Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization at the Coastal Sites of Point St. George, Northwestern Alta California

Abstract

Richard Gould's classic 1966 monograph, Archaeology of the Point St. George Site and Tolowa Prehistory, provided an important source of infor-mation on settlement and subsistence systems on the north coast of California. This article provides a quantitative assessment of two key ideas set forth in the study: (1) that there was profound variation in hunter-gatherer land use between the Middle and Late period components of the site, where marine foods were initially largely ignored and only later became a major focus; and (2) that the Late Period component was largely analogous to the ethnographic Tolowa, thus supporting an ethnoarchaeological approach. Drawing on previously unpublished quantitative macro-scale data from Gould's excavations at CA-DNO-11 and new micro-scale data from CA-DNO-13, we conclude that the components reflect two fundamentally different adaptive strategies: a more mobile foraging system in the Middle Period where people were targeting almost exclusively highly ranked taxa (regardless of whether they were marine or ter-restrial foods), and a sedentary village-based system in the Late Period, when mass extractive methods, storage, and the logistical procurement of resources became important strategies. Identified dietary remains include all major staples used by ethnographic Tolowa, but certain interior resources (salmon and acorns) may have been less of a focus on the coast than previously portrayed.

Full text

Macro and Micro Scale Signatures
of Hunter-Gatherer Organization at
the Coastal Sites of Point St. George,
Northwestern Alta California
Shannon Tushingham
Elk Valley Rancheria, California, 2332 Howland Hill Road, Crescent City,
CA 95531 and Department of Anthropology, University of California,
Davis, CA 95616 (stushingham@ucdavis.edu)
Jennifer Bencze
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
(jenniferbencze@hotmail.com)
Abstract Richard Gould’s classic 1966 monograph, Archaeology of the Point
St. George Site and Tolowa Prehistory, provided an important source of infor-
mation on settlement and subsistence systems on the north coast of California.
This article provides a quantitative assessment of two key ideas set forth in the
study: (1) that there was profound variation in hunter-gatherer land use
between the Middle and Late period components of the site, where marine foods
were initially largely ignored and only later became a major focus; and (2) that
the Late Period component was largely analogous to the ethnographic Tolowa,
thus supporting an ethnoarchaeological approach. Drawing on previously
unpublished quantitative macro-scale data from Gould’s excavations at
CA-DNO-11 and new micro-scale data from CA-DNO-13, we conclude that the
components reflect two fundamentally different adaptive strategies: a more
mobile foraging system in the Middle Period where people were targeting almost
exclusively highly ranked taxa (regardless of whether they were marine or ter-
restrial foods), and a sedentary village-based system in the Late Period, when
mass extractive methods, storage, and the logistical procurement of resources
became important strategies. Identified dietary remains include all major staples
used by ethnographic Tolowa, but certain interior resources (salmon and acorns)
may have been less of a focus on the coast than previously portrayed.
Resumen La monografía clásica de Richard Gould (1966), Archaeology of the
Point St. George Site and Tolowa Prehistory, es una fuente importante de
California Archaeology, Volume 5, Number 1, June 2013, pp. 37–77. 37
Copyright © 2013 Society for California Archaeology. All rights reserved

información sobre sistemas prehistóricas de subsistencia y asentamiento en la
costa norte de California. Aquí ofrecemos una análisis cuantitativa de dos ideas
fundamentales establecidas por Gould en su monografía: (1) que hubo un
cambio profundo en el uso de los recursos entre los cazadores-recolectores del
período Middle (medio) quienes ignoraron a los alimentos marinos y los del
período Late (tardío) entre quienes los alimentos marinos llegaron a ser un foco
importante de subsistencia, y (2) que el componente tardío es en gran medida
análogo a la gente Tolowa etnográfica, dando importancia a un enfoque
etnoarqueológico. Nuestras análisis se basa en datos cuantitativos de macro
escala provenientes de las excavaciones inéditas de Gould del sitio CA-DNO-11 y
también en nuevos datos de micro escala del sitio CA-DNO-13, y concluimos que
los componentes reflejan dos estrategias adaptativas fundamentalmente dis-
tintas: una sistema de forrajeo de alta movilidad en el período Middle cuando la
gente se enfocó casi exclusivamente en taxones de alto ranking (tanto los
marinos como los terrestres) y una sistema más sedentaria “de aldea”en el
período Late (tardío), cuando la técnica de extracción en masa, el almacena-
miento y el forrajeo logístico llegaron a ser estrategias importantes. Los restos
alimentarios identificados incluyen todos los recursos principales utilizados por
la gente Tolowa etnográfica, pero ciertos recursos del interior (salmón y bellotas)
puedan haber sido de menos importancia en la costa que previamente
interpretado.
On the rocky headlands of Point St. George, in the extreme northwest corner of
California, there were once three Tolowa villages: Ta’giatun
1
, Tatitun, and Sasato.
In the early 1960s, Richard Gould, then a graduate student at the University of
California, Berkeley (UCB), recorded all three but conducted excavations only at
the northernmost of these settlements, Ta’giatun, which became one of the most
famous archaeological sites on the north coast and is referred to in the literature
as the Point St. George site (CA-DNO-11) (Figure 1). A pioneer in the field of
ethnoarchaeology, Gould worked closely with Tolowa elders who were extremely
knowledgeable about the history of Point St. George. According to oral histories,
CA-DNO-11 had been abandoned after village residents suffered a devastating
plague, possibly cholera, which he estimated occurred in the late 1700s to
early 1800s (e.g., Gould 1975:164). Survivors of the epidemic subsequently
moved to Tatitun at southern Point St. George (CA-DNO-13), which was occu-
pied into the twentieth century.
In addition to his work with the Tolowa, Gould was the first to document a
fundamental shift in use of the northern California coast (Gould 1966a).
38 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

Excavation findings at CA-DNO-11 demonstrated that the site was initially used
as a temporary camp by mobile-hunter gatherers who came from the interior to
collect and knap locally available high-quality chert. Later in time, Point
St. George became the location of a sedentary plank house village. These findings
were based on dramatic differences between the artifact assemblages, features,
and faunal remains associated with two excavated site components: Point
St. George I (PSG I), a Middle or Mendocino period (3,000-1,500 B.P.) component
with an associated radiocarbon date of 2,260 ± 210 B.P. (Gould 1972), and Point
St. George II (PSG II), a Late or Gunther period (1,500-150 B.P.) occupation.
Figure 1. Map of Tolowa territory, showing route of annual economic cycle for Point St. George
residents and use of distant patches (from Gould 1966a:91, 1968:29): (A) Permanent village at
northern Point St. George (t’aįɣa
ʔ
n); (B) Late summer first sea lion hunt begins by convening at
“Stopping Rock”(seyɫtšəntən) via oceangoing canoe, then paddling to Northwest and Southwest
Seal Rocks; (C) Late summer smelt fish camp at tawašnaš
r
ən(Sweetwater); (D) Fall acorn harvest at
nəntu
ʔ
nin oak groves in the Bald Hills; (E) fall salmon camp at tšahu
ʔ
me near the mouth of Mill
Creek.
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 39

