A Delta Intrusion to the Bay in the Late Middle Period in Central California Jam A. BEnnyhoff (1968) HE PURPOSE OF THS PAPER is to briefly outline the sites where they were first recognized. lTus the a distinct archaeological culture in Central Cali- Early Horizon will be termed the Windmiller Pattem; fornia which has received little attention in the pub- the Middle Horizon will be termed the Berkeley lished literature. All sorts of problems still obscure Pattem; and the Late Horizon will be termed the this culture, particularly the lack of adequate excava- Augustine Pattem. Each of these may have lasted for tion. In addition, however, it is not possible to some 2000 years, and are divisible into a number of incorporate the available data in the current taxo- sequential phases. This paper is concemed with a nomic framework formalized by Beardsley (1948). probable fusion of the Windmiller and Berkeley pat- The Early, Middle, and Late horizons ofBeardsley are tems which resulted in a distinct culture of long more comparable to what Willey and Phillips (1958) duration which, for now, I will term an aspect. An have termed traditions; Beardsley'sphases represent altemative term would be subtradition or sector, but Willey and Phillips's horizons; and Beardsley's fa- this vexing problem of systematics must be dealt with cies constitute phases in the Willey and Phillips elsewhere. scheme. As Willey himself has recently recognized, The subject of this paper is what I will term the a still more elaborate framework of cultural units is Meganos aspect. The few published sites referable to often needed, particularly in Califomia where small the Meganos aspect (e.g., CCo-141 [Lillard, Heizer groups of independent tribelets adapted to particular and Fenenga 1939]; CCo-146 [Cook and Elsasser ecological niches which changed through time. I feel 1956]) have previously been included in the Middle that some elaboration of the Willey and Phillips Horizon, but it is felt thatthe cultural configuration (in taxonomic scheme is needed in Califomia, but the particularthe mortuary complex) is sufficiently diver- particular form and terminology will require group gent from the contemporaneous Berkeley Pattem to effort. For the purposes of this paper, I will merely justify the definition of a new aspect. The name statethatthe Bay and Deltaregionscanbedivided into meganos is derived from the Spanish word for sand five districts in the historic to late Prehistoric period. dune or sand mound and is pertinent because afavored Inadequate data often obscure earlier relationships. practice of this group was the interment of the dead in Shell beads and ornaments provide successive inte- non-middencemeteries inthe elevated crownsof sand grative horizons. mounds scattered around the mouths of the Sacra- For the moment, Iwill label the traditions after mento and San Joaquin rivers. It appears to have 8 Toward a New Taxonomic Framework for Central California developed first in the Stockton District sometime still being formed, and imply a drier climate. A between 2000-1500 B.C., then to have spread west- number of contemporaneous midden sites of the Ber- ward to the Walnut Creek drainage, and probably keley Pattem in the Walnut Creek District were sub- reached the actual bay shore along San Pablo and sequently buried by excessive erosion, implying a Rodeocreeks,displacingtheresidentpopulation. With- wetter cycle. Interments at Sac- 104 were made from drawal and a return to the Stockton District may be the stabilized surface of the indurated Piper sands, indicated around the beginning of the Christian era while the terminal Meganos burials at CCo-20, as well during the transition from the Berkeley to the Augus- as burials ofthe Augustine Pattem, appearto be buried tine Pattem. The fate of this long-lasting group is in later, non-indurated Oakley sands which may indi- obscured by lack of data, but local amalgamation into cate another dry cycle. The effect of the still continu- the Augustine Pattem seems probable. ing subsidence, a change from reed to tule, and evi- Analysis of this culture is hampered by a series of dence for submergence and uplift provided by peat problems. We know almost nothing about the archae- beds within the Piper sands all remain uninvestigated ologyofabroadstripofterritorybetweentheTuolumne at the present time. Only one of the Meganos sites is and Merced rivers, and only a skeletal framework is on a main channel of the San Joaquin River, while appearing farther south in the San Joaquin Valley. most sites ofthe Augustine Pattem are clustered on the Hence our view of wider relationships is very limited. riverbank. In short, our