UC Merced Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology Title Prehistoric Turquoise Mining in the Halloran Springs District, San Bernardino County, California Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/05c3s37g Journal Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 2(2) ISSN 0191-3557 Authors Leonard., N. Nelson, III Drover, Christopher E. Publication Date 1980-12-01 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 245-256 (1980). Prehistoric Turquoise Mining in the Halloran Springs District, San Bernardino County, California N. NELSON LEONARD, III CHRISTOPHER E. DROVER REHISTORIC turquoise mining in Cali­ Eisen observed prehistoric mines and petro- Pfornia has been treated in a cursory glyphs, and collected Southern Paiute oral fashion, and the papers which address this traditions. While providing interesting specula­ industry are based upon field work prior to tion for readers of the Call, the expedition 1930. The intensity of mining and its relation­ accomplished little to further scientific under­ ship to cultural development in the Southwest standing of the region. Commercial mining suggests this activity warrants detailed analysis. interests continued into the second decade of This article addresses the tools, techniques, the twentieth century. and antiquity of aboriginal turquoise mining in Malcolm Rogers' work in the 1920's was the Halloran Springs district of San Bernar­ the earliest archaeological research and the dino County, California. only systematic study of prehistoric mining in this region until the present. Rogers, stimu­ HISTORICAL BACKGROUND lated by accounts in geologic reports and Claims filed between 1895 and 1898 and journals, conducted a cursory field review in mineral specimens submitted to the California 1926 and a more extensive nine-day reconnais­ State Mining Bureau marked the European sance during October, 1928. During the latter discovery of the Halloran Springs turquoise expedition, surface collections at East Camp' district (Pogue 1915:46). Further discoveries and a survey of local springs and rockshelters and reports of extensive mineral deposits and were conducted. Several mines and rockshelters evidence of prehistoric mining prompted the were excavated. Rogers believed that the mate­ San Francisco Call newspaper to organize a rial culture he observed resulted from sporadic small expedition headed by Gustav Eisen of but intensive use of the area during early the California Academy of Sciences to explore Puebloan times (Basketmaker III and Pueblo I) the region (Walcott 1898:582-584; Eisen 1898). and more recently by Chemehuevi (Rogers n.d., 1929). In 1944, Robert Heizerand AdanTreganza N. Nelson Leonard, IlL San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands, CA 92373. Christopher E. Drover, (1944) reviewed prehistoric mines and quarries Golden West College, Huntington Beach, CA 92647. in California. They abstracted data from [245] 246 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY Rogers' field work and concluded, as did miners had also obtained two radiocarbon Rogers, that these mines were the result of use samples from the Bonnie Blue. by Southwestern populations. Heizer, inter­ All remains about the mine were collected, ested in evidence of Southwestern culture con­ boxed, and labeled for transport. The two tact in California, visited one site at the north radiocarbon samples, which had been wrapped end of East Cronise Lake (SBr-202) and West in aluminum foil and stored in a glass jar, were Camp (SBr-207) in 1949. also packed. An undisturbed prehistoric mine directly PROCEDURES adjacent to the Bonnie Blue was selected for During April, 1978, the senior author excavation. A one-meter-wide trench, oriented visited the Halloran Springs region in the com­ north/south, and including the total areal pany of Robert Reynolds, Curator of Earth extent of the mine was laid out. The trench was Sciences, San Bernardino County Museum. excavated in cultural levels, and excavation Mr. Reynolds had been monitoring modern- continued until bedrock was encountered. The day mining operations and advising miners of trench was excavated with trowel and shovel; the scientific value of the prehistoric tools they all soil was passed through 1/8-inch-mesh. A discovered in working prehistoric sites. Cur­ second trench, oriented east/west and inter­ rent mining practice is to identify the site of secting the first at the center of the mine, was prehistoric mines, remove the fill (muck) from also excavated. All materials were located these mines, and work exposed veins by hand. three dimensionally while in situ. Observations During this visit to the West Camp vicinity were recorded by notes and photographs. (SBr-207), we found the miners had set aside Preliminary processing, washing, cata­ all foreign materials—cultural remains— loguing, and analysis of cultural remains took encountered during their mucking operations. place at the San Bernardino County Museum. As