Californian Shell Artifacts

136 Pages·2007·18.65 MB·English

ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS
9:1
CALIFORNIAN SHELL ARTIFACTS
BY
E.W GIFFORD
APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL BONE ARTIFACTS
BY
PHILC. ORR
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
BERKELEY AND LOS ANGELES
1947
CALIFORNIAN SHELL ARTIFACTS
BY
E. W.GIFFORD
APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL BONE ARTIFACTS
BY
PHIL C. ORR
ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS
Vol. 9, No.1
ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS
EDITORS: A. L. KROEBER, E. W GIFFORD, R.H.LoWIE, R.L.OLSON
Volume9,No.I,PP.I-132,2figs.intext,57pp.illus.
Submitted byeditorsAugust24,1945
IssuedNovember7,1947
Price,$2.00
UNIVERSITY OFCALIFORNIA PRESS
BERKELEY AND LOS ANGELES
CALIFORNIA
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON,ENGLAND
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CO1NTENTS
Page
Preface. 1
* * *0 : * * * x * * x
Introduction 2
* * * * * * *
Areas and sites. * * * * 0 2
Archaeological types. * * * * * * v 4
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Use of ethnological specimens. * * * * 6
Description and distribution of archaeological types * * * . * * * * * * * 7
EDxicsltursiibvuetliyonetofhnoslhoelglicaalndtbyopnees types * * * *a *6 ** ** e ** ** ** 00 *. .* *. .* .* .* * 5408
TemporMaloderrenlattiyopness . . * 0 * * * * ** ** ** ** ** ** * 5522
. .
Delta Region . . * * * * . * * * * * * * 52
Sacramento Valley . * * * * * * * * 56
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
BSaoyutRheegrinonCoas.t. . . . . . . . . * * * * * *0 *0 : * * * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** 5579
Californian types in the Southwest * * * * * * * * * * * 61
References cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Museu.Dm.o N*at*ur*al* * * * * * * - 63
Illustrated archaeological shell specimens * * * * * * * 65
Illustrated ethnological shell specimens . * * *0 : * * * a* * * * 0 * * * * * * - 112
Appendix. Additional Bone Artifact Types in the Santa * *D * * 0 * a * 0 H*is*to*ry*.* * e
By Phil C. Orr . . . . 115
Illustrated bone artifact types. * * * * * * e 120
* * * * * * e
FIGURES IN TEXT
1. Styles of incising and grooving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. Styles of punctations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CALIFORNIAN SHELL ARTIFACTS
BY
E. W.GIFFORD
PREFACE
This work is the second of a series to de- the artifacts. Mr. Allyn G. Smith aided with his
scribe and illustrate the types of artifacts profound knowledge of fresh-water species. I am.
foufnd archaeologically within the modern bound- also indebted to Dr. Leo G. Hertlein, Dr. S. S.
aries of California and represented by spec- Berry, and Messrs. Tom and J. Q. Burch for aid in
imens in the collection of the University of identifications. Mr. Steve A. Glassell kindly
California Museum of Anthropology. Specimens identified the crab, of which the rattle pictured
in the James A. Barr collection, on deposit at as X3bI, is made. Typing and some sorting and
the Museum, have been included. counting were done by personnel of Work Projects
The initial segregation of the shell arti- Administration as part of Official Project No.
facts was done by Frank J. Essene, whose serv- 65-1-08-62, Unit A-15. Most of the drawings for
ices became available through funds supplied illustrations were made by A. E. Treganza, a few
by the Federal gnd State Emergency Relief Admin- by Norman Bilderback.
istrations. Sdbsequent sorting of types was No UCMA specimens catalogued after September
done with the assistance of National Youth Ad. 30, 1941, are included. At that time the terminal
ministration workers: Bert A. Gerow, Evelyn V. catalogue numbers were 1-60337 and 1-64615. Num-
Hansen, William C. Massey, Russell W. Newman, bers 1-60338 to 1-64000 were unused at that date.
