigments 93 Work in sheU 93 Work in steatite 95 Work in chipped stone 97 Work in ground stone 100 Work in wood 104 Sites 105 Work in bone 112 Work in shell 112 Work in steatite 113 Work in chipped stone 114 Work in ground stone 115 Objects of unworked stone 115 Textiles and basketry 116 Work in wood 120 245824—41 1 V VI CONTENTS Archeology—Continued. Location and general description of sites—Continued. page Site 4 121 Basketry and textiles 126 Pigments 127 Work in shell 128 Work in steatite 128 Work in chipped stone 129 Work in ground stone 130 Articles of unworked stone 131 Site 5 -_ 131 Other excavations in the vicinity 132 Cultural relations 133 Summary of cultures and correlation of sites 133 Age of sites and length of occupancy 141 Relationships with other localities 145 H istorical connections 151 Summary of cultural development 153 Literature cited 169 Appendix A. Skeletal remains from the Buena Vista sites, California, by T. D. Stewart 172 Methods 172 Material 174 Comparisons 178 General historical 178 Buena Vista, skull 183 Buena Vista, skeleton 185 Conclusions 186 Literature cited 187 . ILLUSTRATIONS PLATES PAGE 1. General views of site 1 and trench 1 171 2. Stratification in north wall of trench 1, site 1 — 171 3. North wall of trench 1 and buried terraces, site 1 171 4. Views in trenches 1 and 2, site 1 171 5. House 1 and other features at site 1 171 6. Rock fireplaces and other features at site 1 171 7. Flexed burials at site 1 171 8. Child burial, site 1, and animal "burial," site 2 171 9. General views of site 2 and surroundings 171 10. Trench 1 and camp site at 20-inch level, site 2 171 11. Stratification in trench 1, site 2 171 12. Houses 1 and 4 on camp site, site 2 171 13. Unopened grave and clay-lined basin at site 2 171 14. Child burials, rock fireplace, and pitch-covered basket, sites 1, 2, and 4 171 15. Extended burials from deep levels at site 2 171 16. Flexed pit burials at site 2 171 17. Grave post and semiflexed burials at site 3 171 18. Flexed and semiflexed burials at site 4 171 19. Objects of asphaltum and baked clay, sites 1 and 5 171 20. Potsherds, baked clay, and sandstone objects, site 1 171 2 1 Fiber and asphaltum brush and bone ornament, sites 1 and 3 171 22. Bone awls from sites 1 and 2 171 23. Bone awls from sites 1 and 2 171 24. Miscellaneous bone objects from sites 1 and 2 171 25. Bone and horn objects from sites 1 and 2 171 26. Bone whistles, beads, and tubes from site 1 171 27. Shell beads and ornaments from sites 1, 2, and 3 171 28. Shell pendants from sites 1, 2, and 3 171 29. Ornaments of abalone, clam, and limpet shell from site 2 171 30. Objects of shell and pierced fish vertebrae from sites 2, 3, and 4 171 31. Serpentine beads and steatite labrets from sites 1 and 3 171 32. Groove-edged steatite objects from site 1 171 33. Miscellaneous steatite objects from site 1 171 34. Reel-shaped steatite objects from site 1 171 35. Steatite bowls from site 1 171 36. Steatite bowls from site 1 171 37. Miscellaneous steatite objects from site 2 171 38. Projectile points from sites 1, 2, 3, and 4 171 39. Obsidian and chipped flint from sites 1, 2, 3, and 4 171 40. Chipped blades and ground stone knives from sites 1,2, and 3 171 41. Saws and hand ax from sites 1 and 4 171 42. Scraper knives with asphaltum for hafting from sitel 171 VII Vm ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE 43. Ground stone objects from sites 1, 2, and 4 171 44. Ground stone objects from sites 1 and 2 171 45. Hopper mortar stones from site 1 171 46. Portable stone mortars from site 2 171 47. Pestles from sites 1 and 2 171 48. Plain twined soft textile with black design from site 3 171 49. Soft textile with design in wrapped twining and black from site 3 171 50. Soft wrapped twined textile, coiled and twined basketry from site 3 171 51. Wooden burls and shell-inlaid slab from site 3 171 52. Male skull from burial 1, site 1 188 53. Male skull from burial 2, site 1 188 54. Male skull from burial 14, site 2 188 55. Male skull from burial 46, site 2 188 56. Front views of four skulls from site 2 188 57. Pathological changes in long bones from sites 1 and 2 188 FIGURES 1. Sketch map of Buena Vista Basm and adjacent territory 5 2. Key map of village and burial sites excavated at Buena Vista Lake 18 3. Contour map of Buena Vista site 1 facing page 21 4. Map of excavations at Buena Vista site 1 22 5. Sample profile section at Buena Vista site 1 24 6. Orientation of 15 burials at Buena Vista site 1 36 7. Classification chart of chipped-flint forms 62 8. Contour map of Buena Vista site 2 facing page 74 9. Map of excavations at Buena Vista site 2 77 10. Sample profile section at Buena Vista site 2 79 11. Plan of portion of camp site at Buena Vista site 2 83 1 2. Orientation of 92 burials at Buena Vista site 2 86 13. Distribution map of burials at Buena Vista site 3 facing page 104 14. Orientation of 258 burials at Buena Vista site 3 108 15. Textile designs from burials at Buena Vista site 3 119 16. Distribution of burials at Buena Vista site 4 123 17. Orientation of 55 burials at Buena Vista site 4 124 18. Correlation of sites at Buena Vista Lake facing page 138 19. Tentative reconstruction of culture development at Buena Vista Lake. 155 ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT BUENA VISTA LAKE, KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA By Waldo R. Wedel FOREWORD The excavations described in this paper comprised one of a number of archeological projects organized and financed by the Civil Works Administration in December 1933, as a means of reducing unemploy- ment. To the Smithsonian Institution was given the task of select- ing suitable sites, providing professional direction, and supervising the work so as to obtain a maximum of scientific information. As with the other similar projects, choice of a suitable location in California was contingent primarily on climatic and economic factors, i. e., upon mild winter conditions and proximity to abundant unemployed labor. Kern County, an important oil-producing region at the extreme south end of the San Joaquin Valley, met both these requirements. More- over, it has long been known that aboriginal village and burial sites abound on the margins of the lakes and sloughs which formerly occu- pied a considerable portion of the valley floor in the southern part of the county. Some of the largest and most promising of these on the westerly and northwesterly shores of Buena Vista Lake were readily accessible by automobile to relief labor from several towns in the Sunset-Midway oilfield. Two large shell heaps on the southwest side of the lake, which seemed likely to yield a considerable depth of archeological deposits, were accordingly selected as the scene of operations. Excavations began on December 20, 1933, and were continued as a Federal project until February 15, 1934. With considerable reduction in manpower, it was thereafter carried on as a county project, terminat- ing on March 31. The Smithsonian Institution placed Dr. W. D. Strong and W. M. Walker, both of the Bureau of American Ethnology, in charge of the work as director and assistant director, respectively. On these two men rested the burden of administering the project in the field and of determining local policies.