A key argument of Gould’s study was that the “direct historical approach,”or
the use of ethnographic and historical data to interpret precontact lifeways, if
carefully applied, could be employed by archaeologists under certain circum-
stances. Point St. George essentially provided a case study demonstrating the
interpretive value of this method, in particular for the later PSG II component
of the site that contained archaeological residues and features (e.g., artifacts, a
semisubterranean plank house, subsistence remains) that were “unequivocally
recognized”by Tolowa informants (Gould 1966a:88).
Gould (1966a, 1975) presented a detailed reconstruction of the Tolowa
annual economic cycle of Point St. George inhabitants based on archival
research, excavations at CA-DNO-11, and an ethnographic study of
CA-DNO-13. Tolowa elders helped Gould interpret his findings, described tra-
ditional land use of the area, and explained the internal structure of Tolowa
sites, which were traditionally divided into three discrete areas: the residential
area, the workshop area, and the cemetery. This work provided a subsistence-
settlement model that has become enormously influential in the interpretation
of other coastal sites in northwestern California.
Despite the importance of Gould’s study and its legacy in later interpretive
frameworks, the nature of his data collection and reporting left several ques-
tions unanswered. For example, how much had Tolowa land use and subsistence
patterns been altered by events immediately preceding the ethnographic period?
The Tolowa, like many native peoples in California, had suffered enormous
population losses and upheaval due to disease, massacres, persecution, and
forced removals, particularly in the middle to late 1800s (e.g. Cook 1943;
Gould 1966b; Heizer and Almquist 1971; Hurtado 1988; Madley 2011;
Norton 1979). There is a growing recognition of the enormity of these events
among archaeologists (e.g. Erlandson and Moss 1997; Tushingham 2005). Tra-
ditional practices clearly survived, but to what extent had life changed?
As Gould’s monograph did not include a tabulation of artifact and faunal
assemblages, any attempt to statistically confirm or refute some of his prop-
ositions is precluded. For example, certain dietary staples were assumed to be
as important prehistorically as they were for the ethnographic Tolowa, but
this could not always be demonstrated due to the coarse grained nature of
Gould’sfield collection and reporting. His excavations did not involve soil
screening, but rather “shovel casting,”a common technique for the time, but
one that skewed the faunal sample to large-bodied taxa. Identified faunal
remains were primarily reported as presence/absence data, and almost
nothing was included about the contribution of seeds, nuts, small fish, and
mammals. Column samples were collected for later analysis (Gould 1966a:29),
40 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

but were never analyzed and were apparently either discarded or lost, according
to staff at the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UCB, where the collec-
tion is housed.
Our study attempts to rectify some of these deficiencies by presenting: (1)
newly quantified macro-scale subsistence data from Gould’s CA-DNO-11 exca-
vations, including previously unpublished data tabulated from original catalo-
gues that were prepared for the analyses of faunal remains (by Alan Ziegler of
the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UCB) and fish bone (by W. I. Follett of
the California Academy of Sciences); and (2) previously unavailable micro-scale
data from an analysis of dietary remains from CA-DNO-13. This latter infor-
mation includes radiocarbon dates and microconstituent data from midden
samples salvaged from the site in 2009. The sample, albeit small, fills in
several gaps in the Late Period faunal record, and includes the first reported
quantitative analysis of fish bone and shellfish north of the King Range in Cali-
fornia and of charred plant remains from a coastal site north of Sonoma County.
Following the presentation of these data, we model how several diagnostic fea-
tures of Late Period hunter-gatherer settlement and subsistence might be recog-
nized via fine-grained studies (e.g., low mobility/sedentism, mass harvest and
bulk storage of food, logistical procurement of resources), thus providing a fra-
mework for similar studies at other coastal sites in northwestern California.
Our larger intent is to explore how two fundamental aspects of Gould’s
model hold up under quantitative scrutiny. We are specifically concerned with
employing modern analytical measures to evaluate the basic idea that there
was profound variation in hunter-gatherer land use, organization, and resource
procurement strategies between PSG I and PSG II times, as well as to assess
whether the Late Period dietary residues compare favorably with those expected
based on Gould’s model of Tolowa settlement and subsistence.
Ethnographic Subsistence and Settlement at Point St. George
Gould’s (1966a) detailed reconstruction of the annual economic cycle of Tolowa
villagers who lived at Point St. George is arguably the best site-specific descrip-
tion of aboriginal settlement and subsistence from the California coast. Gould
based this reconstruction on a combination of oral histories given by Tolowa
elders, early ethnographic writings (e.g. Curtis 1924; Drucker 1937; Waterman
1925), and archaeological fieldwork at CA-DNO-11, an ethnoarchaeological
approach that is outlined in the first chapter of the Point St. George monograph
(Gould 1966a:1-8). Tolowa consultants directly participated in his work by sup-
plying him with Tolowa words for various food items and artifacts, assisting
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 41

with the interpretation of artifact function, explaining the traditional layout of
sites, and providing the history of the villages at Point St. George (Figure 2).
Detailed descriptions of the historic occupation of CA-DNO-13 were supplied
by several consultants, including Sam Lopez, whose father, who was born
around 1853, had grown up at southern Point St. George (CA-DNO-13)
(Gould n.d.).
The Annual Round
Hunter-gatherers in northwestern California, including the Tolowa, Yurok,
Hupa, Karuk, Wiyot, and Chilula, lived in substantial rectilinear redwood plank
houses organized in linear rows within villages facing the ocean and major water-
ways. While people lived the majority of the year in villages, they moved to tem-
porary camps at different times of the year when harvestable resources, including
salmon, acorns, and smelt, became available (Figure 3). Seasonal campsites were
specific, owned places that belonged to certain wealthy families.
As described by Gould (1966a:88-92, 1968, 1975), the annual round of Point
St. George inhabitants began in late summer, when men from some villages
Figure 2. Richard Gould interviewing Lydie
George (left) and Amelia Brown during 1964
excavations at Point St. George (DNO-11),
in the residential area of the site that they
helped to locate. A portion of the recorded
plank house is visible in the trench on the
right. Courtesy of Richard A. Gould. Richard
Gould Archives, California State Parks,
Eureka, California. Image 4968.
42 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