E. Margaret Tetzlaff, Adan E. Treganza, Tamie The Elmer J. Dawson collection, donated to the Uni-
Tsuchiyama, and Marie V. Vidolin. Professor versity since Californian Bone Artifacts (Gifford,
Bruce L. Clark gave most generously of his time 1940) was written, has greatly enlarged the series
in identifying the molluscan species used for of shell artifacts available for study.
[1]
INTRODUCTTION
The vast majority of shell artifacts had no 9, Catlin and Higgins' ranch i mi. SE of
utilitarian purpose, but probably served as or- Carpenteria, Santa Barbara co.
naments, money, beads, pendants, gorgets, ear 10, SE bank of Rincon cr. mouth, Ventura co.
ornaments, nose pins, etc. Some exceptions to
text,
this are shell fishhooks, the possible use of Island sites: Santa Cruz is. In site num-
-Haliotis rims for gouges, and of shells as paint bers are preceded by C, which should not be con-
and asphaltum containers. The shells most abun- fused with .the C preceding some DR sites where
dantly used were Haliotis, Olivella, and clam. it refers to University of California site num-
The bulk of the shell artifacts in the UCMA bers as opposed to Sacramento Junior College
are from the Southern Coast, Delta, and San numbers which are indicated by S.
Francisco Bay regions. Certain types, such as
3, 16, 39 Forney's cove.
shell fishhooks and banjo-shaped Haliotis orna- 83, West ranch.
ments, are very localized, while clam and 100, Posa landing.
Olivella beads are found over much of the state.
103, 104, Johnson's landing.
This latter fact suggests that the shell beads
107, Laguna pt.
were used extensively in trade. 122, Willows.
All artifacts described are of molluscan CocIe
131, Prietos.
shell, except type B4 (annelid worm tube). 135, 138, Smuggler's cove.
147, 197, 198, Prisoner's harbor.
AREAS AND SITES
154, 159, Orizaba.
No maps are published in this paper because Santa Rosa is. In text, site numbero
those in my paper on Californian Bone Artifacts are preceded by R.
will suffice. A few new sites are referred to 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 15, 19, 30, 32, 34,
isneemtshespurfefsiecnitentplayperd,esbcurtibetdheiirn ptrheicsisaendlooctahteiron 35. (No names for these sites.)
papers referred to, without resorting to making San Clemente is. (Clemente).
new maps. In any event, so far as possible ex- San Miguel is. (Miguel).
act localities are recorded in the archaeological San Nicolas is. (N).
archives of the Museum, and are available to ar- Santa Cat&lina is. (Catalina).
chaeclogists and specialists who may desire more
precise data. Miscellaneous: (Unrepresented on map 2)
Southern Coast (SCP-..-Islands and adjacent LSoasntaOsBosarbv.a,raSarnegiLounisorObSiasnptoacoB.arbara.
San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los
Angeles coast. See Gifford, 1940, map 2. Port Los Angeles, Los Angeles co.
Tecolote cr., Santa Barbara co.
Sand dunes, S of pt. Sal, Santa Barbara co.
Mainland sites: In text, site numbers are pre-
ceded by M.
1, Mescal is., More ranch, Goleta, Santa San Joaquin Valley (SJ).--San Joaquin v., from
Barbara co. Kern co. t6 San Joaquin co. See Gifford, 1940,
6, NW bank of Rincon cr. mouth, Santa map 1, in which sites 6, 15, 19 are shown. In
Barbara co. present paper sites in Kings, Fresno, and Stanis-
laus counties are included.
1-The following abbreviations are employed in 4, Pelican is., Buena Vista Lake.
this paper: 6, Elk Grove, Kern co.
SC, SC,outShaenrtna CCorausztis. ccor..,, ccoruenekty 148,, EGlookseHilLlask,e,KKeerrnncoc.o.
