Caltrans archeologists sift through dirt and sand for artifacts from an ancient village unearthed during a survey of a proposed highway project. The village, the largest ever uncovered on the East side, is said to be around 2,000 years old. Photo courtesy Tom Mills

By Mike Gervais
Register Staff

8-2-2008

Archeologists have uncovered what they believe could be “one of the most significant” prehistoric finds ever unearthed on the east side of the Sierra.
The discovery, which will be detailed in a complete report and public outreach book to be published later this year, includes remnants of Native American dwellings as old as 2,000 years.
Caltrans archeologists unearthed the ancient village and artifacts during a survey of a site on the Owens Valley floor in anticipation of a future highway expansion project. (To help protect items of historical significance, The Inyo Register will not be divulging the location of the site.)
A team of state archeologists has been researching the site since 2001, and recently concluded its work.
“The archeological process is done now,” said Caltrans District 9 Archeologist Tom Mills. “We did find some rather interesting things out there. Basically it was house floors and associated artifacts.”
According to Mills, the find is historically significant due to the age and size of the remains of what is believed to be a village.
“This is the earliest example we’ve found on the East Side here, ever. It seems it was used consistently over the past 2,000 years,” Mills said.

According to Mills, the archeological crew took carbon 14 samples “to get a good estimate on the age of the house floors,” and determined that the village was used relatively recently.
“When the Euro-Americans first moved to this region, it’s safe to say the Native Americans were still there at that site,” Mills said.
Archeologists uncovered at least two different types of structures, both believed to be homes from different time periods.
The older and largest of the dwellings located at the site were six to seven meters in diameter. Those homes are estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,000 years old.
Several smaller dwellings were also located. Those are believed to be  between 700 and 750 years old.
Naturally, the structures that would have been homes to ancestral Native Americans have long-since been destroyed by the elements or humans, but the dirt floors of the homes, which collected debris such as seeds, charcoal and food, remain.
“Basically what we found were the dirt floors that the people lived on. The structures, most of them were all burned down at some point for some reason,” Mills said.
The dwellings, Mills said, were most likely constructed of native brush built onto a frame made from local trees.

It is believed that the village was used most recently as a “fandango” site, where Native American tribes would meet for social and trade purposes. Mills also said the area may have been used to celebrate weddings or other events.
After the village was vacated, Mills said that sand blowing down from nearby hills covered and preserved most of the remains of the village.
“It really leaves a good snapshot into that time,” he said. “This is by far the most significant” archeological finding in the Eastern Sierra. “Up until this point we have found five or six houses in a village of this age, 1,500-2,000 years old” in another part of the region. But this particular site, he noted, is far greater in size.
“We took samples of 12 (dwellings) from here,” Mills said.
There may be additional dwellings and artifacts buried beneath the earth that the Caltrans team can’t access.
“We really can’t infer how big the village could have been at this time because we just looked at the project site,” and the ruins stretch from that area onto private land, Mills said. “It’s really hard to tell how many houses could have been out there.”
It would be up to the private land owner to work with the local tribe on plans for further excavation or research, Mills said.
“We’re done,” Mills said, noting that Caltrans would not continue excavation.
Caltrans will, however, take special measures to preserve the important archeological find as it moves forward with the proposed road improvement project.
“We will protect them and fence off sites during construction,” Mills said. “Anything that we encounter due to our excavation has to go to a federally-approved institution that can protect the artifacts and keep them safe,” he said of artifacts that were taken and carbon dated during the investigation into the site.
When Caltrans begins its road project, possibly next spring, the areas of the village that are within the project zone will be “capped” or buried under base sand that will preserve the remains.
Artifacts outside the Caltrans project area, undisturbed by the archeologists, will be left alone.
The archeological team that excavated the site will be completing a report and public outreach book on its findings at the site within the next six months.
The book will be used as part of the state’s Native American Outreach program, and interested organizations will be able to contract Caltrans to learn more about the findings at the prehistoric village.
“This has turned out to be one of the most important sites we have found to describe the pre-history of the Owens Valley,” said Mills, who has worked at more than 100 archeological sites in the Eastern Sierra during his career with Caltrans.