(including CA-DNO-11; Figure 1A) formed specialized groups to hunt sea
mammals at the distant offshore islands. Men paddled large 30 to 40 foot
long “oceangoing”canoes that were owned by the wealthiest individuals, first
to Stopping Rock, then to Steller sea lion rookeries at Northwest and Southwest
Seal Rocks (Figure 1B). Sea lions who ventured ashore were clubbed by the men,
while others were shot with bows and arrows—or with guns in the historic
period. Fleeing animals were also harpooned and were brought back to shore
either in the canoes or dragged behind them. The first sea lion hunt of the
year was regarded as a very special and prestigious event, as it was quite danger-
ous and required courage on the part of the hunters. It was also the only pro-
curement activity that entailed a great deal of group participation; most other
activities related to the acquisition of food were undertaken by individual
families (Gould n.d., 1966a, 1968, 1975).
Late summer was also the season when villagers would travel to the northern
fish camp site of Sweetwater (Figure 1C; see also Tushingham et al. 2013). Wealthy
men usually made the initial move to camps, and families within the village group
would join them if they so desired. People caught and dried surf smelt for about a
month at Sweetwater and remained there until the smelt run began to diminish.
Smelt were caught in “V”-shaped dip nets and laid out on logs for initial drying,
then moved onto pebble-lined beds on the beach. Women then hauled the
dried fish packed in carrying baskets back to the village on foot, a journey of
approximately three miles. Along with other stored foods, the fish were placed
in storage baskets on shelves within family houses. When runs remained abun-
dant into acorn harvest time, as they occasionally did, people might linger at
the fish camp to take full advantage of the resource (Gould 1966).
Figure 3. Major dietary staples and their month of availability (shaded) (from Gould 1978:68).
“Poisonous”refers to period of time shellfish are unsafe for consumption.
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 43

When fall arrived, families at Sweetwater would venture inland to procure
acorns and salmon, occupying areas with the best mix of these two resources.
For the acorn harvest, Point St. George inhabitants moved to oak groves in the
Bald Hills near a small tributary of Mill Creek (Figure 1D) around mid-September.
When the salmon harvest began shortly thereafter, people moved to the salmon
camp at the mouth of Mill Creek (Figure 1E). According to Drucker (1937), this
location was also used by inhabitants of etchulet (a village on the Lake Earl
estuary) and tatatun (a village on the coast near present-day Crescent City).
During this fall fishing and acorn gathering time, women transported bas-
ketloads of the gathered food on foot back to Point St. George by the end of
November for use during the winter months. Prior to being packed to take
back to the village, salmon were processed and dried at the seasonal camps.
They were first split and smoked, then halves were placed on a packframe
between alternating layers of fern. Acorns were simply gathered at camps and
prepared at villages by an elaborate pounding and basin leaching process to
remove bitter tannic acids.
Although individual men and women occasionally ventured inland for short
fishing and hunting forays, villagers mostly remained at Point St. George until
the next smelt season. Salmon and eels were available in early spring on the
middle and south forks of the Smith River, but not in such a quantity as to encou-
rage large-scale movement of the entire village. People relied on stored foods
supplemented by marine resources, such as fish and shellfish that were available
year round. Winter was also the time for ceremonial events, gambling, and
repairing nets and other technology in preparation for the next annual round.
Disease, Population Movement, and Historic Occupation
Based on Tolowa oral traditions, Gould concluded that CA-DNO-11 was aban-
doned due to a cholera epidemic around the 1700s to early 1800s. His infor-
mants told him that many people died of a painful stomach sickness that
came from the south long before whites arrived in Del Norte County. The sick-
ness caused them to “pass blood,”symptoms characteristic of cholera (Gould
1966a:96-97). Survivors of this epidemic then moved to the site at southern
Point St. George, tatitun (CA-DNO-13), which was occupied into the historic
period.
People continued to live at southern Point St. George (CA-DNO-13) until the
early twentieth century, with site occupants using the same cemetery as had
been previously used by CA-DNO-11 villagers. Although CA-DNO-11 was aban-
doned as a village, it was used into historic times as a shellfish gathering place
44 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

and campsite for sea lion expeditions by people who lived at etchulet (Drucker
1937:228). Knowledge of the site was also passed on to later generations of
Tolowa. Sam Lopez recounted that his father “knew all about [CA-DNO-11]
when he took me out here one day. He said that no one was living here when
he was a youngster—there weren’t any houses or anything”(Gould n.d.).
Prehistoric Components at CA-DNO-11
As noted above, excavations at CA-DNO-11 revealed two distinct components:
PSG I and PSG II. PSG I, the earlier component, was found in the stratum below
the PSG II deposits in the workshop area of the site. Features in the PSG I com-
ponent included a pit structure interpreted as a “flint-chipping workshop”and a
small hearth. Based on the lack of residential features, the associated artifact
assemblage (mostly of flaked stone), the paucity of food remains, and the
absence of acorn processing, fishing, woodworking, and bone tools, this early
occupation was interpreted as being associated with a small temporary camp
of mobile hunter-gatherers who came from the interior to collect and knap high-
quality local chert (Gould 1966a, 1972).
In contrast, the later PSG II component contained many more archaeological
materials and features, including the remains of a semisubterranean plank
house with a prepared blue clay floor in a discrete residential area. A workshop
area contained a diverse artifact assemblage indicating that a variety of tasks
took place here, including the manufacture of stone, antler, and groundstone
tools, and heavy butchering of sea mammals. Archaeological residues seemed
to demonstrate the importance of acorns (mortar slabs and pestles), fish (fish
bone and fishing gear, including net weights, gorges, hooks, and small
harpoon tips for salmon), and other marine foods and associated tools (abun-
dant shellfish, marine mammal bone, harpoons, and large harpoon tips).
In short, Gould (1966a) documented a fundamental shift in prehistoric use
of the coast, from the role of Point St. George as a temporary camp used
by mobile hunter-gatherers to the location of a sedentary plank house
village where people stored food in bulk and intensively pursued a variety of
foods—including mass-harvested salmon, smelt, and acorns—in logistical,
task-oriented groups (sensu Binford 1980).
CA-DNO-11 Macro-Scale Faunal Data
This section provides a review of the CA-DNO-11 faunal evidence, which is sum-
marized in Gould (1966a:80-86). Quantitative data for identified bird, mammal,
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 45