all work was accomplished by hand, it Tools were described by the following attri­ appeared the miners were able to recover a butes: material, weight, dimensions, shape of high percentage of prehistoric remains. These utilized surface, type of wear, and presence of were stacked directly adjacent to the mines. purposeful shaping. All remains have been Because of the large quantity of tools and stored at the San Bernardino County Museum, tool spalls retained and our wish to excavate a and are referenced by accession number mine using archaeological methods, a second SBCM-387. Prior to and during analysis, the field trip was planned. In May, 1978, the collections of the museum were reviewed as authors and a crew of four spent two days were the collections and field notes of Malcolm examining the area within the Apache Canyon Rogers, which are housed at the San Diego Mining Company claims, collecting a large Museum of Man. Radiocarbon samples were sample of prehistoric artifacts, and excavating analyzed by the Archeometry Laboratory, a small prehistoric mine. University of California, Riverside. After reviewing cultural remains assembled MINING DISTRICT AND MINES about the numerous active mines, materials from one mine, the Bonnie Blue, were selected The Halloran Springs District, Manvel for study. This mine was the farthest from the District (Kuntz 1899, 1905; Pogue 1915), or mine headquarters and was the most recently Turquoise Mountain region (Rogers 1929), is excavated. These factors suggested that it was situated 25 km. northeast of Baker, California unlikely that many of the artifacts had been (Fig. 1). The district is characterized by two removed by rockhounds. Contemporary distinct topographic regions. The west and PREHISTORIC TURQUOISE MINING 247 central portions of the district are dominated they are marked by shallow, roughly circular by rugged, weathered ridges and hills rising to depressions. The actual mine is usually a maximum of some 250 m. above surrounding irregular, with its shape and size dictated by the alluvial deposits. The eastern region is domi­ occurrence of turquoise deposits. The mines nated by small mesas capped by Pleistocene range in size from prospects 2.5 m. by 2.0 m. by basalt lava flows. The southern portion is 0.7 m. to large mines 9.0 m. by 4.0 m. by 4.0m. deeply eroded, forming step-walled canyons; in extent. Mines on the scale of the latter are the northern aspect features gently sloping not unusual. Rogers (1929:4) describes the alluvial valleys and fans. mucking of a large mine at East Camp; compar­ able mines have been uncovered in the West Camp group (E. Nazelrod, 1978, personal communication). The following characterization of mine fill has been drawn from the excavation of a small open pit mine at West Camp. The surface sur­ rounding the mine exhibited a thin layer (0 to 10 cm.) of light yellow-brown sandy soil mixed with angular rock. The upper (0 to 30 cm.) level in the mine was a light gray-brown compact sandy soil with angular rock. No cultural remains occurred in the soil surrounding the Fig. 1. Location of the Halloran Springs district. mine or on the upper level within the mine. Below 30 cm. the soil became loose and rocky; Historically, mining claims have clustered a calcium carbonate cement coated many of in three areas: West Camp, Middle Camp, and the rocks. This soil persisted to bedrock; all East Camp (Kuntz 1899; Pogue 1915). These cultural remains occurred in this level. clusters also reflect aboriginal patterns of DESCRIPTION OF TOOLS mining. West Camp is located on the rugged western slopes of Turquoise Mountain. This The only published description of tools was probably the most heavily mined region from the Halloran Springs District is Rogers' prehistorically (Rogers 1929:5). Many of the 1929 account. He describes stone mauls, picks, mines have been obliterated by modern mining and axes. These groupings are based upon the activity or obscured by erosion. Middle Camp shape of the utilized surface: "blunt-nose is located 5 km. to the east on the eastern slopes hammer, a sharp-nose pick, and a chopping of Turquoise Mountain. Aboriginal mines are type similar to the double-bitted axe" (Rogers located about the base of the rocky slopes. 1929:5). Tool forms are further divided into There is little evidence of aboriginal mining at two classes: tools "crudely" shaped and made this location (Rogers n.d.). Seven kilometers from local basalt and those "carefully" shaped farther east is East Camp where aboriginal specimens of non-local materials. mines are situated in shallow alluvium near While the forms described by Rogers have low rock outcrops. In 1928, Rogers found this been recognized by subsequent researchers, to be the best preserved grouping of aboriginal they represent the unusual rather than the mines. commonplace tool forms. The current sample Prehistoric turquoise mines in the Halloran of 184 hammers contains 24 grooved or Springs District are of a open pit type.