BLM LIBRARY Background to Historic and Prehistoric Resources of the East Mojave Desert Region by Chester King and Dennis G. Casebier Archaeological Research Unit University of California, Riverside with sections by Matthew C. Hall and Carol Rector Prepared for the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT California Desert Planning Program 1695 Spruce Street Riverside, California 92507 Contract No. YA-512-CT6-14 May 31, 1976 BLM LIBRARY INCOMING wc RKFLOW CHECKLIST (04/15/2002) TYPE XC RECEIVE DATE I XC/BLM OC WHO HAS SEEN CC AC/AV BC ! DW RECLASS CT NM AUTHORITY BK KG ^ PROBLEM JP website' AA CATEGORY (S) MA (order) MA(recom) USFS/USGS ser:.es RA Priority BLM BOOK REV. BLM EOT Priority NonBIiM PREVIEW OTEER WEBSITE SPECIAL COI CTION \ 1 [ & PRESERVATIC)N • DONATION By 4- *W>m\ e C. 3- Background to Historic and Prehistoric Resources of the East Mojave Desert Region by Chester King and Dennis G. Casebier Archaeological Research Unit University of California, Riverside with sections by Matthew C. Hall and Carol Rector Prepared for the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT California Desert Planning Program 1695 Spruce Street Riverside, California 92507 Contract No. YA-512-CT6-14 May 31, 1976 D 80225 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF CONTENTS i LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii INTRODUCTION PART 1: BACKGROUND TO PREHISTORIC RESOURCES OF THE EAST MOJAVE PLANNING UNIT Chester King ETHNOHISTORIC AND ETHNOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND OF THE EAST MOJAVE PLANNING UNIT 3 The Southern Paiute Nation 3 Southern Paiute Tribes 5 Chemehuevi Chiefs 6 Ceremonial Gatherings 7 Bands 8 The Providence Mountain Band 9 Land Use and Settlement 10 Food Preparation and Storage . 14 Ornaments 15 Disposal of Dead 16 Trails 17 Tradition of the Desert Mohave 17 PREHISTORY IN THE EAST MOJAVE DESERT REGION 19 Changes in Environment and Population Distribution 19 Introduction 19 Importance of the Colorado River 20 Earliest Noted Occupations in the Vicinity of the Study Area: Malpais 21 Early Lake Shore Habitations: San Dieguito- Playa Complex 23 "Pinto" Period 25 Period of Increased Occupation in the Study Area (ca. 500 B.C. - A.D. 1870) 27 Turquoise Mining 30 Prehistory and Language Distribution 30 SUMMARY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE EAST MOJAVE PLANNING UNIT 34 Early Observations 34 Malcolm Rogers 34 Richard Van Valkenberg and Malcolm Farmer Expedition 34 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) Page Agnes Bierman and Albert Mohr 1948 Desert Study 34 Jack Smith Expeditions of 1958-1962 35 U.C. Berkeley Rustler's Rockshelter Excavation Expedition 35 Southcott Cave Expedition 35 True, Davis and Sterud 1965 Survey of the Providence- New York Mountain Area 35 Archaeological Research Incorporated, Bureau of Land Management Project 35 Arda Haenszel Surveys 35 San Bernardino County Museum Surveys 36 Shadow Valley Mobile Home Park - Environmental Impact Report 35 Kaiparowitz Transmission Line Survey 36 Conclusions 36 MUSEUM COLLECTIONS FROM THE EAST MOJAVE PLANNING UNIT 37 San Diego Museum of Man 37 Lowie Museum, U.C. Berkeley 37 University of California, Los Angeles Anthropology Museum 38 State Indian Museum - California Department of Parks and Recreation 38 San Bernardino County Museum 38 Bureau of Land Management - Desert Planning 38 Other Collections 39 VALUES OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE EAST MOJAVE PLANNING UNIT 40 Introduction 40 Scientific Values 41 Public Value 42 RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS 44 Explaining Changes in Artifact Forms 44 Explaining Variability in Pottery from the East Mojave Planning Unit 45 Explaining Changes in Projectile Point Forms 47 Explaining Changes in Site Distribution 49 Rock Art Research 50 Historical Linguistics Research 51 Salvage Research 51 APPENDICES 1. FOOD RESOURCES USED IN THE EAST MOJAVE PLANNING UNIT 54 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) Page Plant Foods 54 Freshwater Marsh 54 Alkaline Sink or Alkaline Areas on Slopes 55 Washes on Slopes 55 Sandy Areas - Dunes 56 Creosote Bush Scrub into Pinyon-Juniper 56 Creosote Scrub and Joshua Tree Woodland 57 Creosote Scrub 58 Joshua Tree Woodland to Pinyon-Juniper Woodland 59 Joshua Tree Woodland 59 Pinyon-Juniper Woodland 60 Domesticated Plants 60 Animals Used for Food in the Study Area 62 Vertebrate Animals Available in the Yucca Woodland Zone 63 Large Game Animals: Pinyon-Juniper Woodland 66 Small Mammals Used for Food 67 Invertebrate Animals Used for Food 68 2. INVENTORY OF SPRING/ SEEP LOCATIONS IN THE EAST MOJAVE DESERT REGION 70 Matthew C. Hall Introduction 70 General Features of the East Mojave Planning Unit 72 Spring/Seep Sites in the East Mojave Desert Region 76 The Inventory 80 3. SOUTHERN PAIUTE POPULATION DATA, POLITICAL ORGANIZATION AND LAND USE 194 Introduction 194 Population Data 194 Political Organization and Land Use 196 Chemehuevi Groups 197 Desert Chemehuevi 199 Ash Meadows 201 Pahrump 203 Amargosa River 203 Potosi Mountain 204 Kingston Mountains 204 Clark Mountain 204 Providence Mountains 205 Northern Chemehuevi 212 Indian Springs 212 Las Vegas 212 Callville 213 Cottonwood Island 214 