and fish bone are published here for the first time. These tabulations are based
on original catalogs and reports archived at the Phoebe Hearst Museum.
Shellfish
Shellfish (Table 1) was not enumerated (other than presence/absence) or
weighed but was taxonomically identified during site excavations by representa-
tives from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Gould 1966a:80). Only
Table 1. CA-DNO-11 Presence/Absence Shellfish Data.
Taxon Common Name
Middle Period
(PSG I)
Late Period
(PSG II)
Barnacle
Balanus sp. Barnacle –X
Mussel
Mytilus californianus California sea mussel –X
Other Bivalves
Clinocardium nuttallii Basket cockle –X
Hinnites multrugosa Rock scallop –X
Protothaca staminea Common or Pacific little neck clam X X
Saxidomus nuttalli Washington clam X X
Siliqua patula Northern razor clam –X
Tresus sp. Gaper –X
Snail
Calliostoma ligatum Top shell –X
Nassarius sp. Mud snail –X
Tegula funebralis Black turban snail –X
Limpet
Acnea sp. Limpet –X
Chiton
Cryptochiton stelleri Giant chiton –X
Other
Olivella sp. Olivella –X
Dendraster excentricus Sand dollar –X
Strongylocentrotus sp. Short-spine sea urchin –X
Notes: From Gould (1966a:80-81); X = present; –= abs ent.
46 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

two species were identified in the PSG I deposit, the common or Pacific little
neck clam (Protothaca staminea) and the Washington clam (Saxidomus nuttalli).
In contrast, the later PSG II deposit contained 16 identified taxa, including
large California mussels (Mytilus californianus), barnacles (Balanus sp.), a
variety of bivalves and snails, limpets (Acnea sp.), giant chiton (Cryptochiton stel-
leri), olivella (Olivella sp.), sand dollar (Dendraster excentricus), and sea urchin
(Strongylocentrotussp.) (see Table 1).
Bird and Mammal Bone
Bird and mammal bone (Table 2), reported as presence/absence data in Gould
(1966a:81-85), was tabulated by component based on information provided in
the original faunal analysis sheets prepared by Ziegler (1964). In all, 2,176 bird
and mammal bones were identified by Ziegler, who also prepared notes and
general observations about the entire collection, and recorded the provenience,
skeletal element area (e.g., foot, front/hind leg, skull), and aspect (proximal/
ventral, right/left) for each identified bone. Additionally, a color coding system
was used to denote which bones were from juvenile individuals (in green) and
whether there were signs of butchering (e.g., scratching or knife marks, in
blue). We updated the taxonomic nomenclature used by Ziegler (Simpson 1945)
to a more recent taxonomy for mammals (Reid 2006) and birds (Harris 2005).
The later PSG II assemblage contains far more identified bones (n = 2,112)
than the earlier PSG I deposit (n = 64). Avifaunal remains in the PSG I
deposit contain only a single duck bone, while the PSG II assemblage includes
a variety of ducks (n = 10), geese (n = 11), and cormorants (Phalacrocorax sp.;
n = 9). Mammals are overwhelmingly dominated by seal and sea lion, with
899 bones identified to the family pinniped and species level identifications
of Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus; n = 280), harbor seal (Phoca vitulina;n
= 5), California sea lion (Zalophus californianus; n = 8), and northern fur seal (Cal-
lorhinus ursinus; n = 1). According to Ziegler (1964), most bones that were classi-
fied as large mammals are likely pinniped as opposed to elk, and most of the
pinniped specimens are probably Steller or California sea lions rather than
seals based on their size and shape.
Large terrestrial mammals include elk (Cervus elaphus; n = 43) and mule or
white-tailed deer (Odocoileus sp.; n = 9). The vast majority of artiodactyls are
of adults (only two elk and one deer bone are of subadults). Of the few identified
small mammals, the pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) is the most common (n =
24). It is questionable, however, as to whether these were food related; all but
four of these bones look “fresh,”with most associated with an animal that
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 47

Table 2. CA-DNO-11 Bird and Mammal Remains from Gould’s Excavations by Number of
Identified Specimens (NISP).
Taxon Common Name
Middle Period
(PSG I)
Late Period
(PSG II)
Aves Birds
+
Corvus brachyrhynchos American crow –1
Phalacrocorax sp. Cormorant –9
Alcidae (large) Murres, auklets,
guillemot
–1
Rallidae (large) (Fulica americana,Rallus sp.,
Gallinula chloropus)
Coot, rail, moorhen –2
Laridae or Scolopacidae Gull or large
shorebird
–6
Anatinae Duck 1 10
Anserinae Goose –11
Aves (small) Small bird –6
Aves (medium) Medium bird –1
Aves (large) Large bird –8
Aves (very large) Very large bird –1
Mammalia Mammals
++
Lagomorpha (Lepus sp. or Sylvilagus sp.) Jackrabbit or
cottontail
–1
Thomomys bottae Pocket gopher –24*
Procyon lotor Raccoon –3
Microtus sp. Vole –1*
Cervus elaphus Elk/wapiti 6 37
Odocoileus sp. (O. hemionus, O. virginianus) Deer (mule or white
tail)
36
Artiodactyl (medium) Deer, pronghorn –2
Canis latrans Coyote –1
Ursus americanus Black bear –1
Callorhinus ursinus Northern fur seal –1
Eumetopias jubatus Steller sea lion 2 278
Zalophus californianus California sea lion –8
Phoca vitulina Harbor seal –5
Pinniped Sea lion, fur seal, or
seal
23 876
Continued
48 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

had likely recently died in its burrow (Ziegler 1964). Gould (1966a:83) posited
that the single black bear (Ursus americanus) bone may not have been food
related as bear was a taboo food not eaten by the Tolowa (Drucker 1937:232).
Fish Bone
For this study, fish bone, which was reported as presence/absence data in Gould
(1966a), is quantified by component based on Follett’s unpublished report
(Follett 1965) (Table 3). Follett identified a total of 183 fish bones, again with
a dramatic difference between site components. Only four rockfish bones
were identified in Middle Period (PSG I) deposits, including black rockfish
(Sebastodes melanops; n = 2) and turkey-red rockfish (S. miniatus; n = 2). In con-
trast, Late Period PSG II deposits include a wide variety of fish dominated by
rockfishes (n = 128), sculpins (n = 19), Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis;
n = 12), and salmonids (n = 11).
CA-DNO-13 Micro-Scale Data
Like many sites in the region, the villages at Point St. George have been looted
for dozens of years (Tushingham and Steinruck 2010). In 2009, a virtual mine-
field of looter pits was discovered in the workshop area of CA-DNO-13. The dis-
covery of the 23 pits, some up to a meter deep and wide, was devastating to the
Tolowa community, who convened to decide what steps to take (Figure 4). Law
Table 2. CA-DNO-11 Bird and Mammal Remains from Gould’s Excavations by Number of
Identified Specimens (NISP). (continued)
Taxon Common Name
Middle Period
(PSG I)
Late Period
(PSG II)
Enhydra lutris Sea otter 2 34
Cetacean (small) Porpoise or dolphin 1 3
Cetacean (large) Whale 1 2
Mammalia (small) Small mammal –2
Mammalia (medium) Medium mammal 4 8
Mammalia (large) Large mammal 21 763
TOTAL 64 2,112
Notes: Data were taken from Ziegler (1964).
+
Bird size classes: Small = up through robin and jay size; Medium =
crow and small duck size; Large = hawk and cormorant size; Very large = pelican and albatross size.
++
Mammal size
classes: Small = rabbit size or smaller; Medium = large skunk to wolf and sea otter size; Large = pinniped/deer size
and up. * = Likely intrusive, according to Ziegler (196 4).
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 49

