The Minoan snake goddess displays Gynocentic art

Roxanne’s research centered around the Gynocentric Hypothesis.

The following is a brief summary:

The Gynocentric way of life dominated in Europe and the Near East for most of humanity’s existence. This way of life can be found in archaeological sites dating from the Paleolithic (34,000 BP) and lasting for nearly 30,000 years. Though lifeways altered as cultures adapted to different environmental conditions, the Gynocentric cultural component varied little. However, around 7,000 BP a new cultural pattern arose which archaeologists call Kurgan. The Kurgan people developed, their way of life bound by a unique bond between man and horse. This exclusive relationship fostered a male-dominated world, with male-led religion, male-lineage tracing, male-owned property, and a propensity for organized warfare. The Kurgans arose on the Steppes of Russia and swept across Europe about 6,500 BP, conquering every Gynocentric civilization in its path. The last remaining Gynocentric people, the Minoans, were overpowered around 3,500 BP, bringing an end to this long-lasting way of life. Virtually all of today’s cultures are an expression of the Kurgan way of life.[i]

Gynocentric Components

• Lineage traced through female line
• Property (especially houses) owned by females
• Village leadership shared equally between male and female
• Little evidence of organized warfare
• Goddess figurines are present but there is an absence (or very little presence) of male figurines
• Art is emphasized rather than martial expressions
• Females generally buried beneath the floors of their houses, males elsewhere
• Very little evidence of accumulations of individual wealth

Gynocentric Archaeological Cultural Expressions

Black-The Gynocentic culture :  Bold-The Male-controlled culture : Italics-Goddess name

• 34,000 BP: Paleolithic : Dolni Vestonice, Czech Rep: Venus Goddess
• 25,000 BP: Paleolithic: Willendorf, Austria: Venus Goddess
• 11,000 BP: Natufian: Ain Ghazal, Jordan: Natufian Goddess
• 9,500 BP: Neolithic: Çatal Hüyük, Turkey:  Leopard Goddess
• 8,000 BP: Neolith/Chalcolithic: North Mesopotamia, Iraq: Hassuna Goddess
• 7,700 BP: Neolithic: Nicea, Greece: Sesklo Goddess
• 7,000 BP: Neolithic/Chalcolithic: Anatolia, Turkey: Anatolian Goddess
• 7,000 BP: Neolithic: Vinča-Belo Brdo, Yugoslavia: Vinča Goddess
• 6,300 BP: Sredny Stog: Dereivka, Ukraine: Kurgan Warrior
• 4,800 BP: Sumarian: Babylon, Iraq: Ishtar Goddess
• 3,800 BP: Crete: Knossos, Crete: Snake Goddess
• 3,700 BP: Sumarian: Ur-Babylon, Iraq: Goddess Ningal
• 3,500 BP: Crete: Knossos, Crete: Priestess

Roxanne developed the Gynocentric Hypothesis

The Writing Process Continues: More on Roxanne Laden’s biography.

• Roxanne , in the fall 1968, Roxanne enters the phd. program at UC Berkeley and forms a bond with the eminent archaeologist, Marcus Hamlin.
• Hamlin takes Roxanne to Turkey with him for the summer dig 1969: Çatal Hüyük.
• Roxanne develops a new hypothesis in the space of the summer’s dig and convinces Hamlin to let her stay for the winter to complete her research on her dissertation.
• Roxanne’s dissertation: A male-dominated equestrian-based culture developed ca. 4500 BC and destroyed the millennium-years-old tradition of Gynocentric [female descent & rule].
• Roxanne and Hamlin have a one-night stand and she gets pregnant.
• Roxanne remains in the Middle East and spends the winter 1969-1970 researching and collecting artifacts.
• May 1970, Hamlin returns to Turkey and is horrified to find Roxanne 9-months pregnant.
• Roxanne presents her thesis to Hamlin but he loudly rejects it. [Mainly because he knows Roxanne is right and her brilliant thesis will destroy everything he has done in archaeology].
• Roxanne is devastated; both because Hamlin has spurned her affections [her love,  and because he has rejected her thesis [her passion]
• Hamlin demands that Roxanne have the baby on an American military base, and she return to the US.
• Roxanne’s emotions change from heartbreak to anger, then rage, and finally to revenge.
• Roxanne is now driven to prove Hamlin wrong. She knows she needs a couple more artifacts to complete her thesis. Her revenge and rage drive her actions.
• Roxanne concocts a plan; once she has the baby, she will have a friend [Sally] take the child to the US and give to Catherine (Roxanne’s sister). Roxanne will take the next year to complete her work before returning to the US to publish, and to reclaim Sophia.
• Roxanne and Sally go to the American base [Sinop] in time to deliver the baby [Sophia Laden].
• Roxanne knows Hamlin will force her to take the baby to the US, so she kisses Sophia goodbye and slips away, promising to return as soon as she has completed her research.
• Roxanne is never seen again.

The 13th Goddess: A missing persons mystery

The 13^th Goddess

Finally, my situation is such that I am ready to renew my love affair with writing. Of course, the first question to be answered—which story to work on? It has taken me some time to answer this, as several of my novels have been clamoring for attention. However, in the end, the Goddesses made their demands the most fervently.

