BLM LIBRARY BURE/ IT 88014080 An Overview of the Cultural Resources of the Western Mojave Desert by E . G ary Stic kel and - L ois J . W einm an Ro berts with sections by Rainer Beig ei and Pare Hopa cultural resources publications anthropology— history Cover design represents a petroglyph element from Inscription Canyon, San Bernardino County, California. : AN OVERVIEW OF THE CULTURAL RESOURCES OF THE WESTERN TOJAVE DESERT by Gary Stickel and Lois J. Weinman- Roberts Environmental Research Archaeologists: A Scientific Consortium Los Angeles with sections by Rainer Berger and Pare Hopa BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LIBRARY Denver, Colorado 88014680 Prepared for the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT California Desert Planning Program 3610 Central Avenue, Suite 402 Riverside, California 92506 Contract No. YA-512-CT8-106 ERIC W. RITTER GENERAL EDITOR Bureau of Land RIVERSIDE, CA Management Library 1980 Bldg. 50, Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 *•' FOREWORD Culture resource overviews such as this bring together much of the available information on prehistoric and historic peoples and present- day Native American groups along with their associated environments. The purpose behind these studies is to provide background information for the management of and research into these prehistoric, historic, and contemporary resources. This overview is one of seven covering the southern California deserts undertaken as part of a comprehensive planning effort by the Bureau of Land Management for these deserts. Overviews aid in the day-to-day management of cultural resources and in the completion of environmental analyses and research projects. Its general value to the public in the fields of education and recreation-interpretation must also be stressed. Usually cultural overviews are completed prior to beginning the field assessments of prehistoric and historic remains and contemporary ethnic values. In this case, however, the nature of the planning effort was such that both field-work and literature search were com- pleted at approximately the same time. The complementary field report by Gary Coombs (1979) in this series is titled "The Archaeo- logy of the Western Mojave". Portions of the field report are discussed in this overview. The final report manuscript was submitted by Environmental Research Archaeologists in May of 1979 following contract initiation one year earlier. The authors are to be congratulated for their time-consuming efforts in bringing together relevant information on lands administered by the Bureau and considerable data concerning the surrounding private land. This work should prove popular with both the lay-reader and pro- fessional as it presents new ideas and interpretations of existing data which is sure to stimulate further interest and work. Its value to the management of cultural resources has already been realized in part and will no doubt continue. Eric W. Ritter General Editor . .. TABLE OF CONTENTS I . ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 II. ABSTRACT 2 III. THE LITERATURE SEARCH PROJECT (G. Stickel) 4 Pro j ect Area 7 Methodology, Methods, Study Problems, and Their Resolutions 7 Project Personnel, Personnel Deployment, Aspects of Field Data Collection, Synthesis and Report Production 9 IV. ENVIRONMENTAL BACKGROUND (R. Berger) 10 Introduction 11 Geographic Features 11 Climatic Changes and their Effects 12 Hydrologic History 17 Present Environment 19 V. CULTURAL RESOURCE INVESTIGATION AND RESEARCH BACKGROUND (G. Stickel) 22 Summary of Past and Current Work in the Planning Units 2 3 Museum Collections from the Western Mojave Planning Units 36 Present Research Orientations in the Planning Units 40 VI . CULTURAL RESOURCE NARRATIVE 45 A) Cultural History: Chronology (G. Stickel) 46 1 . Early Systems Period 46 2 . Mo j ave I Period 50 3. Mojave II Period 53 4 Amargosa 1 54 5 Amargosa II 55 6 The Proto-Histor ic —Historic Mo j ave 56 B) Past Lifeways 58 1. Overview and Characteristics of Prehistoric Human Settlement in Planning Units (G. Stickel) 59 a Introduction 59 b. Early Systems Period 60 c. Mojave I Period 64 d. Mojave II Period 68 e Amargosa I Period 71 f Amargosa II Period 78 g. Proto-Historic —Historic Mojave Period 80 2. Ethnographic Overview (P. Hopa) 91 a Preface 92 b Introduction 93 c. Ethnographic Overview 93 d The Tataviam 95 e The Vanyume 98 f The Serrano 98 g The Kitanemuk 102 h The Kawaiisu 107 li . — C) History: Narrative Overview (L. Weinman) 113 1 Introduction 114 2 Exploration and Early Settlement to 1840 114 3. Economic, Social, Commercial, and Development History 1840s to Present 128 4 . Census Data 175 5 . The Historic Sites 177 VII . CONTEMPORARY CULTURES 2 18 A) Assessment of Contemporary Native American Attitudes Towards Cultural Resources in the Planning Units 219 B) Assessment of Contemporary Non-Native American Attitudes Towards Historical Cultural Resources in the Planning Units... 