enforcement was brought in to investigate, an archaeological damage assess-
ment was completed, and an osteologist was brought in to ensure that no
human remains had been disturbed. In an effort to salvage some of the infor-
mation from the damage and to help establish cost estimates for the damage
Table 3. CA-DNO-11 Fish Remains by Number of Identified Specimens (NISP).
Taxon Common Name
Middle Period
(PSG I)
Late Period
(PSG II)
Acipenseridae Sturgeons
Acipenser medirostris Green sturgeon –1
Carcharhinidae Requiem Sharks
Galeorhinus zyopterus Soupfin shark –2
Cottidae Sculpins
Scorpaenichthys marmoratus Cabezon –18
Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus Red Irish lord –1
Embiotocidae Surfperches
Holoconotus rhodoterus Redtail surfperch –1
Embiotoca lateralis Striped seaperch –2
Gadidae Cods
Merluccius productus Pacific hake –1
Hexagrammidae Greenlings
Ophiodon elongates Lingcod –1
Hexagrammos decagrammus Kelp greenling –1
Pleuronectidae Right-eyed Flounders
Hippoglossus stenolepis Pacific halibut –12
Salmonidae Trouts
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Chinook salmon –3
Oncorhynchus kisutch Coho salmon –8
Scorpaenidae Rockfishes
Sebastodes paucispinis Bocaccio –2
Sebastodes flavidus Yellowtail rockfish –3
Sebastodes melanops Black rockfish 2 50
Sebastodes miniatus Vermillion rockfish –11
Sebastodes ruberrimus Turkey-red rockfish 2 62
TOTAL 4 179
Note: From (Follett 1965).
50 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

assessment, 10 four-liter soil samples from the base of the pits were recovered
for fine-grained flotation analysis.
We followed flotation recovery techniques pioneered in the late 1960s (e.g.,
Struever 1968) and made it a priority to identify resources that may have been
previously missed, such as small fish, nuts, and seeds. Certainly, fine mesh screen-
ing is necessary to prevent bias in the analysis of fish bone (Casteel 1972, 1976a,
1976b), an approach that has demonstrated the importance of small fish in the
diets of native Californians (e.g., Fitch 1969, 1972; Gobalet 1989; Gobalet et al.
2004). Similarly, micro-scale recovery of nuts and seeds can give us much
greater insight into prehistoric plant use (e.g., Wohlgemuth 2004).
Soil samples were processed at the University of California, Davis, archaeo-
logical laboratory. After recording volume and weight measurements for each
sample, the soil was processed using a Flote-Tech flotation machine and separ-
ated into non-buoyant “heavy”and buoyant “light”fractions, with the light
elements floating to the top and the heavy fraction sinking to the bottom for
later collection. Samples were dried and bagged for later processing. Post-flotation
Figure 4. Elk Valley and Smith River Rancheria Tribal representatives and archaeologists
surveying looting damage at CA-DNO-13, October 2009. From left to right, Machelle Lopez,
Wanda Green, Richard Brooks, John Green, James Roscoe, Denise Padgette, and Suntayea
Steinruck.
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 51

subsamples were weighed and heavy fractions sorted into 1/4-inch, 1/8-inch,
1/16-inch, and < 1/16-inch size grades. Light fractions were analyzed separately
(see below).
Three of the ten collected samples were analyzed in this study. The majority
of the microconstituents consisted of dietary residues (shellfish, faunal bone,
fish bone, and charred nuts and seeds). Additionally, 21 pieces of chert and
quartz shatter were identified. While microconstituents found in each sample
are presented separately in the tables, due to their small size, minimal between-
sample variation, and very similar (Late Period) dates, the results are discussed
as a unit below.
Radiometric Dates
Three accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates were obtained on mussel
(Mytilus sp.) shell recovered from each of the analyzed samples (Table 4). The
calibrated dates indicate that the CA-DNO-13 workshop area was in use from
the late 1500s to early 1700s, with two dates overlapping the timing of the
reported plague at CA-DNO-11 and resulting population movement to
CA-DNO-13, which Gould estimated occurred sometime between the 1700s
and early 1800s. The earlier date might be attributed to the fact that
CA-DNO-13 was in use prior to the movement of CA-DNO-11 villagers to the
site, or perhaps the reported plague occurred slightly earlier than previously
estimated. Additional dating and controlled testing is obviously necessary to
better understand the occupational history of this site.
Shellfish
A wide variety of shellfish taxa was found during our analysis, with 19 categories
identified to genus and/or species in the 1/4-inch sample (Table 5). Of the ident-
ified shellfish, the assemblage is overwhelmingly dominated by California sea
Table 4. AMS Radiocarbon Dates from the Workshop Area of CA-DNO-13.
Sample ID Provenience Material 14
C
Years B.P. Calibrated Median
NOSAMS OS-78016 Sample A Mytilus californianus 1,040 ± 25 A.D. 1586
NOSAMS OS-78017 Sample B Mytilus californianus 930 ± 25 A.D. 1703
NOSAMS OS-78018 Sample C Mytilus californianus 910 ± 30 A.D. 1730
Note: All dates calibrated using Calib 6.0 calibration software and were corrected for the marine reservoir effect
using a Delta R correction of 316 ±85 years based on an averaged correction rate for northern California and
southern Oregon.
52 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

Table 5. DNO-13 Shellfish by Weight and Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI).
Sample
ABC
Taxon Common Name Wt. (g) MNI Wt. (g) MNI Wt. (g) MNI
Barnacle
Balanus sp. Barnacle 272.93 1 83.88 1 282.46 1
Mussel
Mytilus californianus California mussel 490.93 72 80.89 12 555.29 81
Other Bivalves
Clinocardium nuttallii Heart cockle 3.16 1 ––– –
Protothaca staminea Common
littleneck clam
37.84 4 16.52 1 26.15 3
Zirfaea pilsbryi Rough piddock 0.15 1 0.63 1 ––
Unidentified Bivalve Bivalve ––––0.68 1
Snail
Amphissa versicolor Sea snail ––––1.08 2
Calliostoma
canaliculutum
Channelled
topsnail
––––2.83 12
Littorina sp. Periwinkle ––––0.21 1
Nucella analoga Dogwinkle 2.33 3 ––8.52 4
Nucella lamellosa Frilled dogwinkle ––––4.26 2
Nucella ostrina Striped dogwinkle 41.24 10 14.91 1 51.56 13
Nucella sp. Dogwinkle 1.34 6 0.06 1 1.07 1
Tegula funebralis Black turban
snail
10.41 1 0.79 2 2.64 3
Unidentified snail 5.91 5 0.74 2 1.72 6
Limpet
Crepidula convexa Convex slipper
shell
0.06 1 ––– –
Limpet sp. Limpet 0.64 1 ––0.18 1
Chiton
Cryptochiton stelleri Gumboot chiton ––––25.56 1
Katharina tunicata Black katy chiton 6.81 1 3.24 4 7.32 1
Chiton sp. Chiton 6.75 2 0.22 1 ––
Olivella
Olivella biplicada Olivella ––––0.95 2
Continued
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 53

