Intensified Middle Period Ground Stone Production on San Miguel Island
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UC Merced Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology Title Intensified Middle Period Ground Stone Production on San Miguel Island Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9dh8m068 Journal Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 22(2) ISSN 0191-3557 Author Conlee, Christina A Publication Date 2000-07-01 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California 374 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY Elston, Robert G., Jonathan O. Davis, Alan Levan- Neuenschwander, Neal thal, and Cameron Covington 1994 Archaeological Excavation at CA-Plu-88, 1977 The Archaeology of the Tahoe Reach of the Lakes Basin Campground, Plumas County, Tmckee River. Report on file at the California. Report on file at Peak and As Nevada Archaeological Survey, University sociates, Sacramento, Califomia. of Nevada, Reno. Noble, Daryl Flenniken, J. Jeffrey, and Philip J. Wilke 1983 A Technological Analysis of Chipped Stone 1989 Typology, Technology, and Chronology of From CA-Pla-272, Placer County, Califor Great Basin Dart Points. American An- nia. Master's thesis, Califomia State Uni du-opologist 91 (1): 149-173. versity, Sacramento. Foster, Daniel G., John Belts, and Lmda Sandelin Ritter, Eric W. 1999 The Association of Style 7 Rock Art and 1970 The Archaeology of 4-Pla-101, die Spring the Martis Complex in the Northern Sierra Garden Ravine Site. In: Archaeological In Nevada of California. Report on file at the vestigations in the Aubum Reservoir Area, California Department of Forestry and Fire Phase II-III, Eric W. Ritter, ed., pp. 270- Protection, Sacramento. 538. Report on file at the National Park Heizer, Robert F., and Albert B. Elsasser Service, San Francisco, California. 1953 Some Archaeological Sites and Cultures of Rondeau, Michael F. the Central Sierra Nevada. Berkeley: Re 1980 Archaeology of the Salmon Creek Site. ports of the University of California Ar Tahoe National Forest Cultural Resources chaeological Survey No.21. Report No. 7, on file at the Tahoe National Jackson, Robert J. Forest, Nevada City, Califomia. 1999 Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Culture Change in the Mid-elevation Amer ican River Watershed. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the Society for Cali fornia Archaeology, Sacramento. Jensen, Peter M. 1979 Gold Lake Archaeological Testing—Bound ary Timber Sale. Report on file at the Ta hoe National Forest, Nevada City, Califor nia. Johnson, Keith L. 1980 Rainbow Point Revisited: Archaeological Investigations at Bucks Lake, Plumas Intensified Middle Period Ground County, California. Report on file at Pa cific Gas and Electric, San Francisco, Cali Stone Production on San Miguel fornia. Island Jones, Peter 1981 Experimental Implement Manufacture and CHRISTINA A. CONLEE Use: A Case Study From Olduvai Gorge, Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of California, Santa Tanzania. In: The Emergence of Man, J. Barbara, CA 93106. Z. Young, E. M. Jope, and K. P. Oakley, eds.,pp. 189-195. Philosophical Transac Specialized shell bead manufacture is a tions of the Royal Society of London, Se defining characteristic of Late Period (A.D. ries B, 292(1057). 1300 to 1782) Chumash society. While bead Kowta, Makoto manufacturing has been well studied, other 1988 The Archaeology and Prehistory of Plumas items of economic importance have received and Butte Counties California: An Intro less attention by archaeologists. This report duction and Interpretive Model. Report on is a discussion of a quarry and associated file at die Northeast Information Center, habitation site (CA-SMI-503/504) on San Mi Califomia State University, Chico. guel Island, where mortar and pestle manu- REPORTS 375 facture took place. The data show that pro Walker and Snethkamp 1984) and there were duction was centered at the quarry site while 16 other sites in the region show some evi indications that mortar and pestie production was dence of manufacture. Radiocarbon dates concentrated during the Middle Period (490 B.C. place intensified production to the later part to A.D. 1150). This suggested that specializa of the Middle Period (A.D. 580 to 980). It is tion in some industries occurred earlier than the suggested that the manufacture of mortars Middle to Late period transition in the Santa and pestles at this time was conducted by part-time, community-based specialists. Barbara Channel region. The goal of this project was to investigate the type of ground stone production on San Miguel CRAFT specialization and economic interaction Island, establish when production occurred and were prominent feamres of Chumash society dur intensified, and develop models about how ing late prehistory. Centered in the Santa Bar ground stone production fit into the broader con bara Channel region, Chumash territory included text of the development of Chumash trade and re the northern Channel Islands of Anacapa, Santa gional integration. This goal was achieved