13^th Goddess has gone through several rewrites but has always been perplexing because I could not find the right genre for it to reside. I believed the story was an archaeology thriller, but this never quite seemed to fit. I never could get the stakes up high enough to fit into the thriller category. But I was persistent, and kept trying, and each revision increased the action and increased the dangers, but it did not work. That was why I set the manuscript in a drawer and left it alone for a year; I needed some time and space.

Now I am convinced the way to write 13^th Goddess is as a Missing Person Mystery. This removes the pressure of having “save the world” stakes, and makes the story ‘smaller scale’. Now, I can focus on Sophia Laden and Charlie Wykoff (their lives and pasts) and their relationship. I can watch the two grow as people, and watch as they react to the situations facing them.

The Plot remains basically the same: Roxanne Laden gave her week-old daughter, Sophia, to Catherine Laden and then disappeared into the Middle East somewhere. Then, 25 years later Marcus Hamlin dies, leaving an estate and a will, and instructions to find Roxanne. Sophia, thrilled at the thought of finding her lost mother, hires Charlie to help her locate Roxanne. Catherine, driven by greed, does not want Roxanne found and sends out a hoodlum (Vinnie) to prevent Charlie and Sophia from succeeding. The danger and action are basically the same. Charlie and Sophia will travel to Greece, Crete, Turkey, Jordan, Russia, and the Ukraine pursuing leads about Roxanne’s journeys. And, most importantly, the revolutionary Gynocentric archaeological dissertation Roxanne was working on will be discovered. And finally, the climatic confrontation on the cliffs at Meteora, Greece will occur, and the surprise ending will bring the mystery to a conclusion.

My plans are to create in depth character descriptions of each character before I write any words to this version of the novel. So, for the next week or so, I will get to know Sophia and Charlie, and Hamlin and Catherine, and Vinnie and the rest. I will endeavor to make daily entries updating the writing process. And so, The 13^th Goddess journey continues…

This report covers the fieldwork by the author and a substantial crew of students who were especially interested in the unusual series of rock alignments at the Party Hill Bay site. This site is located in southeastern California, approximately 15 miles northwest of Baker, California. The specific area surveyed in this project covers about 1/3 square mile or about .86 square kilometer.

The site is situated just west of a chain of low hills that bound the Silver Lake playa on its western shore. These hills are basically of a carbonate nature, composed of meta-limestones and dolomite. They are underlain by Mesozoic quart diorite, or quartz monzanite which underlies most of the area (Grose 1959).

The morphology of the area is composed of three geologic features: (1) the playa, (2) the dolomite hills, and (3) the alluvial fans. The playa is a dry lake bed that covers about 10 square miles (26 sq. km.). This flat area has been created by the deposition of silt from waters that have drained from the surrounding higher elevations. The depth of the basin underlying the clay surface is not known and may be quite deep. Cores from wells dug in the area show evidence of silt deposition at least 200 feet (60 m.) deep (Rogers 1939). The majority of the silt is deposited by the ephemerally flowing Mojave River that drains into this basin from the south.

From the playa the elevation increases quickly along the western shoreline. The dolomite hills rise here to nearly 1700 feet (518 m.). These rocky hills were formed by the activity of the Soda-Avawatz Fault (Hamlin 1977).

On the eastern side of the playa, a broad alluvial fan stretched from the shoreline to the Turquoise Mountain range. This fan, nearly 15 miles wide (24 km.), displays a continuum of rock debris size from large fractured boulders of several tons to silt grains that weigh less than .1 gram.

The site lies in a small bay on the northwest margin of the playa. This area is mainly blow sand that has been deposited on the regressing playa shoreline. The terrain contains benches that have retained water-worn pebbles incorporated into desert pavement. One these benches the rock alignments exist.

The plants occupying this region have adapted to a severely harsh environment. The scant moisture, often below 2 inches (10 cm.) annually. Summer temperatures may exceed 120° F (49° C.) with surface temperature above 160° F. (71° C.) and winds may blow above 65 mph (105 kmph). The annual evaporation rate is nearly 15 ft. (4.75 m.). A list of the plants identified in the site area is as follows (Venner 1977):

Archaeological Fieldwork

We divided the fieldwork into two phases: (1) survey, and (2) mapping. The Party Hill Bay Site is not far from several roads and is located in an area that is subjected to occasional campouts and parties. The terrain is accessible to off-road vehicles such as jeeps, dune buggies, and motorcycles. Thus, vandalism has occurred to many of the alignments. The fieldwork was an attempt both graphically and photographically to record what is present, before any more damage can occur. In effect, this work can be termed salvage archaeology (Hole and Heizer 1973).

We began the survey by dividing the site into transects and walking over each transect. Any sites located, both historic as well as pre-historic were recorded. The mapping phase involved graphical placement of the alignments in relation to each other, as well as the mapping of the features of each alignment. This was accomplished by a combination of grid layouts and surveying techniques.

We examined any flakes and other materials of interest.

Rock Alignments

We discovered that the rock alignments were in close proximity to each other. They were all situated at about the same elevation, 920 ft. elevation, and embedded into the exposed desert pavement. Most of the alignments were found to be in direct association with some the lacustrine strandlines. All of the stones used in the alignments were collected locally from outcrops of quartz diorite. The early peoples gathered these clasts from Party Hill, which overlooks the site area.