mussel which represents 34.2% of the overall total shellfish by weight and
54.7% of the total identified shell (total minus unidentified shell) and 60.2%
of the total MNI of the 1/4-inch sample. (Figure 5). Barnacles are the next
Figure 5. Proportion of
identified shellfish by
weight (in grams) at
CA-DNO-13.
Table 5. DNO-13 Shellfish by Weight and Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI).
(continued)
Sample
ABC
Taxon Common Name Wt. (g) MNI Wt. (g) MNI Wt. (g) MNI
Crab
Ocypodidae sp. Crab ––––0.2 1
Sea Urchin
Stronglulocentrus
purpuratus
Purple sea urchin 0.11 1 0.07 1 4.03 1
Undifferentiated
shell
596.42 –154.73 –480.61 –
TOTAL 1477.03 110 356.68 27 1457.32 137
Note: All samples are > 1/4-inch.
54 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

most common identified shellfish, representing 19.4% of the total shell and
31.0% of the identified shellfish. Also present are many low return taxa, includ-
ing snails and limpets (7.4% of the sample), many of which were identified in the
CA-DNO-11 analysis.
Bird and Mammal Bone
Bone at all exposed pits at CA-DNO-13 was examined to ensure that no human
remains were disturbed by looters. In the course of this work numerous marine
mammal bones were identified but not collected, including complete seal or sea
lion crania and numerous pinniped bones, consistent with this area being used
for butchering. Unfortunately, while the CA-DNO-13 faunal data include 85
animal bones, only a single bone from a vole (Microtus sp.) and a tooth from
a Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) could be identified to genus or species
(Table 6). However, four pinniped bones were identified, and size-classed bird
and mammal bone indicate the presence of very small to very large taxa.
Fish Bone
The fish bone assemblage (n = 2,824) includes a wide variety of identified taxa,
but is overwhelmingly dominated by smelt (osmerids; n = 2,680) (Table 7). Most
of the smelt bones are almost certainly surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus),
although it is difficult to distinguish these from other smelt species, such as
night smelt (Spirinchus starksi) and eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) (Kenneth
Gobalet, personal communication 2010). All of these species were
mass-harvested ethnographically, surf smelt and night smelt with V-shaped
nets on sandy beaches and eulachon along rivers. Other fish that may have
been caught en masse include salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.; n = 4), surfperch
(Embiotocidae; n = 3), and northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax; n = 2), although
these low numbers do not suggest any particular focus on these fish. The salmon
were likely captured with gill nets, basket traps, or weirs at camps near Lake Earl
or on the Smith River or one of its tributaries, but also could have been caught
offshore from Point St. George.
The remaining fish includes a diverse number of rocky intertidal/nearshore
species, such as pricklebacks (n = 11), rockfish (Sebastes sp.; n = 4), northern
clingfish (Gobiesox meandricus; n = 2), right-eyed flounder (n = 2), Pacific hake
(Merluccius productus; n = 1), and penpoint gunnel (Apodichthys flavidus; n = 1).
Most of these are solitary species that were likely fished one at a time on an
encounter basis.
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 55

Charred Plant Remains
Charred plant remains recovered from CA-DNO-13 include 49 pieces of nut-
shell, one berry pit, one root plant, one conifer needle, and two small unidenti-
fied seeds (Table 8; Wohlgemuth 2010). Most of the nutshell is bay laurel
(Umbellularia californica; n = 46), with far fewer acorns (Quercus spp.; n = 2)
and hazelnut (Corylus cornuta var. californica; n = 1). The other specimens
include a single manzanita berry pit (Arctostaphylos spp.), a Brodiaea-type
corm (root; Brodiaea,Dichelostemma,orTriteleia), and a fir(Abies spp.) needle
fragment. All identified plant remains are frequently found in flotation
Table 6. CA-DNO-13 Vertebrate Remains by Number of Identified Specimens (NISP).
Taxon Common Name A B C
Aves Birds
+
Aves (small) Small bird –12
Aves (medium) Small to medium bird –41
Aves (large) Medium to large bird 1 1 1
Aves (very large) Large bird ––1
Mammalia Mammals
++
Lagomorpha Rabbit –1–
Microtus sp. Vole 2 1 –
Cricetidae Mouse –11
Rodentia (small) Small rodent –16 1
Eumetopias jubatus Steller sea lion 1 ––
Pinniped (large) Sea lion, fur seal or seal 4 ––
Mammalia (very small) Very small mammal 1 4 1
Mammalia (small) Small mammal 1 4 1
Mammalia (medium) Medium mammal 5 6 6
Mammalia (large) Large mammal 1 3 –
Mammalia Mammal –16
Reptilia Reptile –1–
Unidentified Vertebrate ––4
TOTAL 16 44 25
Notes: Remains identified by Trine Bjørneboe Johansen. All samples are >1/8-inch. Size classes are based on those
used by Ziegler (1964):
+
Bird size classes: Small =up through robin and jay size; Medium =crow and small duck
size; Large = hawk and cormorant size; Very large = pelican and albatross size.
++
Mammal size classes: Small =
rabbit size or smaller; Medium = large skunk to wolf and sea otter size; Large = pinniped/deer size and up.
56 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

samples from archaeological sites in central and northern California (e.g.,
Wohlgemuth 2004), and the nuts, berry, and corm are well-documented plant
foods used by aboriginal groups throughout the area as well (e.g., Barrett and
Gifford 1933; Bocek 1984; Chesnut 1902; Duncan 1963; Schenck and Gifford
1952).
Sources on the modern distribution of plants (Griffin and Critchfield 1976;
also see Calflora 2010) suggest that most (or all) of the identified species in the
CA-DNO-13 archaeobotanical sample were procured from off-site patches, some
Table 7. CA-DNO-13 Fish Bone by Number of Identified Specimens (NISP).
Sample
Taxon Common name A B C
Embiotocidae Surfperches 21–
Engraulidae Anchovies
Engraulis mordax Northern anchovy 1 1 –
Gadidae Cods
Merluccius productus Pacific hake 1 ––
Gobiesocidae Clingfish
Gobiesox meandricus Northern clingfish ––2
Hexagrammidae Greenlings
Hexagrammos sp. Kelp or rock greenling –12
Osmeridae Smelts 935 846 899
Probable identification + 24 17 70
Pholidae Gunnels
Apodichthys flavidus Penpoint gunnel ––1
Pleuronectidae Right-eyed Flounders ––2
Salmonidae Trouts
Oncorhynchus sp. (?) Pacific salmons and trouts 3 –1
Scorpaenidae Rockfishes
Sebastes sp. Rockfishes 2 –2
Stichaeidae Pricklebacks –2–
Cebidichthys violaceus Monkeyface prickleback 1 1 1
Xiphister sp. Black or rock prickleback 1 3 2
TOTAL 970 872 982
Note: Remains identified by Kenneth W. Gobalet. All samples are > 1/16-inch; +=probabl y Hypomesus pretiosus.
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 57

