ANCIENT GRAVES AND SHELLHEAPS OF CALIFORNIA**

Paul Schumacher

During my visit to that part of the California coast between Point
San Luis and Point Sal, (Map A,) in the months of April, May and June of

-1874, I often had occasion to observe extensive shell-heaps, like those I
,had found about a year previously so numerous along the shores of Oregon.
,These deposits of shells and bones are the kitchen refuse of the earlier

inhabitants of the coast regions, where they are now found, and, though

differing from each other in their respective species of shells and bones of
vertebrates, according to the localities and the ages to which they belong,

they have still, together with the stone implements found in them, a remarkable
.similarity in all parts of the North American Pacific coast that I have

explored -- a similarity that extends further to the shell-heaps or "Kjbkken-
m8ddings" of distant Denmark, as investigated and described by European
scientists.

In Oregon, from Chetko to Rogue River*, I found that these deposits
contained the following species of shells:  Mytilus Californianus, Tapes

staminea, Cardium Nuttallii, Purpura lactuca, &c.; eight-tenths of the whole
being of the species first mentioned.

In California, on the extensive downs between the Arroyo Grande and
the Rio de la Santa Maria, the mouth of which latter is a few miles north

of Point Sal, I found that the shells, on what appear to have been temporary
camping-places, consist nearly altogether of small specimens of the family
Lucina; so much so that not only can scarecely any other sort be found, but

hardly even any bones. My reason for supposing these heaps to be the remains
of merely temporary camps, is the small number of flint knives, spear-heads,
and other implements found therein, and the total absence of any chips that
might indicate the occasional presence of a workshop where domestic tools

and weapons of war were manufactured -- a something that immediately strikes
the accustomed eye in viewing regularly well-established settlements. On

further examining this class of heaps by a vertical section, we find layers
of sand recurring at short intervals, which seem to indicate that they were

*Of the collections made by the writer at that place, the complete and

illustrated description will be found in the Smithsonian Report for the year
1873, p. 354.

i**Smithsonian Institution, Annual Report for 1874, pp. 337-350, 1875. (Omitted

in the present reprint is the "Catalogue of [116] Implements Found in the
Different Graves".)

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visited at fixed seasons; those mUddings exposed toward the northwest being
vacated while the wind from southwest was blowing sand over them, and,

mutatis mutandis, the same happening with regard to camps with a southwest
aspect while the northwest wind prevailed. It is fair, then, to suppose

that these places were only the temporary residences of the savages to whom
they appertained; that they were tenanted during favorable times and seasons

for the gathering of mollusks, which, having been extracted from their shells,
were dried in the sun for transportation to the distant permanent villages.
The comparatively small quantities of shell-remains now found at these

regular settlements going also to support this theory. No graves have been

found near these temporary camps. I discovered, however, one skeleton of an

Indian, in connection with which were thirteen arrow-heads, but it was plainly

to be seen that the death of this person had happened during some short sojourn
of a tribe at this place, as the burial had been effected in a hasty and

imperfect manner, and the grave was without the usual lining which, as we
shall see, is found in all the other tombs of this region.

On the extremity of Point Sal, the northern protection of which is
covered by large sand-drifts, we find, down to the very brink of the steep

and rocky shore, other extensive shell-deposits, which, with few exceptions,
consist of the Mytilus Californianus and of bones; flint chips being also
found, though very sparsely in comparison with the mass of other remains.

The sea having washed out the base of this declivity, and the top-soil having,
as a consequence, slid down, we see on the edge of the cliff shell-layers

amounting in all to a thickness of four or five feet; that part closest to the
underlying rock appearing dark and ash-like, while the deposit becomes

better preserved as the surface is neared.   At other places, for example, on
the extreme outer spur of this Point Sal, the shell-remains have been so

conglomerated or cemented together by extreme antiquity as to overhang and
beetle over the rocks for quite a distance.

