March 2004 - Society for California Archaeology

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32 Articles history of El Polín Springs. We learned that the present-day picnic area was once a patchwork of different micro-environments, including low-lying wetlands and ponds, sand dunes, and gentle slopes of clay loam. In many cases these different geological formations occur in spaces of as little as 10 meters from another, and in no case were soil profiles continuous from one test block to the next. We are expanding the scope of our planned investigations in Summer 2004 to include geomorphology and palyntology studies that can further refine these initial findings. Together the test excavations recovered over 100,000 archaeological specimens. Project researchers are currently working on cataloging Figure 5: The Summer 2003 research team posted in front of our most important discovery – the stone foundation of this adobe house. Figure 4: El Polín Springs as it looks today, a popular picnic area and trailhead for park visitors. both high- and low-density areas to explore the full range of deposits that might be present. The most significant finding of the test excavations was the discovery of the stone foundation of a Spanish-colonial/Mexican period adobe house (Figure 5). We quickly amended our research plan to trace the orientation and size of this structure. This foundation feature – termed Building 1 for the purposes of our investigation – is surprisingly well-preserved. Although the collapsed adobe walls above the stone foundation have been largely removed by American-period grading, the foundations retain the upper leveling course of stone, mud mortar, and adobe brick fragments. Both this and the presence of what appear to be roof collapse deposits indicate that floor surfaces might still be preserved within this structure. We also discovered what may be the opening of a pit or well feature immediate east of Building 1, and verified the presence of intact yard deposits to the west of the structure. Both the interior of Building 1 and the yard and pit deposits on the structure’s exterior will be further excavated in Summer 2004. The test excavations also provided substantial information about the environmental Figure 6: Project crew chief Ingrid Newquist explains the archaeological process to one of our many visitors. SCA Newsletter 38(1)
33 Articles and analyzing this collection at the Stanford Archaeology Center laboratories. We are joined in our efforts by zooarchaeologist Cheryl Smith at UC Berkeley, archaeobotanist Virginia Popper at UCLA, and lithic analyst Kathleen Hull at San Jose State University. The findings of both field and laboratory studies will be compiled in an annual progress report to be produced in May 2004. A Holistic Approach to Research on Culture Contact The Tennessee Hollow Watershed Archaeology Project integrates oral history, ethnography, and archival research with archaeology in the study of culture contact. This past spring, I began an oral history study to locate and interview people whose heritage is related to the Spanish-colonial/ Mexican era at the Presidio of San Francisco generally, and to El Polín Spring specifically. Twenty-nine interviews have been conducted to date, with more scheduled for the months ahead. We are also fortunate to benefit from archival research being conducted by US/ICAMOS Visiting Scholar Veronica Dado, who has been transcribing and translating Spanishcolonial/Mexican era documents related to the history of El Presidio de San Francisco (Dado 2003). Our project also includes a vigorous public interpretation component with interpretive stations and tours for on-site visitors (Figure 6). About 1,000 people visited the excavations in Summer 2003 and a project website provides regular project updates and opportunities for public comment on our research (www.stanford.edu/group/presidio). Because both archaeological and ethnohistoric research are still in very early stages, it is premature to speculate on what the conclusions of this investigation might be. Already, however, we have found that the extramural residential areas at El Presidio de San Francisco survive in the form of wellpreserved archaeological deposits, and we anticipate that the findings of this investigation will result in a more holistic understanding of the dynamics and outcomes of culture contact at colonial military settlements. The Tennessee Hollow Watershed Archaeology Project is directed by Dr. Barbara L. Voss through a research partnership between Stanford University and the Presidio Trust in cooperation with the National Park Service. Funding for this research has been provided by several Stanford University programs, including Urban Studies, Feminist Studies, the Office of Technology Licensing, the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, and the Iris F. Litt, M.D., Fund. References Cited Barker, L. 1989 Archaeological Resources: Presidio of SF NHL District Nomination., NPS, Western Regional Office, National Register Programs, San Francisco, CA. 1992 Presidio of San Francisco National Historic Landmark District Predicted Archaeological Features and Historic Forest Plantation. Western Regional Office, San Francisco, California. Barker, L. R., C. Whatford and V. Bente 1997 Unraveling the Archeological Structure of the Presidio of San Francisco. Paper presented at the Society for California Archaeology 31st Annual Meeting, Rohnert Park, California. Dado, V. 2003 El Presidio de San Francisco: Spanish Colonial Documentation Translation Project. Report submitted to the Presidio Trust and the National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Ivey, J. 1991 Inventory of Potential Archaeological Resources of Presido [sic] San Francisco. Report submitted to the National Park Service. Milliken, R. 1995 A Time of Little Choice. Ballena Press Anthropological Papers. Ballena Press, Menlo Park. Voss, B. L. 1999 Report on Archaeological Shovel Probe Survey at the Presidio of San Francisco, 1997-1998. Report submitted to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, National Park Service. 2002 The Archaeology of El Presidio de San Francisco: Culture Contact, Gender, and Ethnicity in a Spanish-colonial Military Community. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Department of Anthropology. Voss, B. L. and V. G. Bente 1996 Archaeological Discovery and Investigation of the Historic Presidio de San Francisco. Woodward-Clyde Consultants. Report submitted to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ See you at the Annual Meeting Banquet, Friday, 19 March 2004 in Riverside... SCA Newsletter 38(1)
Page 1 and 2: Founded 1966 Volume 38, Number 1 Ma
Page 3 and 4: 3 I’m looking forward to seeing a
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Page 15 and 16: 15 Field Notes Gundrum left Fort Ir
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Page 39 and 40: 39 Articles A Brief History of Russ
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Page 43 and 44: 43 Articles Baker, Joseph, ed. 1914
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March 2004 - Society for California Archaeology

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