from fairly long distances (Wohlgemuth 2010). The nearest documented bay
laurels and oaks are found nine to ten miles east along the Smith River, and
hazelnuts about five to six miles away in the hills east of the Crescent City
coastal plain. Although most manzanita species that grow in Del Norte
County are located nine to ten miles to the east, two species are found two to
three miles distant, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (on the south and west sides of
Lake Earl) and Arctostaphylos columbiana (north of Crescent City). The Brodiaea-
type corm could be Triteleia bridgesii (found near Crescent City), Brodiaea terres-
tris (about six miles east of Crescent City), or species collected near the mouth of
the Klamath River. The grand fir(Abies grandis) is the nearest fir species docu-
mented near CA-DNO-13, found just north of Crescent City.
Table 8. CA-DNO-13 Charred Plant Remains by Count and Weight.
Sample
Taxon Common Name A B C
Nutshell
Corylus cornuta var. californica California hazelnut
Count 1 ––
Weight (mg) 22.8 ––
Quercus sp. Oak acorn
Count –11
Weight (mg) –0.2 1.6
Umbellularia californica California bay laurel
Count 16 3 27
Weight (mg) 21.9 2.1 32.8
Berry Pit
Arctostaphylos spp. Manzanita
Count 1 ––
Weight (mg) 5.3 ––
Small Seeds
Unidentified seed fragments ––11
Root
Brodiaea/Dichelostemma/Triteleia Brodiaea corm –– 1
Conifer Needle
cf. Abies spp. Fir –1–
Note: Remains identified by Eric Wohlgemuth.
58 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

Macro- and Micro-Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization
Fine-grained analyses are extremely costly in terms of the time it takes to sort
through the materials as well as the price of radiocarbon, archaeofaunal, and
archaeobotanical analyses. They can, however, offer an extremely rich snapshot
of subsistence-related data. To provide some perspective, over 1800 cubic
meters of soil was excavated at CA-DNO-11 by Gould (1966a:Table 1). Yet, as
screening was not employed and there was no attempt at a systematic study
of plant and animal remains, only 183 fish bones were identified (and this
sample is skewed to large-bodied fish). In addition, there is only presence/
absence information about shellfish, and no information about burned
nuts and seeds. In the CA-DNO-13 micro-constituent study, 12 liters of soil
contained more than 2,800 identified fish bones, 17 species of shellfish, and
burned nuts and seeds (including bay laurel, acorns, and hazelnut from the
interior).
Despite the different dimensions of these analyses, both data sets contain
archaeological residues that are consistent with key qualitative aspects of
hunter-gatherer organization and patterns of resource procurement character-
istic of the Late Period and ethnographic Tolowa, such as intensive use of low-
ranked resources, low mobility, mass harvest and bulk storage of food, and the
logistical procurement of resources by task-oriented groups.
In previous sections herein, we summarized the multiple lines of evidence
that Gould drew upon from the CA-DNO-11 excavations that signal this
pattern (e.g., consideration of features, artifacts, and faunal remains). Dietary
residues found in the CA-DNO-13 fine-grained samples correspond with the
Late Period Tolowa model, albeit on a very different scale of analysis. Key
characteristics include high species diversity, the presence of foods transported
from outlying patches (e.g., nuts from the interior, smelt from sandy beaches),
the presence of mass-harvested fish and plants (e.g., abundance of smelt bone,
presence of salmon bone and acorns in admittedly low quantities), and the pres-
ence of small and low-ranked taxa (e.g., snails, limpets).
Based on our analysis and with reference to Gould’s model, we can begin to
develop a tentative set of expectations for future fine-grained studies. While
variability is inevitable between and within sites (e.g., in workshop versus resi-
dential areas), ideal characteristics of fine-grained constituents associated with
village midden sites on the north coast are predicted to differ from earlier
deposits or at other types of sites (Table 9). For example, temporary camps
(such as the PSG I component at Point St. George) will have low species diver-
sity, primarily high-ranked and local resources, and little evidence for
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 59

mass-harvested foods, unless the camp is a seasonal mass harvest location (e.g.,
a smelt, acorn, or salmon camp).
PSG I and PSG II: A Fundamental Change in Use of the North Coast?
Gould’s (1966a) findings at CA-DNO-11 suggest that a distinct change in subsis-
tence had occurred in the past, partly based on observed differences between
faunal remains found in Middle Period (PSG I) and Late Period (PSG II) deposits.
While not quantified, the abundance of shellfish, bird, fish, and marine
mammals in Late Period deposits provided evidence that people were much
more intensively harvesting resources—in particular coastal foods—compared
to earlier periods. The following discussion provides a quantitative assessment
of the basic idea that there was profound variation in hunter-gatherer land use,
organization, and resource procurement strategies along the north coast
between PSG I and PSG II times.
Late Period Expansion of Diet Breadth
CA-DNO-11 Data. An expansion of dietary breadth in the later PSG II com-
ponent at CA-DNO-11 is reflected by the dramatic increase in taxa richness,
with a nearly fivefold increase in the number of identified shellfish, bird,
mammal, and fish taxa (NTAXA) (Figure 6). Dietary intensification is also exhib-
ited by an increase in low return taxa in the PSG II remains. For example, only
two large species, Pacific little neck clam and Washington clam, are represented
in the identified PSG I shellfish, while PSG II includes 16 identified species,
ranging from large California mussels, barnacles, and clams to many small,
low return species, including snails, limpets, and Olivella. While PSG I faunal
remains consist almost exclusively of large-bodied artiodactyls and pinnipeds,
Table 9. Ideal Characteristics of Fine Grained Constituents Associated with Different
Northwestern California Coastal Sites.
Village
Midden
Temporary
Camp
Temporary mass harvest location
(e.g., smelt camp)
Species richness High Low Low
Species evenness Low Medium to low Very low
Foods transported from
other locations
Common Rare to absent Rare to absent
Mass harvested foods Common Rare to absent Common
Small low-ranked taxa Common Rare to absent Rare to absent
60 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