Leaving the temporary camps, we shall visit the regular settlements
of the ancient aborigines. Traces of these are found near the southern Point
Sal, at a place where it turns eastward at an angle of something less than 90,
behind the first small hill of the steep ridge which trends easterly into the
country, and which, up to this spot, is, on its northern slope, covered with
drift-sand and partially grown over with stunted herbage, (Fig. 2.) Further

traces of a like kind are to be seen on the high bluff between North and South

Point Sal, (Fig. 3). Here the shells are piled up in shapeless, irregular heaps,
as they are met in all localities on the coast where there were the fixed

dwelling-places of people whose principal food consisted of fresh shell-fish;

for in the neighborhood of these permanent homes the shell-remains were always
put away in fixed places, while in temporary camps they were carelessly

distributed over the whole surface of the ground. Very vividly did these

bleached mounds recall to my mind the immense remains of such heaps as I had
seen in Oregon, on the right bank of the Chetko, as also near Nat-e-net, and
near Crook's Point, Chetl-e-shin, close to Pistol River. I remembered, aiso
how I had observed the Indians in various places; for example, near Crescent
City, on the Klamath, and on the Big Lagoon, forming just such shell-heaps;
two or three families always depositing-their refuse on the same heap.

To return to Southern California. A deposit similar to that of Point
Sal, although much smaller, is found on the left bank of the Santa Maria River,

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near its mouth. Both at the first-described fixed camps and at this place

there are to be found tons of flint-chips, scattered about in all direction,

as also knives, arrow-heads, and spear-heads in large numbers. I was somewhat
disappointed, however, in being unable to find any graves; such numerous

:heaps indicating the existence of important settlements, that should have

been accompanied by burying-places. I therefore moved farther inland, seeking
a locality where the soil could be easily worked, where a good view of the
,surrounding country could be had, and where, above all, there was fresh

Rwater, all of which requirements appear to have been regarded as necessary
for the location of an important village. I soon recognized at a distance
shell-heaps and bones, the former of which become scarcer as we leave the

hore. Approaching these, on a spur of Point Sal, upon which a pass opens
through the coast-hills, and on both sides of which are springs of fresh

ater, though I did not succeed, after a careful examination, in distinguishing
he remains of a single house, I think I found the traces of a large settement
n a kind of saddle on the low ridge, where flint-chips, bones, and shells

ie in great numbers. At length search revealed to me in the thick chapparral

few scattered sandstone slabs, such as in that region were used for lining

raves. Digging near these spots, I at last found the graves of this settle-
nt, called by the old Spanish residents call Kes-ma-li. (Fig. 4)

Here were brought to light about one hundred and fifty skeletons and
arious kinds of implements. The graves were constructed in the following
nner: A large hole was made in the sandy soil to a depth of about five

eet; then a fire was kept in it until a hard brick-like crust was burned to

depth of four or five,inches into the surrounding earth. The whole excavation
as then partitioned off into smaller spaces by sandstone slabs, about one

d a half inches thick, one foot broad, and three feet long; in which smaller
rtitions the skeletons were found. One of these slabs generally lay hori-
ontally over the head of the corpse, as a kind of protecting roof for the
kull, just as I found them at Chetko River, although in the latter place

e graves were lined with split redwood boards instead of stones. Such

areful burial is not, however, always met with, and must evidently be taken

a sign of the rank or the wealth of the deceased; the more so, as in such
ayes I usually found many utensils, which is not the case with the more

relessly formed tombs, which were covered with a piece of rough stone or

f a mortar. The slabs above mentioned were generally painted, and a piece
ich I carried off with me was divided lengthwise by a single straight,

rk line, from which radiated,-on either side, at an angle of about 600, thirty-
o other parallel red lines, sixteen on each side, like the bones of a fish
rom the vertebrae. In most cases the inner side of the slab was painted

d. Unluckily the specimen I took with me became wet, by rain, before I was
le to convey it to a place of safety, and the previously well-preserved
sign was blurred.

