Occupation of Western Santa Cruz Island’s Interior Between 4,700 and 3,200 B.C.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Investigations of two inland sites on western Santa Cruz Island containing red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) midden strata provides insight into aspects of settlement systems between 4,700 and 3,200 B.P. Oxygen isotope analysis of mussel (Mytilus californianus) shells revealed that both sites were occupied during the summer and fall. Artifacts and floral and faunal remains indicate that CA-SCRI-796 probably was a residential base whereas CA-SCRI-758 was a camp. The red abalone midden at CA-SCRI-758 is distinctive, given the site’s high-elevation location, its location more than 6 km from a source of red abalone, and its thoroughly burned shell within an ashy matrix. The site may have been occupied by separate residential groups for social and ritual purposes. The analysis reveals that settlement systems of the time period during which red abalone middens were created were complex and that larger samples from sites are necessary for a greater understanding of this complexity.