M, mainland ft., feet 15, Elk Hills, Kern co.
N, San Nicolas is. in., inch(es) 19, Adobe Holes, Kern co.
R, Santa Rosa is. is., island 33, Wedel's Buena Vista Lake site 2 (see
DSRJ,, DSC,aenltUfanJoiorRvaneeqiguraiisonisntiVytaelolfneuymCbaelri.- mmmmdimt....,,,, mmmmioioluluenlndit/maeitner -3490,: WWeeWddeeedlle''lss,BBu1u9ee4nn1aa).VViissttaa LLaakkee ssiittae 13..
S, Sacramento Junior pt., point 41, Wedel's Buena Vista Lake site 4.
College site number. r., river 42, Wedel's Buena Vista Lake site 5.
BSVR,, SSaacnrFarmaenntcoisVcaollBeayy Region Nv.,,S,Ev,aWl,leyNorth 57, Stanislaus co. (Township 3 S, Range
NHRR,, HNuampbaolRdetgioRnegion WSeosutthtaEnadst' 87, Kin7gEs,coS.ect(i3o-n2mi2.9).NW of Lemoore).
NE, northeastern California combinations) 125, Fresno c9., (10.9 mi. SSW of Kerman).
ML, miscellaneous locations
[2
GIFFORD: CALIFORNIAN SHELL ARTIFACTS 3
150, Kern co. (1li mi. N of NcKittrick; Some locations not mapped: Sacramento; Rose-
also numbered 39 by Wedel). bud ranch, nr. Hoods Sacramento co.; Dave Ray md.,
Alpaugh, Tulare co. ca. 2 mi. W of Tracy; vicinity of Stockton; at
Delta Region (DR).--Delta region between Sac- Indian Slough, nr. Brentwood, Contra Costa co.;
ramento and Stockton, to rising ground at foot Veale Tract, Contra Costa co.; Winters site 3, on
of Sierra Nevada to eastward and Coast Range to S bank of Putah cr., Yolo co.; Bloom Group, Stone
westward. Includes more than physiographic delta; Lake, Sacramento co.
in terms of counties, Sacramento S of the American
r., San Joaquin, and parts of Yolo, Solano, and Sacramento Valley (SV).--Sacramento v. from con-
Contra Costa are included. All sites lie below fluence of Sacramento and American rivers N to Red-
ding, Shasta co. See Gifford, 1940, map 1; also
the 100-ft. contour line. See Gifford, 1940, map
Lillard, Heizer, and Fenenga, map 4.
3; also Lillard, Heizer, and Fenenga, maps 1-5.
S 1, Miller md., 10 mi. SE of Grimes,
Schenck and Dawson (pp. 312-315) numbers and con- Colusa co.
tinuation thereof:
S 2, Howell's Point md., Colusa co.
C 1, Cantrell md. S 3, Sandhill md., Colusa co.
C 6, Johnson md. S 11, Vernon md., Sutter co.
C 10, Allyn md. S 13, Mustang md., Yolo co.
C 15, Old Crump ranch. Red Bluff md. 1.
C 19, Old Crump ranch. Sacramento r., E bank, just below Little
C 43, C 44, or C 45, McCauley ranch. Antelope cr., Tehama co.
C 47, Bucker md. Redding (nr. which is a site).
C 48, DeVries md. Site, 6 mi. S of Vina, Tehama co., in
C 59, Koontz md. Butte co., T23N R2W.
C 60, Barber md. Sites on W side of Sacramento r., 7 or 8
C 66, Old Glenn ranch mi. and 12 mi. upstream from Knights
C 68, Old Journeay md. About % mi. S of C 142. Landing, Yolo co. (not mapped). Speci-
C 69, Vail ranch. mens from the former from Dr. Stuart C.
C 70, Vail ranch. Way, from the latter from Mr. R. B.
80, Stockton Channel md. Bernard.
C
81, Woods ranch, Roberts is. Squaw cr., above Ydalpom, Shasta co.
