ANDERSON MARSH STATE PARK

AT ANDERSON MARSH STATE PARK I SUPERVISED A GROUP OF ARCHEOLOGISTS AND VOLUNTEERS TO TEST EXCAVATE A PREHISTORIC SITE WHERE ANCESTORS OF THE SOUTHEAST POMO LIVED CONTINOUSLY FOR 10,000 YEARS. THESES SITES ARE SOME OF THE OLDEST IN CALIFORNIA. OUR WORK WAS RESEARCH BASED AND PARKS WAS PUTTING IN A PLATFORM HERE TO VIEW THE AREA. WE WANTED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS VILLAGE SITE THAN WE KNEW BEFORE THE 1980'S. IT HAD BEEN TEST EXCAVATED BY GREG WHITE AND CALTRANS AS THE SITE CROSSES THE ROAD. THE SOUTHEAST POMO ARE ONE OF THE LARGEST GROUPS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE PREHISTORIC PEOPLE OF THE AMERICAS. THEIR DESCENDANTS STILL LIVE NEARBY AND HOLD BIG HEAD DANCES HERE, AS WELL AS BUILD TULE HUTS AND DEMONSTRATE THEIR CRAFTS THERE ALONG WITH SPECIAL EVENTS.

OUR EXCAVATIONS INDICATED THROUGH COLLECTION OF VARIOUS OBSIDIANS THAT THE SITE DATED TO AROUND 9 TO 10,000 YEARS OLD AND WAS USED AS A PERMANENT VILLAGE SITE. WE FOUND FISHING TOOLS, COOKING STONES, PREHISTORIC PROJECTILE POINTS, SCRAPERS, AND PIECES OF GROUND STONE. THE TESTING WAS DONE BY SOME STONES WHICH HAD PETROGLYPHS CARVED IN THEM. THE STATE PARK ARCHAEOLOGIST BELIEVED THESE PIT AND GROOVES MAY REPRESENT SOME OF OUR STARS - BUT WHO KNOWS? MY LABORATORY WORK AND REPORT WORK TOOK MONTHS AND SOME PEOPLE AT THE PARK OFFICE HELPED COUNT THE THOUSANDS OF FLAKES. THEY SAID IT WAS VERY TEDIOUS AS WELL.

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