The individual lithic pieces of the alignments were generally similar size and shape, with variations of course. The most commonly-sized rock was 9-12 inches long and 6-8 inches wide. They were usually embedded into the desert pavement about half their thickness. The exposed rock surfaces displayed evidence of sandblasting and desert varnish while the submerged portion had acquired the characteristic orange-to-yellow ground patina commonly found on the buried surfaces of desert rocks that have not been disturbed for a long period of time (Hayden 1976). A limited amount of caliche had also formed beneath the buried surfaces.

The alignments consist of three general descriptive types: (1) linear, (2) crescentic, and (3) ovid. These three shapes serve only as a means by which to group the alignments by shape so as to aid in our understanding of their nature. The functions of these alignments and the possible activities that occurred nearby will be discussed in the conclusion.

Rock Alignment Types

With one exception, alignments are all less than 12 feet in length or diameter. The exception is a large alignment nearly 75 feet long (23 m.). All alignments consist of one-course layering, and the alignment stones are distinct from the country rock, which is predominantly calcareous tufa. There are a total of 25 alignments. The most common is the crescentic form.

Linear Alignments

The linear alignments are a nearly-straight alignment of rock. Their positioning, in respect to the extinct shoreline, is almost always at right angles. Their deployment is generally east-west. The alignments of this type are; C, M, and AA. Alignments C and M are represented below. Alignment AA will be treated by itself because of its inherent size difference.

Crescentic Alignments

This type of alignment was most common. There has been a further subdivision of this type into two subtypes: I and II. All of the crescentic alignments are parallel to the shore strandlines. They are embedded into the tufa gravel and desert pavement that forms the crust on top of the benches in the area. All of these alignments have their wings pointed towards the extinct shore with their apex towards the lacustrine.

Subtype I

Subtype I can be described as ‘V’-shaped. Alignments B, E, G, and Q all possess a significant characteristic that differentiates them from Subtype II; this is the opening at the apex at the deeper end, and this difference is discussed in the conclusion.

Subtype II

Subtype II is best described as ‘U’-shaped. This form includes alignments; A, D, H, I, J, L, and N. These features lack the interruption at the apex that Subtype I contains. A second characteristic of difference between the two subtypes is the presence of small dunes on the windward sides of some of the alignments. The most likely cause for this Aeolian build-up is that some of these alignments have slightly larger rocks than Subtype I.

Ovoid Alignments

The ovoid-shaped features are rock scatters that conform to an overall circular form. This type includes Alignments; O, P, X, Y, Z, AB, AC, AD, and AE. They are all found up, away from the shorelines at higher elevations, 925-935 ft. (281-285 m.), than the other two types. They obviously have a separate cultural meaning.

Other Alignments

There are two types of alignments we separated from the three major types; (1) the large alignment, and (2) badly vandalized forms. Alignment AA is nearly 75 feet (23 m.) long and is basically linear. It is composed of nearly 250 stones, some weighing as much as 50 pounds (22.7 kg.). This alignment lies away from the shorelines in close association with the ovoid types. The possible function of this alignment will be discussed in the conclusion.

The remaining alignments have been disturbed to the point that it is not possible to obtain any accurate account of their original form. These alignments, thus, are of little archaeological value.

Other Alignments

A total of 48 siliceous flakes were recorded and separated into four descriptive types, based upon rock material. The descriptive types are; (1) fine grained basalt, (2) chalcedony, (3) jasper, and (4) rhyolite. The flakes were all small, ½ to 1½ inches long and ⅓ to 1¼ inches wide. They all were produced by percussion flaking. Some exhibited pressure flaking also. Wind damage is severe on nearly every piece.

Over ¾ of the flakes are classified as debris from a knapper’s workshop. These would be the discarded pieces that are wasted away in the knapping process of manufacturing lithic tools. Some of the pieces represented shapes that are associated with scraper forms, as well as knife forms. These will be discussed in the conclusion.

We found one projectile point. This artifact is a Silver Lake Point, which can be employed as a tentative temporal type. Silver Lake Points have been found in association with radiocarbon datable materials and a time frame for the manufacture of these artifacts can be assumed. The significance of this point is discussed in the conclusion.

Lithic Descriptive Types

Discussion

There is considerable evidence that dramatic changes in climate have occurred in the Lake Mojave basin since it was occupied by prehistoric peoples. At present the area exhibits the characteristics of the Lower Sonoran life-zone: precipitation is minimal, temperature range widely, as well as being extreme, and flora is sparse and well adapted to an arid environment. Factors support the idea of a pluvial condition during the last glacial period. There were cooler temperatures, considerably more precipitation, and a change in the vegetation zones.

Paleoclimatic reconstructions have been developed (Mehringer 1967, Leskinen 1975, King 1976, and Malde 1964). They have demonstrated that the climatic conditions fluctuated. Using fossil pollen studies, Mehringer suggests that vegetation zones were lowered nearly 3,200 feet (990 m.) during the last pluvial period. Malde stated, 12,000 – 13,000 years ago the annual temperatures were reduced 10-12° F. (5-7° C.). King has obtained samples of Juniper (Juniperus californica) and Pinyon Pine (Pinus monophylla) from woodrat  (Neotoma lepida) nests that have been radio-carbon dated from 8,000 – 12,000 BP. These nests now, are situated in areas that are too warm and too dry to support such types of plants.