C
82, Walker Slough md. Old Johnson md., on bank of Sacramento r.,
C
83, Ott md. 5 mi. E. of Cottonwood, Shasta co.
CC
85, Mormon Channel md. (Copperopolis road) Site near Chico, Butte co.
C
86, Pool md.
C
87, Martin md. Ba Region (BR).--Shores and nearer hinterland
C
89, Roberts is. md. of San Francisco, an Pablo, and Suisun bays (ex-
C
90, Lewis md. cept Napa, Sonoma, and Solano cos.). See Gifford,
C
91, Walker Slough is. md. 1940, map 4.
C
107, Windmiller md.
C
109, Drescher md. Nelson (1909) numbers and continuation thereof:
C
121, Goethe md. 4.
C 3, Sausalito.
126, Booth md.
C 10, Mill Valley.
C 127, Augustine md. 35, Tiburon.
138, Hotchkiss md.
C 76, Greenbrae.
139, Bagley md.
C 86c, San Rafael.
140, Banta md.
C 123, md. ca. 3 mi. N of San Rafael.
141, Orwood md. 2.
C 250a, Maltby md.
142, McGillivray md. 1.
C 259, Pinole.
151, Simone md.
Fernandez md., somewhere nr. 259 or 260,
Sacramento Junior College numbers: inland from Rodeo, Contra Costa co.
267, nr.. Giant, Contra Costa co.
S 16, Bennett md.
283, Potrero San Pablo.
S 28, Strawberry md.
295, Ellis Landing.
S 29, King Brown md.
298, 300, Stege.
S 51, Clarksburg md.
307, West Berkeley.
S 56, Mosher md. 309, Emeryville.
S 60, Hicks md. 1.
316, Alameda.
S 66, Hollister md.
328, 329, Newark.
S 73, Von Lobensels md. 330, Coyote Hills, nr. Newark.
S 85, Nicolaus md. 356, Ponce (or Mt. View) md.
S 99, Deterding md. 372, San Mateo.
S 100, Jacobs md. (Woodland). 387, Bay Shore.
4 ANTROPOLOGICAL RECORDS
407, Half Moon Bay. ARCHAEOLOGICAL TYPES
420, Walnut Creek.
Orinda, Contra Costa co. Size is seldom given in the descriptions be-
Castlewood Country Club, nr. cause it does not seem to be an essential char-
Pleasanton, Alameda co. acter. Shape, perforations, presence or absence
Mill Valley, Marin co. of incising, and species of shell used seem more
Yerba Buena is. important. Often size veries widely. Illustra-
Tomales Bay, Marin co., sites: See tions give considerable clue to the extent of
Gifford, 1940, map 1; also R. F. Heizer, this variation. ME?ny types, especially of Halio-
1941d, map on p. 320: tis ornaments, are not illustrated because the
201,Tom's pt. only difference is in species and it seemed unwar-
266, McClure md., Tom_le.sBay. ranted to attempt species differentiation in the
242, Cauley md., Drake's Estero. illustrations. Consequently, illustrations of
232b, Estero md., Limantour's Estero. one type made from one species of Haliotis some-
275, Mendoza md., Drake's Bay. times serve also for related types made from other
Dillon beach. species of Haliotis, revealing the range in size
and shape of the related types.
'Napa Region (R).--Sonoma-Napa-Solano region Figures 1 and 2 show styles of incising, groov-
ing, and punctations. Incised edges grade into
to co'ver Sonoma and Napa valleys and adjacent
Lake co.; and Vallejo-Benicia region. See Gif. serrate edges. Deep incising tends to be serrate
ford, 1940, map 1. on one face dt least. Figures 1 and 2, types El
and J4, show extreme serration. Parallel-line in-
236, Carquinez md., Solano co. cising (at right angle to the edge, 1 and 2 in fig.