In these graves the skeletons lay on their backs, with the knees

rawn up, and the arms, in most cases, stretched out. No definite direction

s observed in the position of the bodies, which frequently lay in great

sovder, the saving of room having been apparently the prime consideration..
me skeletons, for example, lay opposite to each other, foot to foot, while
jtoining ones, again, were placed crosswise. The skeletons of females have,
Fstead of the protecting head-slab, a stone mortar or a stone pot placed on

s8 edge, so as to admit the skull, which latter, if too narrow in the neck to

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admit the skull, is simply buried underneath it. Cups and ornaments, both
in the case of men and women, lie principally about the head, while shell-

beads are found in the mouth, the eye-sockets, and in the cavity of the skull,
which latter is almost always filled with sand, pressed in through the

foramen magnum. The skeletons were, in some cases, packed in quite closely,
one over another, so that the uppermost were only about three feet below the

surface of the ground. The indications of poverty are very evident in regard

to these, in the scarcity of ornaments, except, perhaps, when they are females,
as they are in the majority of cases. I cannot accept the hypothesis that

these were the slaves of some rich man and buried with their master; for the

lower skeletons were generally found to have been disturbed in a very singular
manner, such as could only have been occasioned by a re-opening of the grave
after the decomposition of the bodies. I found, for example, a lower jaw

lying near its right place, but upside down, so that both the upper and the
lower teeth pointed downward; in another case the thigh-bones lay the wrong
way, the knee-pans being turned toward the basin; and, in other instances,

the bones were totally separated and mixed up; all tending to show that the

graves had been repeatedly opened for the burial of bodies at different times.
Once I even found, upon piercing the bottom-crust of a sepulchre, another

lying deeper, which, perhaps, had been forgotten, as the bones therein were

somewhat damaged by fire.   Plenty of charcoal is found in these tombs, usually
of redwood, rarely of pine, and I could not determine any third variety.

Sometimes there were also discovered the remains of posts from three to six

inches in diameter, and of split boards about two inches in thickness. There
are probably the remains of the burned dwelling of the deceased, placed in his
grave with all his other property, after the fashion I observed in Chetko
last year.

I examined other graves resembling those described at Point Sal.

These others are known by the name of Te-me-te-ti. They lie about fourteen

miles north of the Point Sal graves, and are situated on the right bank of the
Arroyo de los Berros, opposite to the traces of former settlements about

seven miles inland. These tombs only differed from those of Kes-ma-ti in not
being lined with the thick burned brick-like crust mentioned above, but with
a thin light-colored crust, slightly burned, and not more than a quarter of
an inch thick.

To these graves I-paid a second visit, hoping to obtain more material,
having been there only a very short time at my first visit. But the proprietor'
of the land disappointed my desires, for he appeared, in spite of my scientific
explanations, to be inclined, according to squatter-fashion, to prevent, with
his rifle, my visit to the land, to which he possessed no title. These were
the graves where I found the bronze cup, and a buckle of the same material,

which later, I am sorry to say, was unaccountably lost. I had hopes to discover
more of such articles, enabling me to trace the connections of these people.

The location of this village is Father hidden; it is situated on a small plain
between a bluffy elevation on the left bank, and the rather high and wooded
right banks of the Los Berros Creek. I could plainly notice the excavations
where houses had formerly stood, and particularly the large sweat-house.

In company with the well-infor-med and industrious antiquarian, Dr.

W. W. Hays, and Judge Venabel, of San Luis Obispo, I explored another aboriginal
settlement known by the name if Ni-po-mo. It is situated on the large rancho

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of like name, about eight miles inland, and distant about a mile and a half

from the Nipomo Ranch House, occupied by the hospitable Dana brothers. These

graves are also in sandy soil, near a former settlement, the existence of which
is well marked by quantities of flint-chips, fragments of tools, bones, and

a few shells. Only about three hundred yards from the graves, and nearly in
a straight line with them and one of the houses of Nipomo Ranch, there is
a large spring of good water, surrounded by willows. These graves were

indicated by an elder-bush, a plant which I always found near the graves,
or in the neighborhood of ancient settlements.

Lastly, I examined the Wa-le-khe settlements, (Fig. 5). 1

hesitated to undertake the trip to these graves, because I only had four days
left before the departure of the steamer; and consequently I would only have
about six hours remaining for work. But, as I supposed this country offered
much of interest to the explorer, I made only the following examination:

About twenty-five miles from the mouth of the Santa Maria River the
Alamo Creek empties into it, discharging a large amount of water. Following
the wide bed of the Santa Maria for about seven miles farther up stream, we
reach a smooth elevation, which at this place rises about sixty feet above

the bend of the river, and which trends in a curve toward the mountains on the
right bank. At the farthest end of this, at a place where a fine view over
the whole valley is had, we find the traces of the ancient village, now
known as Wa-le-khe. A short distance from the former dwellings, on the

highest point of the ridge, an excavation marks the spot where once a house
stood, probably that of a chief.

I started from San Luis Obispo to visit this place, passing by the
remakrable tar-springs, which are situated at about a distance of eighteen
miles from the town. Near them I found traces of what had formerly been a

large ditch. As before stated, I had not time to make thorough examinations,
yet I found that the ditch was still three feet wide, and entered the creek
some miles above the tar-springs, on the banks of which creek the said

springs are found in different places. Near the road I observed, in the

middle of the ditch, an oakttree, measuring twelve inches in diameter, and

which plainly had taken root after the abandonment of the ditch; for it was
not torn up, as would have been caused by the running water, but was at
this place well preserved. -

I also visited Ostion rancho, (sometimes called Ranchito,) at which
place there are extensive beds of oyster-shells, and also some other species
of shells, among which are prominently Tapes. At one place, about fifty

yards from the right bank of the Arroyo Grande, the shells are closely packed
and bound together with coarse sand, forming quite an extensive bluff. I
collected a few specimens, which I presented to the California Academy of
Sciences.

At the place where Alamo Creek empties into the Santa Maria River,
on its left bank, I found several earth-works, and they appeared to me to

have been built on this level but elevated spot, the entrance of the valley,

for defensive purposes. During my hasty exalmination I could not discover any

place where a hou;se might have been , nor any graves, but never theless I incline
to the belief that near this place had been an important settlement; for

-99_.

Alamo Creek has better drinking-water than the Santa Maria River, and its
width and the adjoining country form quite a picturesque landscape, which,
together with the excellent hunting-ground, is really most inviting for a
settlement. Probably, on closer examination, the remains of a settlement

might be found in the plain on the right bank, Where the elder-bushes give
welcome shade to man and beast. I have no doubt that the banks of Alamo
Creek and the surrounding country will yet yield many remains of former

settlements, as also the banks of the Santa Maria River and its tributaries,
where, besides the settlement of Wa-le-khe, which I explored, there are two
others, known to the ever-roving Vagueros.

With regard to the general character of the domestic utensils, arms,
and ornaments which I found in examining about three hundred skeletons in the
graves of Kes-ma-li, Te-me-te-ti, Ni-po-mo, and Wa-le-khe, they all resemble
each other very closely, seeming to show that their possessors all belonged
to the same tribe.  First of all, the large cooking-pots attract attention.
They consist of globular or pear-shaped bodies, hollowed out of magnesian

mica.  The circular opening, having a small and narrow rim, measures only five
inches in diameter in a pot with a diameter of eighteen inches. Near the

edge of the opening, the vessel is only a quarter of an inch thick, but its
thickness increases in a very regular manner toward the bottom, where it

measures about one and a quarter inches. Made of the same material, I found
other pots of a different shape, namely, very wide across the opening, and

narrowing toward the bottom. With these I have also now in my possession many
different sizes of sandstone mortars, of a general semiglobular shape, varying
from three inches in diameter and one inch and a half in height to sixteen

inches in diameter and thirteen inches in height, all external measurements,
with pestles of the same material to correspond. There were, further, quite
an assortment of cups, measuring from one and a quarter to six inches in

diameter, neartly worked out of serpentine, and polished. The smallest of

these was inclosed, as in a boudly-covered dish, by three shells, and contained
paint, traces of which, by the wau, were found in all these cups, from which
we may suppose that they were not used for holding food.

Neither spoons nor knives were found in these graves.   I got, however,
three beautiful serpentine pipes, shaped like cigar-holders, much stronger

than, but similar in shape to, those found in Oregon. Not many weapons were

picked up here, only a few arrow and spear heads; these, however, were mostly
of exquisite workmanship. X spear-head of obsidian, five and a half inches
long, was the only object I found of this material; another lance-point of

chalcedony, nine and a half inches long and one and a quarter inches wide, was
beautifully shaped and carefully made.

A remarkable ohject is a bronze cup which was found at Te-me-te-ti.

It was filled with red paint, and contained also the pretty paint-cup inclosed
in the three shells mentioned before. I also found in the same grave, a

Spanish coin of the last century, and a bronze buckle, which latter was lost.
The bronze cup, the coin, and a pot of burnt coarse, sandy clay which was

found at Ni-po-mo, and also a few remains of corroded iron knives, found in
the three graves, tell us of the last days of the existence of these people

at a time when they evidently had hold intercourse with the advancing missionaries,
who, almost everywhere in America, were the pioneers of civilization.

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Most of the objects were found perfect; and those which were not, had
been broken by the pressure and shifting of the soil, as could easily be seen
from their position. It is, therefore, certain that the bulk of the property
buried with a person was not purposely broken nor destroyed, the same thing
being true of my investigations in Oregon. I even found mortars and pestles
which had been repaired and cemented with asphaltum. The richer occupants

of the graves had shell and glass beads in great numbers, sickle-shaped ornaments
of the abalone ChaAIstis) shell, and an ornament resembling dentalium, but made
of a large clam-shell, strewed about their heads.

During my explorations I also diligently searched for caves which
might have been inhabited and from which important information might have

been obtained. But in these investigations I did not meet with much success,

partly because I had not the time necessary at my disposal, for scareely had I
got to a place where they existed, when my duties demanded my attention and
obliged my to give up the exploration. I could, therefore, only designate

on my map the place which I might, with some degree of certainty, suppose to

be a formerly-inhabited cave, so as to facilitate later investigations. Once
I was obliged to suspend work at Point Sal for a whole week on account of

thick fog. I had time, however, to search in the gorges and rocks, hoping

to find ethnological objects. I discovered and opened at that time the graves

of Kes-ma-li, and not far off the cave, (Figs. 4 and 6). But I was rather disap-
pointed, when, after clambering through and over almost inaccessible places,
iI reached the cave, and found that it was only eight by four feet wide and

eight feet high; and that there were in it only one pestle, with many

,oyster shells, bones, and teeth.   The floor was formed of stratified brown

ash-like soil, in which were the above-mentioned objects. The circular entrance
,to the cave measured three feet in diameter. On the right-hand side of the
,entrance was a niche which had evidently been worked out of the hard but

cracked sandstone, and was large enough for one person to sit comfortably
,therein. Toward the back part, the cave has also been worked out, so that

a person might lie down stretched out; that is, I found that I could com-

fortably occupy these positions, although I am seventy-three inches in height.
The whole cave, it appears to me, had been artificially made with a chisel.
.I did not examine the articles which it contained very closely, and must,

therefore, refer to the collection itself. For the same reason, I have not
said much about all the other objects of the collection, but refer for more
particulars to the following catalogue and to the collection itself.

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