225 C) Assessment of Contemporary Non-Native American Attitudes Towards Cultural Resources in the Planning Units Regarding Archaeological Sites 226 VIII . FUTURE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT OPTIONS 227 A) Archaeological Research 228 B) Historical Research 2 37 C) Cultural Resources Management in the Planning Units 240 IX . CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SUMMARY 246 A) Archaeology 247 B) History 250 X. BIBLIOGRAPHIES 262 A) Bibliography: Archaeology, Ethnology, and Environment 263 B) Bibliography : History 327 in . LIST OF FIGURES 1. Fossil Plant Debris in the Mojave Desert 16 2. System of Pleistocene Lakes in California's Mojave Desert 18 3. Lake Level Changes in the California Deserts 18 4. Mountain Ranges and Playas of the Mojave, Colorado, and Southern Great Basin Deserts 20 5. Comparative Chronologies 47 6. Suggested Chronology and Time Marker Points 48 7. Tools from the Vicinity of Bones at China Lake 51 8. Newberry Cave Fire Kit 73 9. Newberry Cave Dart Shafts 74 10 Newberry Cave Split Twig Figurines 75 11. Manufacture Process of Split-twig Figurines 77 12. Transition of Atlatl and Dart to Bow and Arrow 81 13. Dendrochronological Graph for the San Gabriel Mountains over the Last 500+ Years 83 14. Brush Hut in Study Area 85 15. Casa del Desierto, the Santa Fe Harvey House at Barstow 215 16. John W. Burgess Sketch, Tropico Gold Camp 215 17. Alf's Blacksmith Shop, Daggett, with Borate Wagons 216 18. Chinese Railroad Workers' Stone Houses 216 19. Desert Sailing on Rosamond Dry Lake, ca. 1905, Mojave Desert 217 20. Example of Rock Art From Study Area 235 LIST OF MAPS 1. Western Mojave Desert Study Area 6 2. Present Environment 13 3. Historic Trails 121 4. Historic Sites 178 LIST OF TABLES 1. Mammalian Remains Identified in Antelope Valley Sites 87 iv . ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors of this study are gratefully indebted to many institutions and individuals who made the project possible. This study was conducted under a contract with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) (contract no. YA-512- CT8-106) . Mr. John Hunt served as Contracting Officer for the Bureau. In- valuable assistance to this project was given by Mr. Eric Ritter, who served as the Contracting Officer's Authorized Representative at the Riverside Office of the Bureau, and his staff. The archaeological analysis and assessments for this study were assisted by the contributions of data from several insti- tutions including the BLM's Barstow Way Station, the San Bernardino County Museum (directed by Dr. Gerald Smith who also served as a consultant to this project) , the UCLA Archaeological Survey, the Bakersfield College Archaeo- logy Laboratory, Antelope Valley College Archaeology Laboratory (directed by Mr. Roger Robinson who also was a consultant to this project) , Cerro Coso College at Ridgecrest, the Archaeological Survey Association, the Antelope Valley Indian Museum, Edwards Air Force Base, and the Archaeological Re- search Unit, UC Riverside. In addition, the archaeological team on this project would like to thank the following scholars for their help: Mr. John Alsoszatai-Petheo, Mr. Russell Kaldenberg, Mr. Nelson Leonard, Mrs. Catherine Lewis, Ms. Carol Leyba, Mrs. Grace Oliver, Ms. Carol Rector, Mr. Gordon Redtfeldt, Mr. Marty Rosen, Mr. Robert Schiffman, Ms. Ruth Simpson, and Mr. Mark Sutton. Mr. Campbell Grant kindly gave permission to use Figure 12. Dr. Gerald Smith furnished Figures 8, 9, 10, and 11. And Mr. Wilson Turner graciously gave permission to use Figure 20. The ethnographic assessments for this study were made possible by the kind assistance of several knowledgeable persons. ERA would like to express special thanks to the following individuals: Mrs. Martha Chacon, Mrs. Christine Hernandez, Mr. Henry Duro, and Mrs. Francis Morongo (of San Manuel Reservation) , Mrs. Jane Penn (of the Malki Museum, Morongo Reserva- tion) , Mr. Willie Pink (of San Jacinto) and Mr. Andrew Green (of Tehachapi) Also, with regard to ethnography, the following scholars' help is grate- fully acknowledged: Dr. Lowell Bean, Dr. Tom Blackburn, Mr. Bob Laidlaw of the BLM, Riverside, Dr. Gerald Smith, and Ms. Ruth Simpson. The synthesis of historical data was made possible by the help and counsel of many individuals as well as access to public and private libraries. Mr. Eric Ritter at the BLM Desert Planning Staff office in Riverside, supplied the necessary start and guided researchers to specialists in the BLM office , such as Mr. Wesley Chambers. Mr. Larry Vrendenburgh , BLM, not only supplied counsel for the desert mines, but also mapped locations and reviewed the manuscript. Special Collections at the University of California, Los Angeles, the Huntington Library, and the Bancroft Library at Berkeley permitted access to their documents, rare publications, and maps as did the San Bernardino County Museum. Thanks is especially due to the volunteers at the Mojave River Valley Historical Museum: Mrs. Pat Keeling, Mrs. Jean Petroff, and Mrs. Germaine Moon Their collection of desert related material cannot be matched elsewhere and deserves more attention in future studies. Mrs. Gertrude Alf of the Daggett Historical Society and Mrs. Nancy Robison of the Western Hotel Historical Society also graciously supplied useful material.