understanding of the Stockton None of the shellmounds directly on the north shore of District will always be incomplete until multiple dis- San Francisco Bay were excavated, and our knowl- ciplines unravel the pre-levee history of the Delta. edge of the adjacent shores to the north and west is Despite these inadequacies, I will assume that the virtually nil. While a number of sites can be placed in available sample is representative, but must empha- this aspect (see table 1.1), all but three represent size that additional excavation is needed to clarify the salvage excavations or small test pits with minimal relationships proposed herein. sampling. Additional problems (rarity of mortuary What follows is a general description of the offerings, incomplete notes, incomplete analysis) also Meganos aspect, omitting the Terminal phase which introduce serious interpretive obstacles. The Garwood was transitional to the Augustine Pattem and wit- (SJo- 147) and Simone (CCo-139) sites, both of which nessed radical changes. I will conclude with a brief were extensively excavated, are now represented by historical outline of this aspect as dimly viewed at inadequate notes only. Eight of the sites represent present. non-midden cemeteries with an artifact inventory The most distinctive characteristic of Meganos largely confined to very rare mortuary offerings. The is the mortuary complex, which stands in sharp con- frequency of grave offerings is notoriously low, even trast with contemporaneous behavior in all adjacent by standards of the Berkeley Pattem. The midden of distrcts. The burial position is non-standardized, and the village sites also has a very poor yield. A test pit every phase reveals a contemporaneous practice of 54" deep in CCo-2 did not yield a single artifact. ventral extension, dorsal extension, and tight flexure No attempt has been made to reconstruct the with a complete rejection (absence?) of cremation. environment of the Delta from 2-4000 years ago Full extension on the side, semi-extension, and semi- despite various suggestions that differences in rain- flexure occur rarely. The most common position is fall, drainage pattems, and vegetation may well have ventral extension; all 500 burials from the Garwood affected local settlement pattems. The sand mounds site (SJo-147) are reported to have been ventrally provide some evidence for significant change. They extended; and fourother sites have yielded only prone represent wind deposited sand now so indurated that burials, but a larger sample from the same sites would they are difficult to dig with a pick, let alone a digging probably reveal variation. In the late phase at Simone stick. The oldest one, CCo- 146, yielded burials at 5- (CCo- 139) and in the terminal phase at Orwood (CCo- 6 feet depth. Such depths indicate that these burials 141) and Dal Porto (CCo-20), there is a shift to dorsal must have been interred while the sand mound was extension nearly equalled by fiexure. Delta Intrusion to the Bay in the Late Middle Period 9 TABLE 1.1 Archaeological Sites in Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento, and San Joaquin Counties with Components Attributable to the Mepnos Aspect Ala-413 (Livermore)a CCo-31 la CCo-2 (Bemardo)a Sac_66 (Morse)a CCo-3a Sac-104 (Tyler Lsland #3)a CCo-18 (Manh)a SJo-17a CCO_l9a ."1 CCo-19t ~~~~~~~~~~SJo-66a CCO-20 (Dal Porto) SJo-82 (Walker Slough)b CCo-31 (Hall Ranch)a SJo-87 (Martin)a CCo- 139 (Simone)b SJo-91 (French Camp Slough)b CCo-141 (Orood)b SJo- 106 (Castle)a CCOIl46a SJo_139 (Bagley)a CCO_147a SJo_147 (Garwood FenY)a CCO 148a SJo- 1 54 (Cardinal)a CCo-151 (El Sobrante)b a salvage or small test excavaton; b, excavated. Burial position thus provides striking evidence Another linkage with the Windmiller Pattem in support of distinct districts-contemporaneous only is provided by the contemporaneous practice of phases in the Cosumnes District to the north reveal burial within the village and also interment in isolated over 90% tight flexure with a minor occurrence of non-midden cemeteries away from the village. These cremations; the Alameda District to the west reveals cemeteries pose a host of problems yet to be resolved. 