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) Page Piedes 215 Moapa Valley, Muddy River 216 St. George 218 Shivwits 220 SUPPLEMENT TO APPENDIX 3 222 Dennis G. Casebler 4. POTTERY FOUND IN THE EAST MOJAVE DESERT 225 Introduction 225 Ceramics Traded from the Northeast 227 San Francisco Gray Ware 228 Prescott Gray Ware 228 Ticopa Brown Ware 229 Cronise Brown and Crucero Brown Wares 231 Tizon Brown Ware - Cerbat Brown, Sandy Brown and Aquarius Brown 232 Lower Colorado Buff Wares 233 5. ROCK ART OF THE EAST MOJAVE DESERT 236 Carol Rector Introduction 236 Sources of Data 236 Analysis 237 Archaeological and Environmental Factors 240 Dating of Rock Art 241 Styles Through Time 242 Function of East Mojave Rock Art 243 Recommendations 2A7 Conclusions 247 Acknowledgements 248 LITERATURE CITED 260 PART 2: HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE EAST MOJAVE PLANNING UNIT Dennis G. Casebier INTRODUCTION 279 PREHISTORY (BEFORE 1776) 281 SPANISH INVOLVEMENT (GARCE's & MORAGA) 283 TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) Page AMERICAN MOUNTAIN MEN (1826-1831) 285 OLD SPANISH TRAIL (1830-1848) 286 EARLY AMERICAN EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS (UP TO ABOUT 1857) 288 BEALE'S WAGON ROAD (1857-1861) 291 THE MOJAVE ROAD AS A WAGON ROAD (1859-1883) 295 MILITARY OPERATIONS AGAINST THE DESERT INDIANS (1860-1868) 297 MINING IN THE EAST MOJAVE (1863 TO PRESENT) 300 RAILROADS (1883 TO PRESENT) 307 SETTLEMENT AND POPULATION 311 CATTLE INDUSTRY 317 FARMING 320 PROHIBITION 322 DEPRESSION 323 MODERN ARMY TRAINING 324 RECREATION 326 BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT 328 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 329 Rock Spring /Government Holes Area 329 Battle Grounds from the Indian Wars 330 Ghost Towns 331 The Mojave Road as a Hiking Trail 333 Jedediah Strong Smith 336 Pah-Ute Creek 337 Foshay Pass 337 Cima Dome 338 Mines and Mining Camps 338 New Place Names 339 BIBLIOGRAPHY 341 LITERATURE CITED 343 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Pages Maps 1 The East Mojave Planning Unit and Desert Region viii 2 Tribal Boundaries and Distribution of Settlements 4 3 Settlements, Major Trails and Turquoise Mines 13 4 Linguistic Groups 31 5 Present Vegetation Distribution 53 6 Petroglyphs and Pictographs (Within the Study Area) 259 APPENDIX 2 Figures 1 USGS Topographic Quadrangles of the East Mojave Desert Region 71 2 10-Year Precipitation Record from China Spring Creek ca. 3.2 km East of Mountain Pass (In Inches) 75 3 Spring/Seep Locations in the East Mojave Desert Region 77 4 Distribution of East Mojave Desert Springs/Seeps by Elevation 79 Tables 1 East Mojave Planning Unit Spring/Seep Inventory: Distribution by USGS 15' Quadrangles 82 East Mojave Planning Unit Spring/ Seep Inventory: Master List 83 East Mojave Planning Unit Spring/Seep Inventory: Location Descriptions 90 East Mojave Planning Unit Spring/ Seep Inventory: Alphabetical Index 187 APPENDIX 3 Tables 1 1873 Population Data for the Moapa Group 217 APPENDIX 5 Figures 1 Anthropomorphs 249 2 Zoomorphs 250 3 Combination Elements 251 4 Curvilinear Elements 252 5 Rectilinear Elements 253 Charts 1 Guide to Archaeological and Environmental Characteristics of Rock Art Sites 254 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Members of the Bureau of Land Management Desert Planning Staff are to be thanked for their continued support throughout the preparation of this report. Herrick Hanks, Staff Archaeologist, was the source of useful information about the environment and resources of the Planning Unit, much of which was imparted during field trips to the East Mojave Desert. Garth Portillo and Dennis Gallegos, Archaeologists, were also of great help, as was Kristin Berry, Zoologist, who shared her knowledge of the biology of the study area. Wes Chambers, Assistant Director of the California Desert Plan Program assisted in the production of the historical section. We are indebted to the staffs of a number of museums, without whose cooperation this report would not have been possible. David Herod and Bob Warton of the Lowie Museum, Berkeley aided us in researching the study area collections and studying pottery types from surrounding regions to determine which are present in the Planning Unit. Clay Singer, as well as Andy Christenson, Museum Technicians at UCLA's Anthropology Museum helped inventory the UCLA collections. Ken Hedges and Paul Chase of the San Diego Museum of Man provided assistance with Malcolm Rogers' collections and pottery notes. Our thanks also go to Mr. Kantor, the University of California Berkeley Archivist who provided access to the Isabel Kelly notes on Southern Paiute ethnography; and to the staffs of the Bancroft Library, Berkeley, and the University of California Berkeley Documents Section who extended us every courtesy in our investigations. Invaluable support was lent by Phillip Wilke who supplied bibliographic information; Robert Crabteee who shared his knowledge of pottery in the Las Vegas area; and James West who directed us to sources on the paleo-environment of the Planning Unit. Dr. Christopher Donnan provided data on the excavations at Southcott Cave, and assisted in inventorying the collection from that site.