An Interim Technical Report for the 2018 Field Season
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An Interim Technical Report for the 2018 Field Season: Archaeological Excavations at the Nathan “Nate” Harrison Site in San Diego County, California Cover image. Shannon Farnsworth (left) and Caeli Gibbs (right) pedestal dozens of late 19th- and early 20th-century artifacts, including faunal remains, glass, metal, and ceramics, in the central patio area of the Nathan Harrison site (Courtesy Robb Hirsch). Seth Mallios With Contributions by Jaime Lennox, James Turner, Melissa Allen, Micaela Applebaum, Jamie Bastide, Meagan Brown, Chris Coulson, Kat Davis, Shannon Farnsworth, Jordan Finch, Caeli Gibbs, Leah Hails, Cece Holm, Natalie Jackson, Isabella Montalvo, Hilary Moore, Jason Peralta, Amethyst Sanchez, Robb Hirsch, David Lewis, and Peter Brueggeman Published by Montezuma Publishing Aztec Shops Ltd. San Diego State University San Diego, California 92182-1701 619-594-7552 www.montezumapublishing.com Copyright © 2018 All Rights Reserved. ISBN: 978-0-7442-3708-5 Copyright © 2018 by Montezuma Publishing and the author(s), Seth Mallios et al. The compilation, formatting, printing and binding of this work is the exclusive copyright of Montezuma Publishing and the author(s), Seth Mallios et al. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including digital, except as may be expressly permitted by the applicable copyright statutes or with written permission of the Publisher or Author(s). Publishing Manager: Kim Mazyck Design and Formatting: Lia Dearborn Cover Design: Lia Dearborn Quality Control: Joshua Segui THE NATHAN “NATE” HARRISON HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY PROJECT iv AN INTERIM TECHNICAL REPORT FOR THE 2018 FIELD SEASON Abstract San Diego State University (SDSU) Department of Anthropology Professor Seth Mallios directed scientific archaeological excavations at the Nathan “Nate” Harrison site in San Diego County for a seventh field season in 2018. Jaime Lennox again served as crew chief and laboratory supervisor for the archaeological program. The intensive Spring Break field school took place from March 24-29, 2018. Twenty students enrolled in this course; eighteen were undergraduates and two were graduate students. The crew was also joined by visiting SDSU archaeologists Peter Nelson and Isaac Ullah, and professional Yosemite photographer Robb Hirsch. San Diego County pioneer Nathan Harrison (ca. 1832-1920) lived on Palomar Mountain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, two-thirds of the way up its western slope. He was an African-American from the South and a former slave, who over the past century has grown to become a local legend. The Palomar-Mountain property that Harrison homesteaded in 1893 is now owned by Vicki Morgan, who graciously allowed Dr. Mallios and his students and guests to continue archaeological work on the land, known today as “Harrison Serenity Ranch.” Some of the more exciting interesting and intriguing artifacts that students uncovered during the six-day Spring Break field school included Flow-Blue, Whiteware, and Yellowware ceramics, curved Old English Tobacco cans, a Cone’s Boss overall button, extensive butchered sheep remains, meat cans, tobacco-pipe mouthpieces, and a Royal Baking Powder Company lid, as well as the usual assortment of nails, glass, and metal fragments. These items offered significant insights into Harrison’s daily life, highlighting his skills as a shepherd, cook, and rancher. They also reflected his many visitors during the turn of the 20th century when Harrison became a tourist attraction for early San Diegans seeking to escape the city and explore the many wonders of Palomar Mountain. Participants in the 2018 spring field school uncovered 2,287 artifacts, placing the site total at 35,260. The fieldwork emphasized a singular Harrison occupation at the site and pinpointed the cabin and patio as central loci of activity and the midden as a primary refuse area. Research in the field and laboratory continued to broaden insight into the life and legend of Nathan Harrison. This field school unites cutting-edge archaeological research with one of few hands-on field experiences for students at an historical site in the region. Almost as soon as they were done digging, students began actively processing, cataloging, and researching the artifacts they found and preparing a site report for the 2018 field season, an essential part of any fieldwork. Dr. Mallios and his crew plan to resume work at the site in the summer of 2019. v THE NATHAN “NATE” HARRISON HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY PROJECT vi AN