95% flexure, a scattering of extensions, and no crema- No village sites lacking burials have yet been exca- tion. Equivalent data to the south are unavailable, but vated anywhere in this region. The frequent isolation no emphasis on ventral extension is yet apparent until of these cemeteries suggests that the associated vil- one reaches Buena Vista Lake. One can suggest that lage sites are now buried under sterile flood deposits. this variability in burial position may reflect family Less likely altematives would include differential lineages. The ventral extension would appear to choice by certain lineages, or seasonal variation, with represent a holdover from the older Windmiller Pat- winter burial in the villages and cemetery burial dur- tern,whilethe flexure was possibly introduced through ing other times of the year. The latter possibility is intermarriage with foreign groups of the Berkeley suggested by the fact that none of the Meganos cem- Pattern. At present, the available data do not support eteries have as high a density of burials as that found any age, sex, or status differentiation in burial position. in Windmiller cemeterieS. 10 Toward a New Taxonomic Frameworkfor Central California Two other characteristics of the mortuary com- points occur, while there is a late emphasis on white plex, orientation and frequency of mortuary offerings, chert and chalcedony, especially for large ceremonial relatetotheBerkeleyPattemratherthantheWindmiller points. All chipped stone is rarer than in other pat- Pattem. The Windmiller emphasis on westerly orien- tems. Presence of the atlatl is. assumed, but no spurs tation is replaced by the lack of interest in directional have yet been found. Bird bone and fish bone are of placement of the corpse typical of the Berkeley Pat- minor importance, in sharp contrast to the succeeding tem. Although a westerly trend is still evident, a Augustine Pattem. Only two sets of fish spears have northem emphasis occurs in the westem sites, and any been found, although sites of the transitional terminal large sample reveals all directions of the compass. phase have yielded over 100 specimens. No positive Once again, it is possible that certain lineages main- evidence of warfare has been found, although several tained their own family customs in this matter. As possible group burials may reflect conflict. The bone mentioned earlier, the rarity of grave goods with industry is less developed than in the Berkeley Pattem Meganos burials is even more extreme than the low andlargelyconfinedtoawls,fishspears,andhairpins. frequency typical of the Berkeley Pattem. The polished stone industry is not developed, being The settlement pattem differs markedly from represented by a single channstone and one cup-like that exhibited by the Berkeley Pattem, as well as that cloud blower (the latter is decorated with applique revealed by sites ofthe following Augustine Pattem in Olivella saucer beads set in asphaltum). In the late the Stockton District. Midden depths of Meganos phases there is an emphasis on stone earspools; while sites are relatively shallow and few sites as yet reveal steatite was preferred, sandstone, baked clay, bone, continuous occupation through more than two succes- and wood also were used. Aside from these rare clay sive phases. A semi-sedentary pattem would seem to earspools, there is no baked clay industry in Meganos be represented, with greater emphasis on seasonal sites in the stoneless south Delta. movement and much more frequent shifts in village Ceremoniallifeispoorlydocumented. Meganos locations than is typical of either the Berkeley or sites have yielded only one channstone of local type. Augustine pattern. A small population and less per- Most distinctive is an emphasis on large ceremonial manent architecture are implied. points made of white chert and obsidian. One burial Economic activities are more closely related to from CCo-3 11 yielded several such points (figs. 1.1 - the Berkeley Pattern, but with significant differences. 1.3 herein); similar chert specimens were found at The bowl mortar and pestle are clearly dominant and Ala413, CCo-2, and CCo-151, and as trade items indicate primary reliance on the acom. At least one with a flexed burial at the Berkeley Pattem site Ala- chisel-pointed pestle indicates knowledge of the 307 (Wallace and Lathrap 1975: pl. 3q, r). Variant wooden mortar typical of the Cosumnes District, but forms in obsidian were made near Stockton. Long dominance of the stone mortar serves to differentiate bird bone whistles are very rare. Shamanism may be the Stockton District. Despite the need to transport represented by one small cloud blower decorated with these heavy basic implements into the stoneless delta, Olivella saucer beads set in asphaltum. this difference between the Stockton and Cosumnes The presence or absence of certain aspects of districts persists through the Augustine Pattem. Mill- technology may be of great importance. Basketry ing stones and handstones are rarer and confined to awls, so important in the Berkeley Pattem for the four Delta sites. This suggests a greater emphasis on manufacture of coiled basketry, are