237, Benicia md., Solano co. 1) is the prevalent type in the DR. It also occurs
Oakville, Napa co. (nr. which is Goddard commonly elsewhere. In the SC region crosshatched
md., from which come specimens listed incising (4 of fig. 1) is about equally common.-
as Oakville). V-incising (4 and 5 of fig. 1) is related to it;
crosshatching sometimes looks like V's carelessly
Humboldt Region -(R).--Humboldt Bay region, done. Oblique parallel-line incising (3 of fig. 1)
from Cape Mendocino N to Orick. See Gifford, is also commoner in'SC than elsewhere. On the
1940, map 1.
67, on Gunther is., off waterfront of
Eureia.
Orick (nr. which is prehistoric Yurok
site SigonoiL.
Humboldt Bay (not mapped). I
Northeastern California (NE).--Cave 1, Tule 3
Lake, Modoc co. (T5E, R46N, Sec. 10).
6
2
Lower Klamath Lake (in SE portion of which
'N
is an is. site). N
N
Lower Klamath Lake (in SE portion
of which is an is. site). AAAAAA.AAA?.)($j&A,. .
4
Miscellaneous Lccations ML).--See Gifford.
1940, map 1. Fig. 1. S&yles of incising and grooving.
1 mi. W of Salt Worff,-Saline v., Inyo co.
Moss Landing, Monterey Bay (nr. which is a
site).
Carmel Mission, Monterey co.
Yosemite.
Carmel r. mouth, Monterey co.
Round Valley, Mendocino co. Sites numbered.
Dettert site 1, 4 mi. from Middletown, Lake co.
Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras co. Specimens do-
nated by R. B. Bernard from McKisson property
on West Point Road.
O'neal Cave, between Cave City and Sheep Ranch,
Calaveras co.
Cave 1, Tule Lake, Modoc co., in Sec. 10, T5E,
R46N, Mt. Diablo Base and Meridian. Fig. 2. Styles of punctations.
GIFFORD: CALIFORNIAN SHELL ARTIFACTS 5'
whole, the most delicately executed incising comes the principal difficulties in classification
from SC. Usually incising is on one face of an because of great variati.on in shape due to raw
edge only, rarely on two faces; i.e., obverse and material, to the-makers' use thereof, to dam-
reverse. DR incising is coarse in comparison with age and reworking, to weathering, and to other
SC work. Grooving (6 of fig. 1) is rare. Unless causes of deterioration after manufacture.
otherwise stated, punctations or tiny pits (fig
2) are near edges of objects. They are evidently Index To Orders
drilled, as are most perforations.
Illustrations of type C4 exemplify methods of Univalves
perforating shell, as described in the introduc- A. Whole shell as container (in part)
tory text for order C. Illustrations of X types B. Tubular shell
of Olivella biplicata beads show the parts of the C. Perforated
shell from which derived. F. Top removed
Use of the paper involves identification of G. Olive shell with top and bottom
molluscan species. No attempt has been made to removed
describe or picture these. Hence, if the reader H. Natural shell opening: cowry, keyhole
does not know the species, recourse to published limpet apical opening, Haliotis si-
works on Californian shell species, or consulta- phonal opening
tion with a conchologist, is indicated, especially .I. Peripheral ring of limpet shell
if the purpose is to classify shell artifacts. J. Ring (in part)
Consultation of the following works (see Bibliog- L. Disk (in part)
raphy) is suggested, thoi-gh the first one may be AT. Fishhook (in part)
found sufficient: Josiah Keep, Keen and Frizzell, AV, Tube (in part
W. H. Dall, A. M. Keen, I. S. Oldroyd. AW. Globular bead (in part)
Shell types which comprise nearly complete a4d AY. Lunate-lenticular object (in part)
only slightly worked shells have not been pic- See also headings Olive Shell only and
tured, as these can be identified by illustra- Haliotis only.
tions in conchological works, especially Keep.
