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An Archaeological Study of Culture Process and Projectile Point Variability in the Southern North Coast Ranges of California

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An Archaeological Study of Culture Process and Projectile Point Variability in the Southern North Coast Ranges of California AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF CULTURE PROCESS AND PROJECTILE POINT VARIABILITY IN THE SOUTHERN NORTH COAST RANGES OF CALIFORNIA Gabriel Anthony Roark B.A., California State University, Sacramento, 1999 THESIS Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in ANTHROPOLOGY at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO SUMMER 2009 © 2009 Gabriel Anthony Roark ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF CULTURE PROCESS AND PROJECTILE POINT VARIABILITY IN THE SOUTHERN NORTH COAST RANGES OF CALIFORNIA A Thesis by Gabriel Anthony Roark Approved by: , Committee Chair M4ark E. Basgall, /TD. Second Reader David W. Zeanah, Ph.D. Date: #4"S /AOC2, 4-01 iii - Student: Gabriel Anthony Roark I certify that this student has met the requirements for fonnat contained in the University format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the thesis. Michael G. Delacorte, hbD., Gradua oordinator ate Department of Anthropology iv Abstract of AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF CULTURE PROCESS AND PROJECTILE POINT VARIABILITY IN THE SOUTHERN NORTH COAST RANGES OF CALIFORNIA by Gabriel Anthony Roark Statement of Problem The present thesis is a study of late prehistoric projectile point morphology in the southern North Coast Ranges of California and the degree to which it reflects patterns of social interaction. Late prehistoric projectile points in the southern North Coast Ranges exhibit considerable morphological variability. This thesis explores the hypothesis that this temporal and geographic variability resulted from social and historical factors rather than functional ones. The thesis further suggests that, especially within the last 500 years, the observed morphological variability corresponds with late nineteenth-century ethnolinguistic territories of the Pomo and Coast Miwok. In addition, patterns of morphological variability shed light on the social processes attendant to the linguistic divergences inferred by historical linguists. Specifically, the thesis addresses three interrelated questions: 1) whether the study area, encompassing the subregions Point Reyes Peninsula, Santa Rosa Plain, and Warm v Springs-Lake Sonoma, exhibits a single regional seriation; 2) whether projectile point morphology in Point Reyes, Santa Rosa, and Warm Springs reflects historical relationships within each subregion; and 3) whether projectile point seriations from the study assemblages corroborate, falsify, or amplify the findings of previous researchers concerning exchange patterns within the study area and beyond. The theoretical framework of the thesis is evolutionary, drawing heavily from the work of selectionist evolutionary archaeologists (e.g., O'Brien and Lyman 2000). The problems outlined above are approached by attempting to identify projectile point traditions and exchange of projectile points in the study area. The occurrence seriation method, which involves ordering archaeological phenomena according to morphological properties, is employed to determine whether such processes are identifiable in the study areas. Sources of Data Published and unpublished archaeological sources from the southern North Coast Ranges were examined to identify artifact collections and documentary sources suitable for inclusion in the present study. In addition, archaeological collections at several repositories were examined. Data concerning projectile points in reports and collections were collected via photography, digital scanning, and written notes. vi Conclusions Reached The thesis concludes that local traditions of projectile point morphology likely have the greatest influence over artifact morphology because the regional analysis failed to produce a valid serdation. Only two valid subregional seriations were obtained, for the Santa Rosa Plain and Warm Springs Creek assemblages. The Point Reyes, Warm Springs, and Upper Dry Creek seriations all failed to produce valid orderings. The thesis finds that projectile point seriations from the study assemblages can corroborate, falsify, and amplify the findings of previous researchers concerning exchange relationships within the study area and beyond. Evidence for exchange between the Point Reyes and the Santa Rosa Plain is identified. In addition, it was found that some serrated projectile points were exchanged after 450 B.P., contradicting Jackson's (1986) hypothesis that serrated: points were exchanged only before that time. Finally, at Warm Springs, two distinct seriation groups were found that exhibit divergent obsidian source profiles, presumably reflecting different geographic foci of