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Archaeological and Cultural Landscapes of the Sutter Buttes, Also Referred to in This Study As the Buttes

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MULTIPLE WAYS OF SEEING ONE PLACE: ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPES OF THE SUTTER BUTTES, CALIFORNIA ____________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Chico ____________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Anthropology ____________ by Melinda Button Fall 2009 MULTIPLE WAYS OF SEEING ONE PLACE: ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPES OF THE SUTTER BUTTES, CALIFORNIA A Thesis by Melinda Button Fall 2009 APPROVED BY THE INTERIM DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE, INTERNATIONAL, AND INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES: _________________________________ Mark J. Morlock, Ph.D. APPROVED BY THE GRADUATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: _________________________________ Antoinette M. Martinez, Ph.D., Chair _________________________________ Georgia L. Fox, Ph.D. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My thesis is multidisciplinary and required input from several different fields of interest. As such, this project would not have been possible without the help of many people. First and foremost, I would like to thank John Geno Lucich, Beverly Ogle, and Patsy Seek, for sharing their knowledge with me. The interviews greatly added to the study and provided insights that would not have been visible otherwise. I would like to thank Leslie Stedil with the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) for all her help organizing information, introducing me to people, and inviting me to Peace Valley with DPR staff. I would like to thank Mike Hubbartt, a Sutter Butte resident, a Middle Mountain Foundation volunteer, and a DPR employee, for all his support and guidance, as well as providing me an opportunity to experience the Sutter Buttes first hand. I would also like to thank Dionne Gruver and Kathy Lindahl, also with DPR, for allowing me access to the survey report and site records from the 2005 survey of Peace Valley and for sharing their ideas and interpretations of the archaeological remains in the Sutter Buttes. Thanks to Eileen Conway for all her support and interest in the project. Thanks to Ira Heinrich for sharing his knowledge that stems from years of experience both studying and hiking through the Sutter Butts. Thank you to Amy Huberland of the Northeast Information Center at CSU Chico for the initial suggestion of the project and for all the help getting me started. And thank you to Daniel Barth from the iii Yuba County Historical Society for allowing me to explore the Sutter Buttes and sharing some references with me. And last, but certainly not least, thank you to my thesis committee members Dr. A. Martinez and Dr. G. Fox for all the guidance, encouragement, and support. Again, this project would not have been possible without the help of the abovementioned individuals who illuminated the true diversity of the Sutter Buttes. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................... iii List of Tables.............................................................................................................. vii List of Figures............................................................................................................. viii Abstract....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I. Introduction.............................................................................................. 1 II. Landscape Studies .................................................................................... 7 The Landscape Perspective as a Theoretical Framework............. 8 A Regional Approach to Archaeological Landscapes.................. 10 Cultural Landscapes ..................................................................... 14 Chapter Summary......................................................................... 28 III. Methodology............................................................................................. 30 Limitations of the Study ............................................................... 30 Archaeological Landscape Data ................................................... 33 Cultural Landscape Data .............................................................. 34 Interviews ..................................................................................... 35 Field Visits.................................................................................... 37 Chapter Summary......................................................................... 39 IV. The Physical Landscape ........................................................................... 40 The Study Area............................................................................. 41 The Sacramento Valley ................................................................ 41 Geological Overview of the Sutter Buttes.................................... 45 v CHAPTER PAGE Environmental Overview.............................................................. 48 Chapter Summary......................................................................... 53 V. The Cultural Landscape............................................................................ 54 Archaeological Overview............................................................. 55 Cultural Chronology..................................................................... 56 Settlement..................................................................................... 60 Resources and Resource Distribution........................................... 63 Patwin (Southern Wintu).............................................................. 67 Maidu............................................................................................ 73 Contact.......................................................................................... 79 Chapter Summary......................................................................... 83 VI. Archaeological Data................................................................................. 84 Archaeological Surveys................................................................ 84 Archaeological Excavation........................................................... 91 Archaeological Site Descriptions ................................................. 93 Chapter Summary......................................................................... 120 VII. Cultural Data............................................................................................ 121 Archival Research and Ethnographic Sources ............................. 122 Interviews ..................................................................................... 135 Chapter Summary......................................................................... 148 VIII. Discussion................................................................................................. 149 The Archaeological Landscape .................................................... 150 The Cultural Landscape................................................................ 182 Bring it Together: The Physical and the Intangible...................... 209 Chapter Summary......................................................................... 209 IX. Conclusion................................................................................................ 210 References Cited......................................................................................................... 213 Appendices A. Human Subject Clearance Letter and Post Data Collection Form ........... 227 B. Description of Archaeological Sites in the Sutter Buttes ......................... 230 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Central Valley Cultural Chronology As Outlined By Rosenthal et al. (2007)..................................................................... 57 2. Complete List of Survey Reports Reviewed............................................. 85 3. Archaeological Sites By Type .................................................................. 94 4. Summary of Artifacts Recovered From Excavation of CA-SUT-44........ 108 5. Prehistoric Resources Recorded in the Sutter Buttes as of March 2009 ...................................................................................... 152 6. Summary of Sites With Associated Midden Deposits.............................. 154 7. Ground and Battered Stone Tools Recorded in the Sutter Buttes............. 168 8. Sites Possibly Associated With Hunting Activities.................................. 169 9. Debitage and Stone Tools Recorded in the Sutter Buttes......................... 174 10. Themes Found in Stories, Oral Histories and Interviews About the Sutter Buttes.................................................................... 184 11. Native Names For the Sutter Buttes and Their Translations .................... 200 vii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Location Map of the Sutter Buttes............................................................ 2 2. Map of Survey Coverage from Previous Archaeological Investigations................................................................................... 32 3. Geological and Topographic Map of the Central Valley.......................... 42 4. Satellite Image of the Sutter Buttes .......................................................... 46 5. Seasonal Drainage in Peace Valley, February 2009................................. 48 6. Peace Valley with Cat Rock in the Background, February 2009 ............. 49 7. Large Oak Tree, October 2008 ................................................................
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