There may be adverse criticism of my counting Pelecypod (Bivalves)
objects made of unidentified Haliotis shell as
separate types from objects made of identified A. Whole valve as container (in part)
Haliotis shell, since the unidentified .material D. Perforated valve
no doubt 1elongs to one of the recognized species E. "Saw" of river-mussel valve
in each case. Two other possible procedures, J. Ring (in part)
neither warranted in my estimation, were to as- L. Disk (in part)
sign the objects to one species or another ar- R. Clam trapezoidal
bitrarily, or not to consider them at all. T. Rectangular ornament or bead
Identification was usually made on the basis of V. Disk or oval
the epidermis; unidentified Haliotis shell in- W." Triangular
AT. Fishhook (in part)
variably has all epidermis removed.
AV. Tube (in part)
I have tried to classify as objectively as
AW. Globular bead (in part)
possible and have largely avoided guesses at
AX. Fusiform, perforated
function, except in obvious cases like fish-
AY. Lunate-lenticular object (in part)
hooks. The classification is at most fourfold
and might be roughly compared with order, fam-
Olive shell only
ily, genus, and species in a zoological classi-
fication. The analogy could be carried farther G. Top and bottom removed
by likening bone artifacts and shell artifacts X. Beads
to zo6logical classes. In the section, "De- Y. Complete shell in composite artifacts
scription and Distribution of Archaeological
Types," the order designation is in capital
Haliotis onl
letters centered on a column; the total number
of specimens in each order follows the captions, K. Disk or oval, perforated
in parentheses. The number of specimens of each M. Lozenge
type follows the typt designation. N. "Banjo"
An index follows which I trust will prove 0. Pentagonal
helpful in locating the orders in which various P. Trapezium
artifacts and species are to be found. Use of Q. Trapezoidal
the paper in manuscript by Mr. Phil C. Orr, of S. Rectangular ornament or bead
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, re- U. Triangular
vealed the need and usefulness of such an index. Z. Sausage shape
I am also indebted to Mr. Orr for other criticism. AA. Oval with 1 or more straight sides
The forms listed under "Haliotis only" offer AB. Half-disk or half-oval
6 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS
AC. Leg-of-mutton X. Olive shell
AD. Harp shape AN. Pearl or blister of Haliotis
AE. Dorsal-fin shape AU. Columella
AF. Teardrop shape AV. Tube
AG. Fusiform AW. Globular
AH. Boot shape
AI. Dumbbell Holes (natural or artificial, larger than perfo-
AJ. Hand shape ration) -
AK. Cruoiform
F. Univalve with top removed
AL. Bird form
G. Olive shell with top and bottom removed
AM. Hexagonal
H. Natural shell opening
AN. Pearl or blister
I. Peripheral ring of limpet shell
AO. Flat or curved rim with angle
AP. Crescent J. Artificial ring (various species)
AT. Fishhooks
AQ. Trough shape
AR. 'Side-scoop"
AS. Including spire
USE OF ETHNOLOGICAL SPECITIENS
Clam only
Although the prime purpose of this paper is
R. Trapezoidal to describe the types of archaeological shell
artifacts, ethnological occurrences of archae-
Columella only ological types are cited, because of their two-
fold importance. First, they contribute to an
AU.
understanding of the use and function of the
archaeological types, which basically is never
Beads and tubes (perforated)
more than conjectural for types that have not
B. Tubular shell (natural) persisted into contemporary usage. Second, they
C. Whole univalve, perforated give a definite terminal date for the life of
F. Univalves with top removed the artifact types they represent, and thus con-
H. Keyhole limpet, apical openings (in part) tribute to a time perspective in dealing with
K. Haliotis disks (in part) the chronology of Californian prehistory.
S. Haliotis rectangular bead (in part) Certain ethnological types unrepresented in
T. Pelecypod rectangular bead (in pert) the archaeological collection are described un-
V. Pelecypod disk or oval, perforated der the caption "Exclusivelyr Ethnological
(in part) Types."