The lowering of the annual temperature, as suggested by Malde would result in more precipitation. Malde postulates as much as 8 extra inches (20 cm) of moisture each year. This additional moisture could support life forms which now exist only at higher elevation. The decrease in elevation of the Pinyon-Juniper and the High Desert Woodland biotic community 3,250 feet (990 m.) from its present location would position this zone at about the 1,500 – 1,700 (457-518 m.) elevation level. This would bring this life zone to within a mile (1.6 km) or so of the Silver Lake shorelines. The higher elevation life zones would also be lowered accordingly: The Ponderosa Pine forest and the Lodge pole Pine—White Fir forests. There would also be an introduction of the Alpine Fell life zone (Jaeger and Smith 1971) near the peaks of the higher mountains.

The runoff and drainage of this additional precipitation , which would be amplified by a tremendous drop in the evaporation rate, would allow the creation of fresh water lacustrial stands (lakes); and, in such a fashion, the Lake Mojave basin was filled. There is evidence to support the suggestion that the body of water existed continuously, for nearly 2,000 years; from 11,000 to 9,000 years ago (Ore and Warren 1971).

This lake would have created its own biotic communities. Riparian woodlands would have appeared along the major drainages between the higher elevations and the lacustrial shoreline. This would have introduced such major species as Cottonwoods (Populus trichocarpa), Maples (Acer macrophyllum), and willows (Saliz sp.) (Jaeger and Smith 1971). Around the shorelines of the lake, a freshwater marsh environment would have existed. In these lake shallows, plants such as Tules (Acirpus acutus), and Cattails (Typha latifolia or T. angustifolia) (Weide 1968), as well as Rushes (Eleocharis spp.) and Sedges (Carex spp.) (Jaeger and Smith 1971). The existence of each one of these life zones would have also produced its own characteristic faunal communities as well.

It will be noted that the aqua environment of Lake Mojave has not been developed. The availability of a body of water the size of Lake Mojave creates possibilities for many sub-aqueous animal species. A walk along some of the shorelines is all that is necessary to document the existence of freshwater clams (Anadontis californicus). Tests for the presence of fish have not been made. Weide (1968) indicates that the pluvial fresh water lakes of neighboring Coachella Valley possessed fish. Further evidence for the existence of fish in Lake Mojave is presented by the interpretation of some of the cultural remains that have been found at the Party Hill Bay site.

The presence of Lake Mojave and the vegetation zones listed, as well as the animals appropriate to each life zone, would have presented a rich food source for prehistoric humans. We interpret the existence of the Party Hill Bay site as an area of exploitation of this rich food environment.

The presence of the rock alignments suggest three different functions, each function corresponding with a different alignment design. The rock alignment functional types will be termed as the following: (1) Fish weirs, (2) Hunting blinds, and (3) Shelters. The lithic artifacts were identified as food gathering and preparation tools used in hunting, hide scraping, flesh cutting, and wood and vegetable cutting.

Fish Weirs

Wilke (personal communication) has studied fish weirs along the shorelines of Lake Cahuilla and has developed a descriptive type, as well as suggesting how these forms were used. These features are described as being either ‘V’ or ‘U’-shaped with the wings extending towards the shore. They have an opening at the apex in the deeper water. These weirs were used to channel the escape of fish. The route of the fish was controlled so they had to pass through the opening at the end of the alignment. At this point, a dip net or some other form of catchment device awaited the fish.

The Alignments; B, G, E, and Q fit this description of the Wilke fish weirs. All four alignments can be described as ‘V’-shaped and possess the opening at the apex on the down-slope side. They occupy an elevational relationship to each other along a series of definable shorelines. The possibility of more fish weirs existing is present but so far only three can be confidently describes as fish weirs. There has been some vandalism in the area caused by vehicular traffic, as the bench that these alignments occupy provides a smooth and firm surface to drive across.

Hunting Blinds

Wallace (1976) has described hunting blinds in the Death Valley area. Two types are discussed: one for hunting large mammalian game such as deer and sheep, and a second type used for hunting water fowl. The Party Hill Bay features resemble the characteristics of the waterfowl blinds. The Death Valley waterfowl blinds were constructed near past bodies of water where Tules (Scripus acutus) and other marsh plants existed. The blinds consisted of brush and sticks that would form a small dome-shaped, house like structure. It seems likely that these blinds were anchored by an arrangement of stones which would be circular or crescentic in shape.

Alignments A, D, H, I, J and L present shapes that could have served this hunting function. They are all on a similar elevation. They could help conceal hunters who crouched behind, or within these brush shelters, lying in wait for ducks and geese, and other waterfowl to come within striking range.

Shelters

Rogers (1939) described certain rock alignments which he called house-shelter types. They usually consisted of a circular arrangement of rocks with an average diameter of 6 feet (1.8 m.). Rogers presented ethnographic evidence that supported his idea of these alignments being used as sleeping circles. He cited an 1872 report that described these rock circles as serving as an anchor for brush and sticks which would have broken the winds, as well as providing shade. The most common shapes are drawn below: (Pourade, ed. 1966)

While none of the Party Hill Bay alignment completely reproduces these forms, Alignments N and P closely approximate one of these features. The possibility of them providing a form of limited weather protection can be inferred. As with the hunting blinds, the vegetal material has been destroyed, but the rock alignments remain, providing a hint as to how the area was used by the ancients.

A second type of circular arrangement may also provide evidence of a dwelling form. Alignments X and AC are circular in overall form but have rocks scattered over the entire area, rather than just being confined to the “walls.” It is possible that these were also shelters but have been disturbed by vandalism.