by Cmz, and Santa Rosa, as well as the western visiting the quarry site and compiling all of the most island, San Miguel (Fig. 1). Specialization site records for San Miguel Island in order to de and trade were particularly important in linking termine patterns of ground stone use and produc the Island Chumash with people on the mainland. tion on the island. In addition, the manufacmr- During die Late Period (A.D. 1300 to 1782), ing debitage from the prior column samples was people on the islands specialized in die manufac reanalyzed and the earlier radiocarbon dates were ture of shell beads, lived in fairly large and set calibrated. tled villages, and leaders were selected through inherited stattis (King 1969; Blackburn 1975; GROUND STONE USE IN THE SANTA Martz 1984; Arnold 1987, 1992). Prior to die BARBARA CHANNEL REGION Late Period, during the Middle to Late period Changes in ground stone forms through pre transition (beginning ca. A.D. 1150), craft spe history are thought to correlate with changes in cialization is thought to have fully developed and subsistence strategies. In die Santa Barbara intensified in the region (Arnold 1987, 1990, Channel region, ground stone tools followed a 1992). At this time, shell bead production general evolutionary trend from roughly made changed from a widely practiced, unspecialized grinding slabs to finely shaped mortars (Glassow endeavor to intensified, specialized manufacture 1996a). The first types of ground stone used in at a few sites on Santa Cmz and Santa Rosa is the area were the metate (or grinding slab) and lands (Arnold 1987, 1991; Arnold and Munns the mano. These tools were prominent elements 1994). of the mainland tool assemblage during the Early While specialized bead manufacmre during Period from 8,000 to 6,500 B.P. and were pre die Late Period has been identified and well stud sumably used for milling seeds (Erlandson 1994; ied, other activities of economic importance (es Glassow 1996a). During this period, there is pecially those from earlier time periods) have re good evidence of occupation on the Channel ceived less attention. The lack of information on Islands (Erlandson 1994); however, manos and production activities and specialization in earlier metates are relatively rare at sites on the islands, time periods instigated this research into ground probably because there were fewer seed-bearing stone production on San Miguel Island. A plants. Instead of milling implements, weights ground stone quarry and manufacturing site was for digging sticks are a dominant artifact found identified previously on the island (Rozaire 1983; on the islands during the Early Period, which 376 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY ( <^ 1* X. P(./ '\rguello—~^ Pt. Conceptiorr^ ^-..^ SaiHn Baibaia Santa Barbara QH ^-^ ^ e / \ San Miguel Island t ^^ N -^_^ "— I f Santa Cruz^-..^ /^ <S o 0 50 km. \Santa Rosa^ 1 S.^ _^ Anacapa Island 1 \ Island ^—' • 0 25 mi. Fig. 1. The Santa Barbara Channel region and the northem Channel Islands. were presumably used for digging bulbs and the diet, or it may be that mortars and pestles tubers (Glassow 1996a). were used to process something else, such as Ethnographic accounts indicate that manos roots (Glassow 1996b). At about 4,000 B.P., and metates were used for processing small, hard globular-shaped mortars were being manufac- seeds, while mortars and pesties were used for mred, after which time metates and manos be more pulpy foods like acorns (Kroeber 1925; came rare at coastal sites. Also around this time, Gifford 1936; Driver and Massey 1957; Baum- the basket hopper mortar—a form that is often hoff 1963; Basgall 1987; Glassow 1996a). At associated with acorn milling—came into use the time of Spanish contact, the Chumash, like (Glassow 1996b). The last distinct type of ground many other groups, used mortars and pesties pri stone that has been observed in the archaeologi marily to mill acorns into flour. However, mor cal record of the Santa Barbara Channel is die tars and pesties can be used to process a variety flowerpot mortar that was first used around of materials, including seeds, nuts, roots, grass 1,500 B.P. in the Middle Period and continued to es, fmit, rodents, fish, shellfish, and pigment be used until the historical period. However, as (King 1967; Yobe et al. 1991; Schneider 1993a; this ground stone chronology is based on main Glassow 1996b; Schrodi 1996). Neverdieless, land data, there are undoubtedly differences in mortars and pesties are most closely associated the development and use of ground stone on the with acorns, and large quantities of diese tools at islands, especially since the plant and animal re a site are used as an indication that acorns were sources there were significantly different. an important food source (Basgall 1987). Ground stone tools were important utilitarian At ca. 5,000 B.P., unshaped mortars and goods to the people of the Santa Barbara Channel pesties first appeared on die mainland, perhaps region, but their role in exchange in less well signaling a change in subsistence patterns.