August 1999 Issues Online June 2007 April 2007 February 2007 December 2006 October 2006 August 2006 June 2006 April 2006 February 2006 December 2005 October 2005 August 2005 June 2005 April 2005 February 2005 December 2004 October 2004 August 2004 June 2004 April 2004 February 2004 December 2003 October 2003 August 2003 June 2003 April 2003 February 2003 December 2002 October 2002 August 2002 June 2002 April 2002 February 2002 December 2001 October 2001 August 2001 June 2001 April 2001 February 2001 December 2000 October 2000 August 2000 June 2000 April 2000 February 2000 December 1999 October 1999 August 1999 June 1999 April 1999 February 1999 December 1998 October 1998 August 1998 June 1998 April 1998 February 1998 December 1997 October 1997 August 1997 June 1997 April 1997 February 1997 December 1996 October 1996 August 1996 June 1996 April 1996 February 1996 December 1995 October 1995 August 1995 June 1995 April 1995 February 1995 December 1994 October 1994 August 1994 June 1994 April 1994 February 1994 December 1993 October 1993 August 1993 Select any issue from the menu in this bar.

Bay History by the Mound

The fact that shopping malls and parking lots may soon bury two of the Estuary's historic shellmounds heightened the already palpable level of interest in these environmental artifacts at a July 25 symposium sponsored by the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, News for Native California, and the UC Berkeley Archaeological Facility.

The 200 people attending the Emeryville conference heard speakers discuss such shellmound-related topics as the environmental history of the Bay, new, less invasive techniques of archaeological examination, and how to best preserve what is left of the mounds. Once thought of as little more than garbage dumps, an attitude perpetuated by early anthropologists, according to U.C. archaeology professor Kent Lightfoot, the mounds are now considered important artifacts that offer a glimpse of what the Bay and its earliest human inhabitants were like.

As many as 425 of these prehistoric structures once ringed the Estuary wherever freshwater streams entered the Bay, says Lightfoot. From around 500 BC to AD 900, the early Native American inhabitants of the Estuary's shores began making mounds full of the shells of Bay mussels, Pacific oysters, and bent-nosed clams; the bones of seals, sea otters, sea lions, sturgeon, bat rays, leopard sharks, salmon and birds; and their own beads, tools and arrowheads. But the mounds were more than refuse heaps, says Lightfoot. Whole families, household groups, and even some of the architectural features of their dwellings - doors and ovens, for example - were also deposited in the mounds. Lightfoot says villages were often situated right on top of the mounds, perhaps in an attempt to connect the living with their ancestors.

Several speakers debated possible reasons why the largest shellmounds seem to have been deserted sometime between AD 700 to AD 1100. Although there is evidence the mounds were reused after AD 1100, that use "does not appear to be as intense as before," says Lightfoot. U.C. Berkeley's Peter Schweikhardt presented colleague Lynn Ingram's work radiocarbon-dating shells cored from San Pablo Bay, which indicates that for a period lasting at least 150 years, the Estuary experienced very dry conditions relative to the present (Ingram's work also shows that much wetter periods occurred as well). Ingram has also used shells from the West Berkeley mound as an indicator of upwellings off the coast, which correspond with high pressure systems and low precipitation in the Bay Area. Schweikhardt says the tops of the large shellmounds correspond with dry periods and speculates that the Native Americans may have moved on during extended droughts to find better food resources. Another explanation offered by archaeologist John Holson is that a new population of Native Americans moved in from another site and instituted a different method of burial.

Most of the speakers stressed the need to research and preserve what is left of the mounds, while Jackie Kehl, an Ohlone descendent, reminded the audience that the shellmounds are sacred and should be left untouched whenever possible. But this isn't the plan of developers who want to build a shopping mall on top of Emeryville's mound, and a parking garage on the mound in West Berkeley. Emeryville's Pat O'Keefe says the city has set up a committee to advise it on commemorating the mound. Some of their ideas so far include depicting its footprint and shape, incorporating some of the shell material into the mall structure, and creating an educational room with replicas of the mound and its artifacts, as well as a website about the history of the mound.

Other commemorative ideas include planting native riparian vegetation next to the concrete-lined Temescal Creek, at the mouth of which the mound was built. "After all, the creek is the reason the site is here," says Friends of Temescal Creek founder Bruce Douglas. The creek group's hope is that the development will feature the creek and a quiet, contemplative greenspace envisioned by the Ohlone descendants, that would, in a sense, connect the Estuary's current residents with those who were here a mere 900 years ago.

«To @@(newsletter_title)@@ Index

[ ABAG HOME | SFEP HOME ]

Copyright © 2002, San Francisco Estuary Project