INTERIM TECHNICAL REPORT FOR THE 2018 FIELD SEASON Table of Contents Abstract ...............................................................................v List of Figures ......................................................................ix 7.1 Acknowledgments ...........................................................1 7.2 Introduction ...................................................................5 7.3 Additional Historical Information ...................................7 7.4 The 2018 Excavation Results ..........................................23 7.5 Analyses and Interpretations ........................................35 7.6 Selected Artifacts ..........................................................41 7.7 A Final Note… ...............................................................77 7.8 Photo Gallery ................................................................79 References ..........................................................................93 Appendix ..........................................................................116 vii THE NATHAN “NATE” HARRISON HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY PROJECT viii AN INTERIM TECHNICAL REPORT FOR THE 2018 FIELD SEASON List of Figures Cover image. Shannon Farnsworth (left) and Caeli Gibbs (right) pedestal dozens of late 19th- and early 20th-century artifacts, including faunal remains, glass, metal, and ceramics, in the central patio area of the Nathan Harrison site ............................................................................................... i Figure 7.1. The 2018 field crew consisted of: (bottom row, left to right) Kat Davis, Elyse Bradley, Chris Coulson, James Turner, Dr. Seth Mallios, Jason Peralta, Isabella Montalvo, Shannon Farnsworth, Jamie Bastide; (middle row, l-r) Rayna Miloy, Natalie Jackson, Leah Hails, Amethyst, Sanchez, Cece Holm, Steph Colvin, Jaime Lennox, Caeli Gibbs; (top row, l-r) Jordan Finch, Saz Benchekroun, Meagan Brown, Micaela Applebaum, Gabby Mallios, and Monse Meza. ..................................................................................................................................................xiv Figure 7.2. Field-crew dance mutiny. .........................................................................................................................xiv Figure 7.3. Dr. Peter Nelson (right) discusses ground-penetrating-radar techniques with field-school students (left to right) Jordan Finch, Saz Benchekroun, Rayna Milloy, and Jamie Bastide ...................... 2 Figure 7.4. Dr. Isaac Ullah conducts various geo-archaeological soil examinations across the Palomar Mountain landscape. ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Figure 7.5. Professional photographer and naturalist Robb Hirsch (right) both caught local lizards and taught students, like Saz Benchekroun (left), how to take their picture............................................... 3 Figure 7.6. Robb Hirsch (left) spent many hours instructing the field crew on the basics of nature photography but also gave them time on their own with his equipment to find their own nuanced perspectives. ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 7.7. From sunrise to sunset, the 2018 field school worked diligently in the patio- and midden-area units ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 7.8. Field-school students engaged in digital- and paper-based archaeological techniques ......................... 4 Figure 7.9. A tree to the immediate south of the stone cabin foundation grew around and enveloped a metal shovel blade decades ago, perhaps during Nathan Harrison’s time on the property ..................... 6 Figure 7.10. The 1852 California census for Santa Clara County. ............................................................................ 18 Figure 7.11. Close-up of the 1852 California census for Santa Clara County, which included Nathan Harrison and B. O. Harrison, both from Kentucky. ..................................................................................... 19 Figure 7.12. The 1840 federal census for Pettis County, Missouri. .......................................................................... 20 Figure 7.13. The 1830 federal census for Caldwell County. ...................................................................................... 21 Figure 7.14. High-resolution scan of Beishline Collection Image #1. ...................................................................... 22 Figure 7.15. The 2018 site sketch map....................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 7.16. An aerial photograph of the areas of the site under current excavation.