social interactions. Committee Chair Mark E. BasgaqPh.D. ,4a& 4as: 16, -4d Date vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Numerous individuals assisted me with the research reported in this thesis. It was a gratifying experience to be the beneficiary of these persons' hospitality, goodwill, knowledge, patience, and support, which qualities commend all those concerned as scholars and human beings. Completion of the thesis would not have been possible without their aid. The order in which people and their contributions is discussed in no way reflects on the value of their contributions relative to any others'. A key, labor-intensive element of this research was the examination of archaeological collections. The following individuals kindly assisted me with tracking down collections of interest, not only in their respective collections facilities, but in others as well. They also wrote introductory letters and e-mails to other repositories on my behalf and put the documentation concerning the collections at my disposal. Their knowledge of archaeological collections within and outside of their respective repositories turned out to be critical in my selection of assemblages for study. All were a pleasure to work with. * Erica Gibson, Archaeological Curation Facility, Anthropological Studies Center, Sonoma State University * Kirsten Kvam, Point Reyes National Seashore, National Park Service * Carola DeRooy, Point Reyes National Seashore, National Park Service * Amanda Tomlin, Point Reyes National Seashore, National Park Service * Jeff Fentress, Adan E. Treganza Museum, San Francisco State University * Glenn Farris, California Department of Parks and Recreation * Larry Felton, California Department of Parks and Recreation * Lisa Deitz, Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Davis viii * Elizabeth Guerra, Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Davis * E. Breck Parkman, California State Parks * Ileana Maestas, California State Parks (thanks also for the donation of bond paper!) * Natasha Johnson, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley * Michael Tucker, California State Parks * Ben Becker, Pacific Coast Science and Learning Center, Point Reyes National Seashore, National Park Service * Leigh Jordan, Northwest Information Center, California Historical Resources Information System * Elizabeth Black, Northwest Information Center, California Historical Resources Information System Others, students and professional archaeologists, offered assistance in a variety of ways. Daryl Noble and Glenn Gmoser, both archaeologists at the California Department of Transportation, assisted me with tracking down the collections associated with CA-MEN-584 and CA-MEN-585 (I later excluded both collections from analysis, unfortunately). Two graduate students and professional archaeologists provided me with much-needed advance information: Matthew Russell of the University of California, Berkeley, and Micah Hale, University of California, Davis, and ASM Affiliates, Inc. Matt shared with me the preliminary products of his research at Point Reyes National Seashore (Russell 2007) and information concerning archaeological collections at Berkeley. Micah, formerly a fellow student at CSUS, took time out to go through the then-unanalyzed and uncataloged collections from UC Davis' Hopland archaeological field schools. Thanks, Micah-too bad I had to drop the Hopland collections from ix the analysis, also. Jeff Rosenthal (Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc.) generously supplied me with a working draft of his study of Napa obsidian hydration rates (Rosenthal 2007). Tom Jackson (Pacific Legacy, Inc.) kindly assisted me with questions concerning the provenance of specific obsidian hydration and sourcing data. Tom Origer (Tom Origer and Associates) invited me to his office in Santa Rosa and spent a couple of hours assisting me with locating obsidian hydration data. Tom also updated me on his ongoing research concerning effective hydration temperature and set me straight on critical concerns in the handling of obsidian hydration data. Similarly, Greg White (Archaeological Research Program, California State University, Chico) was an exceedingly good host during my research trip to his office. Greg offered his observations concerning arrow point morphology in the southern North Coast Ranges and put his library at my disposal. Erik Zaborsky (Hollister Field Office, Bureau of Land Management), whom I worked with on the Los Banos-Gates 500-Kilovolt Transmission Line Project, was also grappling with full-time work and his thesis. Erik's cheerful attitude in the face of similar circumstances was always a great encouragement to me. That these people aforementioned, all busy professionals, took great pains to help me out is a testament to their abiding dedication to quality scholarship. With colleagues such as these, it is a blessing to be a prehistorian
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