Other Alignments

Two other types of alignment designs exist at the site. The first is composed of linear arrangement (Alignment M). Because of this alignment’s position with relation to the ground slope, the possibility exists that this was some form of check dam, used for controlling water runoff. A simply built water-control device would be a single line of rocks that would cross a watercourse at right angles; it purpose would be to slow the water and cause a small pool to form (Venner 1974).

The second example of alignment is also basically linear in design but the overall size dwarfs all the other alignments. Alignment AA is 75 feet (22 m.) long. It was first noted by Ore and Warren (1971). This feature may have served as a windbreak, in which living activities could have occurred on the lee side. This in inferred from the cultural materials found by the Ore and Warren excavations. They uncovered flakes, broken clam shells (Anadonta californica), and other possible artifacts. This seems to be a likely function for the alignment, envisioning the ancients using this rock line to hold down sticks and brush.

The alignment does not appear to be a water-control device such as Alignment M, as there appears to be no prehistoric water drainage seen in the area, nor is there any deposit of silt on the upstream side, which would have built up when the silt-laden waters would have been slowed by a check dam. Alignments of this shape and size have usually been defined as of ceremonial use (Rogers 1939, Pourade, ed. 1966, King and Casebier 1974, and Benton 1977). As more data becomes available we hope to be able to create a supportable thesis concerning the function of this alignment.

Lithics

Most of the pieces that were studies appear to be waste flaking from a general workshop area that lies west of the large alignment. These flakes show no evidence of retouch or of usage. At present there is no way to associate these pieces with any tool tradition or horizon. The scrapers that were located and examined (#8, 11, 15, 16, 17, 22, and 31) were mainly a thin percussion flake in which certain portions of the margin had been retouched. They were probably used on skins.

The knives in the artifact inventory (#7, 34, and 36) were of a plano-convex shape. They, as the scrapers have suffered the effects of blowing sand and show no evidence of usage. The knife types were probably used to cut flesh or vegetal materials. Both the scrapers and the knives can be classified as existing within the San Dieguito Playa Complex, as defined by Rogers (1939).

The hunting implement is a projectile point, a Silver Lake Point. This point type is well known and has been reported by many (Campbell, et all 1937, Hunt 1958, Davis 1964, Rogers 1939, Wallace 1962, and Bettinger and Taylor 1974). This artifact has a temporal range established from radiocarbon dates of associated artifacts from other sites at a date of from 6,000 to 8,000 BP (Wallace 1962, and Bettinger and Taylor 1974).

Final Summation

In conclusion, we have provided evidence establishing the activities which occurred along the northwest shore of Lake Mojave during the last pluvial period 12,000 to 8,000 years ago. During this age of wetter climates and more vegetation, the ancients lived along the shores of the lake and hunted game such as deer and sheep, and waterfowl. Artifacts from the site also indicate such life-support activities as fishing, clam collecting, processing vegetal foods, skinning hides, and preparing meat. We will continue to work along the shorelines of this playa and gather more information that will enable us to further develop a reconstruction of the various activities that occurred during pluvial times.

Bibliography

Benton, James S.

1977    San Bernardino County Museum Site Survey Form 26-10-5.

Bettinger, Robert, and R. E. Taylor

1974    “Suggested Revisions in Archaeological Sequences of the Great Basin in Interior

Southern California.” Nevada Archaeological Survey Research paper No. 5 Reno.

Campbell, Elizabeth W. Crozier, et. Al.

1937    The Archaeology of Prehistoric Lake Mojave: A Symposium. Southwest Museum

Papers No 12 Los Angeles.

Davis, Emma Lou

1964    “An Archaeological Survey of the Mono Lake Basin and Excavations of two

Rockshelters, Mono Lake, California.” University of California Archaeological

Survey, Annual Report. Los Angeles.

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1959    “Structure and Petrology of the Northeast Part of the Soda Mountains, San

Bernardino County, California.” Bulletin of the Geological Society of America

Vol. 70.

Hamlin, Marcus

1977    Desert Life Manuscript on file with the Baker Valley Unified School District.

Hayden, Julian D.

1976    “Pre-Altithermal Archaeology in the Sierra Pinacate, Sonora, Mexico.” American

Antiquity, Vol. 41, Number 3.

Hole, Frank, and Robert F. Heizer

1973    An Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.,

San Francisco.

Hunt, Alice

1960    “Archaeology of the Death Valley Salt Pan, California.” University of Utah

Anthropological Papers. No. 47. Salt Lake City.

Jaeger, Edmund C., and Arthur C. Smith

1971    Introduction to the Natural History of Southern California. University of California Press, Berkeley.

Leskinen, Paul H.

1975    “Occurrence of Oaks in Late Pleistocene Vegetation in the Mojave Desert.”

California Botanical Society, Madrono Journal, Vol. 23, No. 4.

King, Chester, and Dennis Casebier

1976    Background to Historic and Prehistoric Resources of the East Mojave Desert Region.

United States Dept. of Interior, BLM, Riverside.

King, Thomas

1976    “Archaeological Implications of the Paleobotanical Record from Lucerne Valley Area

of the Mojave Desert.” San Bernardino County Museum Association Quarterly, Vol. 23,

No. 4.

Malde, Harold E.

1964    “Environment and Man in Arid America,” Science, Vol. 145, No. 3628, Washington.

Mehringer, Peter J.

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Nevada. Nevada State Museum Anthropological Papers, No. 13.

Ore, H. Thomas, and Claude N. Warren

1971    “Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene Geomorphic History of Lake Mojave, California.”

Geological Society of America Bulletin, Vol. 82.

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1966    Ancient Hunters of the Far West. San Diego Museum of Man. The Union-Tribune Pub.

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Rogers, Malcolm J.

1939    “Early Lithic Industries of the Lower Basin of the Colorado River and Adjacent

Desert Areas.” San Diego Museum Papers, No. 3.

Venner, William T.

1974    “Sinagua Water Control.” California State University, Sacramento Archaeological

Studies.

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American Antiquity, Vol. 28, No. 2. Salt Lake City.

1976    “Hunting Blinds of the Death Valley Indians.” The Masterkey, Vol. 50, No. 4.

Weide, Margaret L.

1968    Cultural Ecology of Lakeside Adaptations in the Western Great Basin. Dissertation

on file with University of California, Los Angeles.

Wilke, Phillip J.

1977    Letter dated 17 J

A selection of rock alignments

une 1977.

The Calico Early Man Site is a possible Paleo-Indians lithic workshop for stone tools and a simple quarry archaeological site in the Mojave Desert. It is located 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Barstow, California in the Calico Mountains foothills, in San Bernardino County, California.

The Calico Early Man Site has three components of differing ages:(1) artifacts of the Lake Manix Lithic Industry found on and just below the surface at elevations greater than 543 m (1,781 ft), the shoreline elevation of a 236 km2 (91 sq mi) freshwater Pleistocene lake which emptied approximately 18,000 years ago.
(2) artifacts of the Calico Lithic Industry, recovered from nested Pleistocene alluvial deposits stratigraphically beneath a 100,000 year old soil profile: the deposits dated to 135,000 years by thermoluminescence (TL) and about 200,000 years by uranium-series analysis.
(3) The Rock Wren Biface, a large well-formed biface tool recovered from a younger nested-inset alluvial deposit at Calico: dated by sediment thermoluminescence (sediment TL) to 14,400 ±2,200 years year ago. A test pit located near the discovery location is currently being excavated and is yielding putative artifactual material.
Introduction
The stone tools of these industries, along with preforms, lithic core, technical flakes, and pieces of angular debitage, mainly of chalcedony, are found on and in late middle Pleistocene-age fanglomerates and younger inset alluvial terraces in the Calico Hills (also known as the Yermo Hills) east of the Calico Peaks and the Calico Mountains. The location is in the central portion of southern California’s Mojave Desert. Historically, this archaeological project has also been known as The Calico Mountains Archaeological Site and The Calico Hills Archaeological Site. Today, it is simply called The Calico Site.

Manix Basin
In most of the Great Basin region, Late Pleistocene and Holocene alluviation has effectively buried and sealed earlier Pleistocene sediments and possible evidence of pre-Clovis cultures. In the Manix Basin (Lower Mojave Valley) of San Bernardino County, California, however, a fortuitous ensemble of environmental factors relating to mountain building; climatically controlled conditions for lake formation, alluviation, and erosion; faulting and folding; and significant erosion of ancient lacustrine plain sediments by the modern drainage have rendered relatively accessible for archaeological investigation a series of deposits that represent more than 350,000 years of Quaternary history.

The Manix Basin, a structural basin in the central Mojave Desert, is the third and lowest major valley of the Mojave River, presently an exotic stream with episodic flow, which has its source in the San Bernardino Mountains, some 200 km (120 mi) to the southeast.

A freshwater lake developed in the basin about 400,000 – 500,000 years ago near to the Calico Archaeological Site. The lake was present until the late Pleistocene. The last high stand of Lake Manix was at 543 m (1,781 ft) and had a surface area of approximately 236 km2 (91 sq mi). This lake drained, probably catastrophically, approximately 18,100 years ago, probably as a result of a major increase in river inflow or tectonic movement on the Manix fault.[1]

Fossils
The lacustrine, fluvial, and alluvial sediments of the Pleistocene Manix Formation contain remains of numerous Rancholabrean animals ranging in age from approximately 20,000 years to well in excess of 350,000 years before present.[1] Fossils recovered from the section include: camel, horse, mammoth, saber-tooth cat, dire wolf, short-faced bear, coyote, flamingo, pelican, eagle, swan, geese, mallard duck, ruddy duck, canvas backed duck, double-rested cormorant, grebe, crane, seagull and stork.[1]

 Prehistoric tools
Thousands of rocks that bear a strong resemblance to prehistoric tools have been found at the site, both on the surface, and up to 8 m (26 ft) below the surface. Scientifically dated to over 200,000 BP, the excavated subsurface objects are many times older than the traditional date of the first human entry into the Americas, approximately 11,000 BP.

The Debate –  The debate centers on whether the “tools” were made by humans (i.e., artifacts), or through typical geological processes (i.e. geofacts). The general scientific consensus is that the subsurface items are geofacts.[2]

 In addition to formed tools, more than 60,000 lithic flakes or technical flakes and pieces of angular debitage (flintknapping debris) have been recovered from Master Pits I and II at Calico. The number of formed stone tools now exceeds 8,000 (as analysis and cataloging efforts continue. Tools in the Calico lithic assemblage were fashioned on cores, flakes, and blades. Most were fashioned by simple hard hammer percussion flaking and flint knapping, some were made using ground or lap anvils, including by bipolar techniques.

 Artifacts or geofacts?
The artifactual character of the Calico lithic assemblage has been questioned (Haynes 1973; Payen 1982a, 1982b; Taylor and Payen 1979; Duvall and Venner 1979). Haynes (1973) postulated that rock fracturing by tectonic stresses, weather, rock-on-rock percussion in streams and mudflows, pressure retouch of buried cobbles, and successive generations of flake removal and separation from cores through cycles of erosion and redeposition could have occurred during deposition of the alluvial deposits at Calico and produced specimens indistinguishable from artifacts.

However, such mechanisms do not frequently cause artifact-like fracturing. This is especially true with regard to the small, delicate flaking seen on light-duty tools such as burins, gravers, becs, denticulates, and reamers. Studies indicate that stream transport abrades and rounds rocks quickly; it does not dislodge artifact-like flakes by percussion. Streams are capable of generating only about 10 percent of the force needed to dislodge significant numbers of percussion flakes; forces in mudflows are lower due to viscosity. If streams produced pseudo-artifacts, dry streambeds would be littered with such specimens. They are not. The only contexts known to produce significant amounts of percussive flaking (and occasional pseudo-artifacts) are high-energy storm conditions on rocky beaches and certain types of rock falls (landslides and waterfalls).

Flake scar angles – Past Research
Payen (1982) studied flake scar angles as traits for distinguishing artifacts from geofacts. He tested a method developed by Barnes (1939) who had compared frequency of obtuse angles on eoliths, natural fractures, and artifacts. Barnes found obtuse angles on 72% of eoliths, 75% of natural fractures, and 18% of artifacts and concluded that “The flaked tools of an industry…may be considered to be of human origin if not more than 25% of the angles scar-platform are obtuse (90 degrees and over)” (Barnes 1939:111). Payen measured all flake angles on each Calico specimen in his sample. It is conceivable that flake scars were confused for striking platforms. Flaking from one side of a specimen can often remove earlier platform areas on the other side. Angles between two flake scars are different from angles between platforms and derivative flake scars.

Payen compared mean angle values for Calico specimens with those on specimens selected as representing controlled and uncontrolled fracture. He found that “Statistically, there is no significant difference between the sample of alleged tools and the uncontrolled fracture series.” (Payen 1982:200). Payen’s conclusion, however, does not follow unambiguously from his data. Neither Payen, nor Barnes, has established a single trait criterion for distinguishing artifacts from geofacts.[citation needed]

Duvall and Venner (1979:462) examined a sample of Calico artifacts and concluded they were form-selected examples of naturally flaked rocks. This assessment was based on variances in seven attributes (length, width, thickness, flake angle, medial axis angle lateral edge angle, and distal edge angle) and comparison with comparable attributes on specimens in eight Paleoindian collections reported by Wilmsen (1970). Wilmsen was concerned with differences in tool technologies and functions, not with distinguishing artifacts from geofacts.

Duvall and Venner demonstrated that the statistical techniques used in their testing bears on the question of the artifactuality of the Cakico specimens. They illustrate that the examined Calico tools are not from the same population as the non-bifacial tools and utilized flakes from certain Paleoindian sites. However, the Calico Lithic Industry is a morphological parallel of (and time-equivalent to) Old World Paleolithic industries, not to much more recent PaleoIndian industries.

Both the Duvall and Venner, and the Payen papers have been criticized by those supporting the pro-artifact argument.[3] However, the present consensus, as demonstrated by Duvall and Venner, is that there is no evidence of human activity at the Calico Early Man site. This consensus was developed based on a number of factors, including: The lack of other evidence of human activity (e.g. human or animal remains, or non-tool artifacts).
The deep antiquity of the site (the next oldest date for human artifacts in the Americas is 30,000 BP, and that date itself is controversial).
The sheer number of possible tools, up to 60,000 by one account.[4]
The research by Duvall and Venner, Payen, and others provided possible natural explanations for the stone objects.

 History of excavations at the Calico Early Man Site — Visitor center, June 2010In 1959 Louis Leakey, while at the British Museum of Natural History in London, received a visit from Ruth DeEtte Simpson, an archaeologist from California. Simpson had acquired what looked like ancient scrapers from a site in the Calico Hills and showed it to Leakey.

Leakey viewed it as important to study the Calico Hill site,[5] as he was convinced that the number and distribution of native languages in the Americas required more time than 12,000 years to evolve and acquire their current distribution.[6] The opportunity to test this theory came four years later in 1963, when Leakey obtained funds from the National Geographic Society and commenced archaeological excavations with Simpson. Mary Leakey did not share his visionary views.[5] However,Louis Leakey continued to visit the site several times a year and was connected with the project until his death in 1972. The site was taken over by California’s Bureau of Land Management and was opened to the public. It presently offers a visitor center, gift shop, and guided walking tour.

Notes
1.^ a b c http://www.calicodig.org/text?page=4 Calico Early Man Site: The Setting]
2.^ See Haynes, as one example. Published studies in peer-reviewed journals consistently support the “geofact” explanation.
3.^ Patterson, et al.
4.^ AmericanWest’s Calico Site Update
5.^ a b Morell, pp. 266-267.
6.^ Calico Site Update.
 References
Bischoff, J.L., R.J. Shlemon, T.L. Ku, R.D. Simpson, R.J. Rosenbauer, & F.E. Budinger, Jr., “1981 Uranium-series and Soils-geomorphic Dating of the Calico Archaeological Site, California”, Geology V9 (12), pp. 576-582.
Budinger Jr., Fred E., Oberlander, Theodore Calicodig.com “This web site describes and analyzes the Calico Archaeological Site and the Calico Lithic Industry”. With many stone object photos.
Debenham, N., (1998) Thermoluminescence Dating of Sediment from the Calico Site (California) (CAL1), Quaternary TL Surveys, Nottingham, United Kingdom, 1998.
Duvall, James G., and Venner, William Thomas, “A Statistical Analysis of the Lithics from the Calico Site (SBCM 1500A), California”, Journal of Field Archaeology, Winter 1979: Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 455-462.
Haynes, Vance (1973) “The Calico Site: Artifacts or Geofacts?”, Science, vol. 181, no. 4097, July 27, 1973, pp. 305-310.
Morell, Virginia (1995) Ancestral Passions: The Leakey Family and the Quest for Humankind’s Beginnings, Simon & Schuster, pp. 266-267.
Payen, L., “Artifacts or geofacts at Calico: Application of the Barnes test,” in Peopling of the New World, Ericson J., Taylor, R., and Berger, R., eds. Los Altos, California: Ballena Press, 1982, pp. 193–201.
Patterson, Leland W.; Hoffman, Louis V.; Higginbotham, Rose Marie; Simpson, Ruth D. (1987) “Analysis of Lithic Flakes at the Calico Site, California”, in Journal of Field Archaeology, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Spring, 1987), pp. 91-106.
AmericanWest’s North American Archaeology Section, Calico Site Update. “. . .over 60,000 tools and flakes have been collected”.
Friends of Calico Early Man Site; 2024 Orange Tree Lane, Redlands, CA 93474

This report is the analysis of a lake channel stratigraphic soil profile conducted by Baker High School students under the direction of William T. Venner. The soil profile was excavated approximately one half mile north of Baker, California, in a location where alluvial depositions from both the eastern and western drainages merge together at the southern terminus of Silver Lake.

ENVIRONMENT

The excavation was made in an alluvial spit in the lake channel, the drainage course connecting Soda Lake and Silver Lake. It lies along the axis of a pinch in a large structural depression between the Ivanpah Upland, Cima Dome and the Halloran complex to the east, and the Soda Mountains to the west.

Detritus is from three distinct sources: From the east, granitic arlcose (coarse feldspathic sand), gneiss and basalt clasts dominate. The area drained is much greater than the west-side watershed and reaches 4000-4500 feet.

To the west are the deeply eroded, but still structurally younger Soda Mountains. They contribute coarse detritus of mostly metamorphic rocks of great variety. The assemblages are distinctive and easily recognized. Maximum elevation at the watershed is about 3000-3400 feet.

The third source of sediment is Soda Lake itself; it is being dissected at its southern extremity by headwater erosion of the lake channel, contributing to the deposition of silt, clay, and evaporates.

SEDIMENTOLOGY

The excavation was made in an area where the different facies of a modern desert-basin sedimentary pile could be found in inter-tonguing relationship. In the Baker depression there are three main facies; they are described above. They are referenced to here as the Halloran, Soda Mountain, and playa facies, respectively.

The Halloran facies is fed directly into the channel by washes draining the great pediment ascending from Baker to the basalt flows east-northeastward. The washes run water on the average of four to six times a year and carry relatively well-sorted sand winnowed out of a granitic-detritus alluvial fan.

The Soda Mountain facies is fed into the channel along short and steep gradients; the washes flow only a few times annually, some years—not at all, under the impetus of severe local storms. They carry large quantities of coarse fragments and sand made up of quartz, feldspars, biotite, and various particles of fine grained metamorphic rocks.

The playa facies originates from the south from degradation of the lake channel itself as well as dissection of parts of Soda Lake. The evaporates originate in main from the lake, which is the terminal sump of the Mojave River.

ANALYSIS

The transport indicators point north, downstream towards Silver Lake. Material deposited in the channel is periodically scoured and redistributed by floods, accounting for the alternating layers of sands, clays, and gravels in sub-units 1-4 (su-1 to su-4). In all cases the material, regardless of facies, is moved to the north.

The color changes at the base of su-4 coincides with a change in lithology. The clasts increase radically in maximum size, beds thicken, and Anadonta fragments (indicators of fresh-water lake environments) appear.

Erosion was apparently more vigorous in the interval of deposition of su-5 and  su-6 than it is today. Su-6 has the texture and appearance of a mud flow. It is wholly unsorted and at least a foot thick. The alluvium overlying su-6 could have been only deposited by a strong stream or flood carrying abundant coarse rock. It is quite possibly that this elastic wedge represents deformation of the basin floor with respect to the Soda Mountains, since almost all of the larger fragments examined correlate with rock types presently exposed in those mountains, and that many of the stream valley profiles in the Sodas show evidence of entrenchment after a period of stability (Gneiss Hills, Tunnel Canyon area). Also, the modern playas themselves tend to be crowded against hills or steep escarpments on the west side of the basin, and grade more gradually into a vast, concave-profile pediment-alluvial fan eastwards. This arrangement suggests down-dropping in the not-too-distant past at the west edge of the depression by warping, faulting, or both.