so far absent in seeds and may reflect a drier climate during the earlier both the Windmiller Pattem and the Meganos aspect. phases. Similar relationships are indicated by the paucity of Projectile points are relatively rare, as in the bone tools and ornaments. No atlatl spurs, wedges, Berkeley Pattern,but the hunting of deer, tule elk, and sweat scrapers, mesh gauges, or perforated pins and smallergame was important. Dartpoints,spearpoints, ornaments have yet been found in Meganos sites. and knives are usually made of obsidian, and leaf- Pointed serration of ceremonial points in both chert shaped forms predominate. Rare basalt and chert dart and obsidian may represent the prototype for the Delta Intrusion to the Bay in the Late Middle Period 11 Augustine Pattem of square serration which probably began, and certainly reached its climax, in the Stock- ton District. Trade was relatively undeveloped. Ob- sidian was imported into the Stockton District, but 0:-A local chert was more important in the Walnut Creek District. Shell beads and ornaments, as well as red ochre, are remarkably rare. 4 Despite acknowledged deficiencies in available data, thefollowing summary of the Meganos aspect 3 can be offered. Meganos spans the entire Upper Archaic period and, as presently understood, is X coterminous with the Stockton District. The heartland 8 is the south Delta region including the network of sloughs at the mouth of the San Joaquin River. The - culture represents a coalescence of the earlier Windmiller Pattem and the Berkeley Pattern which intruded into the north Delta. The resultant fusion produced a unique combination ofcultural traits which persisted until replacement (with limited fusion) by I - the Augustine Pattem of the Emergent period. In- creasing acculturation to the Berkeley Pattem seems evident through time. During the later portion of the Upper Archaic period the Meganos aspect (and the Stockton District) expanded westward through the Walnut Creek Valley and down San Pablo Creek to reach the shores of San Francisco Bay. Atthe end of the UpperArchaic period the acculturated bearers of the Meganos aspect with- drew to the south Delta heartland, while a splinter group may have moved to the Sacramento Valley. After a brief attempt to expand into the north Delta (Sac-66), the boundaries of the Stockton District con- tracted to those occupied by the historic Northem Yokuts. (See chapter 8, pp. 81-87, figures 8.1-8.5, Figure 1.1 Ceremonial obsidian point from Burial 3, where these changes are discussed and elaborated in CCo-31 1. RHLMA cat. no. 1-174993 (weight = 93.7 greater detail, Ed.) gm). Scale in centimeters. Richard Hughes used x-ray Dramatic changes took place near the end of the fluorescence spectrometry to determine that this speci- Meganos aspect, involving the appearance of the men was manufactured from Queen obsidian. Photo by Augustine Pattem. Unfortunately, the two earliest Eugene R. Prince, courtesy of the Phoebe A. Hearst phases of the Augustine Pattem are poorly repre- Museum of Anthropology, University of Califomia at sented in the Stockton Distnrct so the nature of transi- Berkeley. dion to the Augustine Pattern remains clouded. Like- wise, the significance of thie appearance of Meganos_______________ traits in thie Sacramento Valley during the Upper Archaic-Emergent period transition (e.g., at Yol-13 and Col-3) must await more complete analysis. 12 Toward a New Taxonomic Framework for Central California ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ol _ 0I 2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Figure 1.2 Ceremonial white chert points from Burial 3, CCo-3 11. Top row, left to right: RHLMA cat. no. 1 - 174984 (weight = 14.3 gin), 1-174975 (weight = 60.0 gin), 1-174974 (weight = 76.6 gin), 1-174986 (weight= 83.9 gin), 1-174985 (weight = 78.8 gin). Bottom row, left to right: RHILMA cat. no. 1-174979 (weight =67.3 gin), 1- 174977 (weight = 36.2 gin), 1-174983 (weight = 30.7 gin), 1-174976 (weight = 42.6 gin), 1-174982 (weight = 24.0 gin), and 1-17498 1 (weight = 35.3 gin). Scale in centimeters. Photo by Eugene R. Prince, courtesy of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley. Delta Intrusion to the Bay in the Late Middle Period 13 0 2 E , .. i.:E.;; 7 X i: : ::: ................ . W it ::.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. .... 4. 5 6 Figure 1.3 Ceremonial white chert points from Burial 1, CCo-311. Left to right. RHLMA cat. no. 1-1898 17 (weight = 67.2 gin), 1-189818 (weight = 54.5 gin), and 1-189820 (weight = 41.3 gin). Scale in centimeters. Photo by Eugene R. PninceX courtesy of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley.