Antonorsi1

CamilaAntonorsi
TinaChavez
SeniorInternship
December2015

Collection375:Marladoproject
Introduction:
ThefirsttimethatIwasreallyimmersedinarchaeologywasmyfreshmanyear,Iwentto
Italyforanarchaeologycamp.Iloveditalot,sothenextyearmeandmyfamilywenttoPeru.
WewenttoTrujilloandtalkedtotheheadarchaeologisttherehisnamewasDr.SantiagoUceda
heofferedmeaninternshipathissitethefollowingyearwhichitookupformyjunior
internship.Istayedintrujilloforamonthandworkedthatthehuacadelalunayelsol.Itwasa
verygoodexperienceandimmersionintothearchaeologicalworld.
ThisyearIhadaninternshipatthesandiegoarchaeologicalcenterandIlearnedmany
newthingsaboutarchaeology.It'snotallaboutdiggingupartifactsinthescorchingsun.Itsalso
aboutcatalogingandrebagging.Ittakesalotoftimeandefforttogeteverythingorganised.This
internshipismainlybasedonprehistoricandhistoricartifacts.Ithoughtthatitwouldbevery
interestingtodoaprojectontheprehistoricnativeamericans.whichiswhydecidedonthis
question.WhatcanwelearnfromtheLuisenopeoplefromtheartifactscollected?

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Background:
ThisisaLuisenosite,exceptwearenotsureofwhichband.Thereare6federally
recognizedBands:
TheLaJollaBand
ThePalaBand
ThePaumaBand
ThePechangaBand
TheRinconBand
TheSobobaBand
ThereisonebandthatisnotyetfederallyrecognizedanditiscalledtheSanLuisRey
Band.Around5,000to7,000yearsagoduringadroughtperiodwaswhentheluisenopeople
arrivedincalifornia.Topeopleheretheyareknownasluisenobuttothemselvestheyusedto
callthemselves
Atashum
meaningthepeople.(
Crouthamel,S.J.
)
TheSDI5130siteisaLaJollanperiodsite.Thisdoesnotmeanthatitbelongedtothe
LaJollaBand.Thelocationisinoceanside,MarLadoproject.It'scircaisfrom3500to7500
B.P.Thewasthoughttohavebeenasmallbasecampwithasmallpopulation.Therewereno
ceramicsorprojectilepointsfoundwhichmeansitcouldnothavebeenfromthe1000b.p,or
Multicomponentsite.Theyusedtheircoastalresourcesandtradedwithothersbecauseofthe
desertlithics,Obsidian,Steatite.Theywerealsomembersofahuntingandgatheringsociety.
(
ArchaeologicalInvestigationsSDI5130
)
TheLuisenoandtheKumeyaaycameabout2000yearsafterthelajollanpeoplewho
wereoccupyingthearea.theLuisenoterritorywasfromAguahediondainlandtoEscondido:

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EasttotolakeHenshawNorthintoriversidecountyandwestthroughsanJuanCapistrano.
Theyhadalargepopulationduringprehistoricandhistorictimes.Theyknewhowtogetthebest
outofthereenvironment,theyhadextensiveknowledgeonnativeplantsandwerewelladapted
toseasonalmigrationwithintheirterritory.TheywerealsoveryMysticallysensitiveand
religiouspeople.(
ArchaeologicalInvestigationsoftheMarLadoSubdivision
)
Itisalsosaidthattheyestablishedaclangovernment,districtsandmanysocialcontrol
mechanisms.AtthistimethePechangabandwasmadeupof25to30people,butpopulation
theywereabout525to630inthesanLuisreyarea.(
ArchaeologicalInvestigationsoftheMar
LadoSubdivision
)
Theexcavationtookplacein1983.Itwasanexcavationof301by1units.Itislocatedin
theMarLadoSubdivisionlocatedinthenorthwesternsandiegocounty,Approximately4
mileseastofintersection5withinthecommunityofoceanside.(
ArchaeologicalInvestigations
SDI5130
)TheareaandaroundtheareahasbeendamagedbyBorrowingactivityand
extensiveplowing.Itisaprehistoricsite,andtherearemanymorearoundit.(
Archaeological
InvestigationsSDI5130
)Theinitialfieldinvestigationwasdoneonseptember1977.Itwas
examinedbyanAcerbyAceronfootofthewholeproperty,whichextendsaround50acres.
(
ArchaeologicalInvestigationsoftheMarLadoSubdivision
)

Methods:
ThedatacamefromtheSanDiegoArchaeologicalCenter.Itisasmallorganizationlocated
inSanPasqual.Thebuildinghasamuseum,restroomswhichareopentothepublic,thoughIam

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notsureifthelabisincluded.Inthelab,therearecubiclesandcomputers.Thenthereisthe
storageroomwheretheykeepallofthecollections.
ThecollectionwasfromOceanside,itwasfromtheprehistoricLuisenopeople.Itwas
quiteeasywhenIhadalloftheinformation.Thecollectioncamein10separateboxes.Ineach
boxtherewereatleast5bigbags.Ineachbag,therewereseparatelittlebagsfilledwitha
combinationof:flakes,stonetools,shells,debitage.Eachboxwasseparatedintoeitherstones
orshells.Whenyougetaboxitshouldnotbeover30pounds.Tocatalogaboxyoustartwitha
bag,andthenstartwithwiththelittlebagsinside.OnthecomputeryoumustmakeanExcel
sheetthathas12sections.
Site Cat Recovery Unit Level Material Object Material QTY WT Box Comments
#
#
Type
#
Class
#
Thesitenumber,catalognumber,recoverytype,unitlevel,level,materialclass,object,
material,quantity,weight,boxnumber,comments.Afterthis,Isetasideabigbagandtookout
anindividualone.Thefirstbox,Iworkedonwasshells.Ineachbagthereshouldhavebeena
littletagthathadalloftheimportantinformation.
Onthefirstlinehadthesitenumbercatalognumber.Thenextlinehadtherecoverytype
unitnumberlevel.Thenextlevelhadtheobjectname.TherestIhadtofindoutonmyown.
SDI513010
Unit231020
Pecten
Istartedfromlefttorightonmyspreadsheet,firstIputinthesitenumberontheveryleft
column,andbecauseitwouldbethesameforalloftheboxes.Iwouldcopyandpasteit
multipletimes.Intheexampleabovethesitenumberis
SDI5130
.Thecatalognumberis
10
,the
recoverytypeis
Unit,
unitnumberis
23
,andthelevelis
1020.
Underthattheobjectnameis

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Pecten
whichisaspeciesofshell.Iwouldinputthisinformationintotheircolumnsandthen
continuetotheinfothatIdidnotgetfromthetag.Iwouldlooktoseeiftheshell(s)hadbeen
modified,ifsoIwouldtype
Shell,Modified
undertheMaterialclasscolumn.IfnotIwouldtype
Shell,Unmodified
.AfterthatIwouldlookattheobjectandseeifitwasinfragments,ifsounder
objectIwouldtype
Fragment(s).
SometimesIwouldgetshellsinabulk,andtherewouldbe
wholepiecesaswellasfragmentsandIwouldtype
Whole,Fragment(s)
.Atleastthiswasthe
casewhenIwasworkingonshells.IwouldhavealreadyinputtedtheMaterialbecauseitwason
thetag.ThenIwouldtaketheobjectoutofthebagifIhadnotalreadyandcountthem.Ifthere
werealotIwouldtype
Bulk
underQTY.IfnotIwouldtypethenumberforexample:
20
.Next
Iwouldplacetheitem(s)ontheweightwhichconvenientlyhadabowlwhereIwouldputthe
shellsorrocks.Thiswaytheywouldnotfalloutandscattereverywhere.Theweightisingrams.
AfterIinputtheweightIwouldtypeintheboxnumberandbecauseIwasnotneardonewiththe
bagIwouldcopyandpasteitatleast10down.FinallyifthebaghadanameonitIwouldtypeit
inthecommentssectionsoifsomeonewantedtofindacertainitemfromthebagitwouldbe
mucheasier.IrepeatedthisprocessuntilIhadfinishedtheboxesofshells.
Theprocessforthestonesvariesabit.Itisthesameforthefirstpartbutusuallyitdoes
notcomewiththematerial.Formaterialclass,dependingonthestoneIwouldeithertype
Chippedstone
or
GroundStone.
Underobject,IwouldputFlake,debitageifitwaschipped
stonebutifitwasgroundstoneIwouldtypeManoandwhetheritwasafragmentornot.Finding
whatthematerialwas,wasthehardestpartformebecauseIdidn'treallyknowthedifferenttype
ofstones.Alsothestonesusuallyonlycameingroupsof16comparedtotheshellswhichhada
muchlargerrange.Otherthanthematerialclass,materialandobjecttheprocessisthesame.

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OccasionallyIwouldgetrocksthatdidnothaveatag,theonlywritingonthemwasthe
sitenumberandthecatalognumber.InthesecasesIwouldtypeunknownforRec.type,unit
number,andlevel.TherestIcouldfindoutbylookingattherockandweighingit.Aftereach
itemwascatalogeditwouldberebaggedintoappropriatebagsizes.Thebagswerekeptatthe
backoftheroom.Thesmallestbagwas2by3andthebiggestbagIusedwas8by10.
Labelingisthenextstep.Firstwehavetomakethelabelsonthecomputer.Ididnot
personallyfindoutwhatthesitethatweusedbuttheprocesswasalsoquiteeasy.First,Imade
surethattheitemhadbeenproperlycataloged,ifithadnothenthatiswhatIwouldhavetodo
firstandthenstart.
SDI513023
Unit:10Level:1020
Pecten
Qty:3Wt:0.6
IwouldtypetheSDInumberwiththecatalognumberfirstthentherec.typewitha:and
thenthenumber,addacoupleofspacesandthentypeLevelcolon10dash20,andrightunder
unitwouldbethematerial.Atthebottomgoestheweightandthequantityi.e.howmanywerein
there.Iwouldthenfinishalloftheitemsandprintthemoutonthespeciallabelpaper.Iwould
sayprintingreallyloudlysononewouldprintonmypaperandthenprintit.ThenIwouldgo
throughthebagandfindeachoftheitemsandputthetableintheinsideofthebagfacingout.
thenIwouldputalabelonthebigbox.IneveractuallymadealabelfortheboxbutIwatched
howitwasdone.
Materialclass

Paper
Color

Bone
(unmodified/modified)

Grey

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Ceramic

Offwhite

Documents

White

Lithic/Chipped
Stone/Groundstone

Purple

Historic

Coral

Mixed

Coral

Shell(modified/unmodifie
d)

Butter

Vegetal
(unmodified/modified)

Grees

Stone
(unmodified/modified)

Goldenrod

Projecttitle
Sitenumber
MaterialClass:MaterialClass

Quad:USGSQuadrangle7.5
Location:Locationofsite

Box#:#of#
CollectionNumber

ThethingIremembermostwasThecoloronthelabelonthefrontoftheboxisdifferent
dependingonwhatisinsidethebox.Thenthelabelwasprintedonthecoloredpaperdepending
onwhatwasinsideandthenstuckontothefrontofthebox.Afterrepeatingthatforeachboxin
thecollectionitwasdone.

Analysis

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Thisprojectbeganascataloguingdataandartifactsintoasystem.Itseemedtobebusy
workwithnoendinsight.Aboutaweekintocataloguingthedata,trendswereobserved,
formulationsofideasandstoriesfortheartifacts.Wonderingiftheybelongedtothesamesite,
thesamepeople,thisledtomorequestions.Soontheinformationcouldbegroupedintoit'sown
subcategoriessuchasbonefragmentsoffishorofmammalsandpiecesofshells,andstones
thatwerewholeorbroken.Intotaltherewere3262objectsfound,keepinginmindthatthereare
211bagsthatsaybulkbuthadtobecountedas1.Everythinginthecollectionweighedaround
99745.07gramswhichwouldbearound220pounds.Toputthisinperspective,thisishow
muchalessermalekuduweighs.Whichislikealargeantelopewithbiggerandcurlyhorns.
Duringthecatalogingtheresearcherfoundthatthereweremanymoremammalbones
werefoundthanfishbones.Thiscouldindicatevaryingconclusions.Oneconclusionisthatthe
dietofthisparticulartribereliedmoreheavilyonmammalsorperhaps,thebonesoffishwere
morequicktodecompose.Therewerealsomanyunidentifiablebones.Whetherthesebonewere
fishormammaltheymayhavetippedthescaleandhadfishbeingamainrootofsustenance.
Unfortunatelybecausetheybonewereunidentified,itishardtodrawadefiniteconclusion.
Accordingto
Crouthamel,S.J.
)claimsthataround20%to35%offoodwasfish/shellfishbut
only5to10%wasgame.Yetonthesitethereweremorebonesfrommammalsthentherewere
fromfish.WoulditbepossibleforthisbandofLuisenoindianstohaveeatenmoregamethan
fishoristherenotenoughproofforthis?

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InAdditiontogameandbones,itisimportanttoexaminetheshellsmoreclosely.There
weremanyshellsfoundatthissite.Unmodifiedshellsindicatedaheavyshellfishdiet,which
madesensesincetheylivednexttotheocean.Insteadofhuntingforfish,theypulledshellfish
offoftherocksandpiersnearby.Thisalsoexplainedtheirseafaringstyle,eitherofshallow
diversinsmallboats,ratherthanlargeboatsanddeepseafishing.Itseemsthemostcommon
shellfishshellfoundbelongedPectin,Ostrea,Tagalus,Chione.
Ashellcanbedrilledandstrung
onastringtocreatependants,necklaces,buttons,orotherusefulthings.Thoughthisresearcher
didnotfindanyevidenceofholesintheshellstomakeornamentstheyareusedforthat.They
couldhavealsobeenusedfortoolsyoucanusethemasspoons,todiginsand,forcreating
sound,theycanbetradedtooortheycanbeusedascurrency.
Theresearcherfoundthatthere
wasaround2200shells.Theremayhavebeenmuchmorebecauseofthebagsthatwerebulks.
Thegraphsarein2becausethesomeofthenumbersarewaybiggerthantheothersanditwould
notlookcorrect.

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Inadditiontoshells,therewereavarietyofrocktoolsfound.Someoftherocktools
catalogedunderChippedstoneincludescrapersandhammerstones.TheScraperswereused,like
thenameimpliestoscrapethingsitwasusedinpeltworkingandwoodworking.Theyalsofound
alotofdebitage,whichinthiscaseisscrapsofrockwithisnotusefulinanyway.Thisis
differentfromflakeswhichareusablepiecesofstone.Theycouldbeusedforpractically
anything.

Theywereusuallyleftsharpandcouldbemadeintoascraperifnecessary.Thisdata
couldmeanthattheindigenouspeopletherewereveryresourcefulandmadepracticaltoolsfor
theirneeds.Thearchaeologistonsitethoughtthatitmighthavebeenabase
camp.(
ArchaeologicalInvestigationsSDI5130
.
)Itwouldhavebeenthereconclusionbecause
theyfoundmanytoolsandfoodremainsthere.

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Inthefinalcategory,groundstone,therewereveryfewfound,onlyacoupleofmanos
andmetates.Manosarethestonetoolsthatareusedtogrindcornandothernuts,andthemetate
isthebottomrockwhichismostlyflat.Itisinterestingbecausetherearemanyotherrocktools
underthiscategoryyetonlythosewherefoundthatthesitewasabletoidentify.Inthisproject
theresearcherfound102manofragmentscomparedtometatefragmentswhichonly2were
found.Thatmightmeanthatiftheyhadmovedawaytheymighthavetakenthemetatebutnot
themanobecausethemanowaseasiertomakethenthemetate.Themetateandmanowere
probablyusedtogrindacornsandseedsandothergrainstomakefood.

Themetalandtheglassfoundonthesitearejustcontaminationfromrecentyearsasinthe
historicera.Therewasnoevidenceofglassusedintheprehistoricluisenosite.

ActionPlan:
Inconclusionwecantellthattheprehistoricluisenopeoplewerealotlikethecurrent
humans.Thewereresourcefulandsmartwithwhattheyusedformtheenvironment.Theyhada
familiesandreligion.Theyhadtoscavengeforfoodandhuntforit.Theyusedmanytoolslike

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scraperstopeltandwoodwork.Theyalsousedmanoandmetatestogrindthefood,Likeacorns,
cornandotherseeds.Theyatefishandgameandshellfish.Theycouldhavealsousedshellsfor
ornaments,tools,Currencyormaybeformusic.ThoughtheprehistoricLuisenopeoplearegone,
thereculturestilllivesoninthememoriesoftheluisenotribesinhabitingcalifornia.
AppendixA:
Vocabulary:
Luiseno:Theyareanativeamericantribe
Collection:Itismanyboxesfromthesamesite
Flakes:A
thinpieceofsomething,typicallyonethathasbrokenawayorbeenpeeled
offfromalargerpiece.

StoneTools:ToolslikeScrapers,Mano
Debitage:unusablescrapsofrock.
Sitenumber:TheSDInumber
Catalognumber:Theuniquenumberbelongingtoanitem.
Recoverytype:Wheretheyfoundit,canbeunit,surfaceetc.
Unitnumber:Numberassignedtotherecoverytype.
Level:Howmanycentimetersdeeptheyfoundtheartifact.
Materialclass:Broadcategory:shell,modifiedorunmodified.
Objectname:Whattheobjectwillberecordedas.withernameofitiswhole/fragmented
Material:Thetheobjectismadeof.quartz,granite,shell.
Quantity:Howmanypiecesareintheindividualbags.
Weight:howmuchtheobject(s)intheindividualbagsweigh.

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Boxnumber:Whatnumberofthecollectionitisexp.
Comments:Anyadditionalinformationthatshouldbeknown.
Circa:about:(usedespeciallyin)approximatedates
Multicomponentsite:
LaJollanPeriod:Aperiodintime,thatvaries.
Band:aTribe
Quadrangle:A
foursidedplanefigure,especiallyasquareorrectangle.

Mano:The

upper

or

handheld

stone

used

when

grindingmaize

or

other

grains

on

a
metate.
Metate:A

flat

stone

that

has

shallow

depression

in

theupper

surface

for

holding

maize
or

other

grains

tobe

ground

with

mano.

WorksCited:
ArchaeologicalExcavationandTestingatSite
.1983.MS,SDI5130375.SanDiego
ArchaeologyCenter,Oceanside.
ArchaeologicalInvestigationsSDI5130
.1983.ArchiveofArtifactsInformation.MarLado
Project,Oceanside,CA.
ArchaeologicalInvestigationsoftheMarLadoSubdivision
.1983.ArchiveSiteinformation.Mar
LadoProject,Oceanside,CA.

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Crouthamel,S.J."LuiseoEthnobotany."
LuiseoEthnobotany
.N.p.,2009.Web.2015.