there are many more small-bodied taxa associated with the PSG II component,
and there appears to have been an increased dietary emphasis on birds and
marine mammals.
While diet breadth apparently expanded during the Late Period, large-bodied
marine mammals remained a dietary focus as evidenced by the dominance of
pinniped bones in the faunal assemblage. The evenness of the faunal assemblage
is measured by the reciprocal of Simpson’s index (1/D) (Lyman 2008; Magurran
1988), where:
D¼Xni½ni1=N½N1
Simply put, lower 1/D values indicate dominance of a single taxon. For
CA-DNO-11, the result for bird and mammal bone (minus burrowing animals)
is higher in PSG I (1/D = 2.71) than PSG II (1/D = 1.98), suggesting an increasing
dietary focus on the most frequently identified species, Steller sea lion (n = 278),
in the Late Period. Elk (n = 37) and sea otter (n = 37) are the next most common
identified species, but are not nearly as frequent.
Figure 6. Taxonomic richness (NTAXA), CA-DNO-11 Macro Data. Note: NTAXA = number of
identified taxa (not including burrowing animals; see Lyman 2008).
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 61

CA-DNO-13 Data. The fine-grained CA-DNO-13 sample provides additional
insight, demonstrating the importance of many foods that had been overlooked
or not considered in the CA-DNO-11 data. A wide variety of shellfish species is
represented (NTAXA = 20), but mussels appear to have been the most important
of these species. This is in line with ethnographic data, which demonstrate that
large mussel species, especially the California sea mussel, tended to be the most
important shellfish due to their large meat weight, favorable taste, ease of
harvest, and abundance (Gould 1975:58; Greengo 1951:65).
Fish (NTAXA = 12) include mostly smelt, but small intertidal fishes seem to
have been an important part of the diet. While none could be identified, four
size classes of bird are represented, suggesting use of small to very large
birds. Unfortunately, few mammal bones could be identified to the species
level in the fine-grained samples. Although size-classed mammal bone indicate
the presence of very small to large mammals, only vole bone and a Steller sea
lion tooth were identified; the remaining small mammals are probably intrusive
(small mice, voles, and other rodents). Direct evidence of the contribution of
specific plant foods was unavailable in the CA-DNO-11 samples, but the
CA-DNO-13 charred nut and seed data (Table 8) suggest that at least five
species of nuts, berries, and/or corms may have been part of the prehistoric diet.
Marine versus Terrestrial Indices
Among northwestern California and southwestern Oregon archaeologists, it is a
common notion that people were more “terrestrially oriented”before they were
“marine oriented,”because older sites tend to be located inland while most sites
on the coast date to very late in time (Lyman 1991). On the other hand, many
scholars contend that earlier sites have not been discovered on the coast due to
limited excavations and poor site visibility caused by tectonic subsidence and Holo-
cene sea level rise. Following the assumption that coastal resources rank high and
that the coast and estuaries are logically the primary locations hunter-gatherers
would exploit, some have proposed that the antiquity of settlement in northwes-
tern California may be much greater than has been revealed in the archaeological
record (e.g., Davis et al. 2004; Fitzgerald and Ozaki 1994; Gmoser 1993; Jones
1992; Minor and Grant 1996). A contrasting view holds that the existing archae-
ological record is a fairly accurate reflection of prehistoric events, and that the late
coastal settlement of northwestern California is the result of the region’ssuperior
terrestrial productivity, which effectively lowered the value of coastal resources
(Levulett 1985; Levulett and Hildebrandt 1987; Waechter 1990). As one of only
a handful of coastal sites with excavated pre-Late Period components in
62 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

northwestern California, Point St. George is one of the few places that can poten-
tially speak to this debate, at least for the Late Holocene.
A marine subsistence focus is typically associated with large shellfish
middens, specialized marine mammal hunting and fishing gear, and faunal
assemblages dominated by marine mammals. The pinniped to artiodactyl
index (often referred to as the “marine index”) is commonly used as a quantitat-
ive measurement of the relative dietary contribution of marine versus terrestrial
foods (see Table 10). Hildebrandt (1981, 1984) used a corrected meat weight
approach to quantify the dietary contribution of marine versus terrestrial
foods in an analysis of excavated coastal sites in northwestern California, includ-
ing CA-DNO-11. In his analysis, marine mammal bone is weighed and multiplied
by a calculator of 5.4, then compared to elk and deer bone, which is multiplied by
a calculator of 4.7.
As there are complications with using meat weight indices (e.g., Casteel
1978; Gifford-Gonzalez and Hildebrandt 2012), we compared the corrected
weight method with one using the number of identified specimens (NISP).
Both methods produced an identical result for the Late PSG II (0.96; see
Table 10), supporting the idea that marine mammals were of major and increas-
ing importance in the Late Period. A focus on marine foods during this time is
also reflected in the much more common occurrence of shellfish, sea birds, and
sea fish (including pelagic rockfish), and the abundance of specialized hunting
and fishing gear (harpoons, net weights, fish hooks, bone gorges), which are
absent in PSG I deposits. The presence of two species of fish during PSG II at
CA-DNO-11, vermillion rockfish (n = 11) and turkey-red rockfish (Sebastodes
ruberrimus; n = 62), is notable as these are pelagic species occurring “in water
30 fathoms or more in depth, over rocky bottom. Such conditions are found
in the vicinity of Northwest Seal Rock …some six and one-half miles off
Point St. George”(Follett 1965, as cited in Gould 1966a:85). To Gould, and
later researchers (Hildebrandt 1981, 1984; Jobson and Hildebrandt 1980),
the presence of these species indicates that people were fishing at distant
Table 10. Pinniped to Artiodactyl Indices for Corrected Weight and NISP Methods for
DNO-11 Faunal Remains.
Middle Period (PSG I) Late Period (PSG II)
Corrected Weight Method 0.53 0.96
NISP Method 0.75 0.96
Notes: Pinniped to Artiodactyl Index = ∑Pinnip eds + Sea Otters/∑Pinnipeds + Sea Otters + Elk + Deer. Corrected
weight method is per Hildebrandt (1981, 1984).
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 63

locations in large, seaworthy canoes, an idea that has been rejected by Hudson
(1981) and Lyman (1991, 1995).
The NISP and corrected weight indices for the PSG I component vary
between 0.53 for the corrected weight method and 0.75 for the NISP method
(Table 10), indicating that marine mammals were less of a focus during PSG I
times in comparison to PSG II. While comparatively lower, however, both
values indicate that marine mammal bone dominate the PSG I assemblage
and were probably a major focus of the subsistence economy during this time.
This is in line with Hildebrandt (1981:174), who stated that the “marine
value”associated with PSG I (0.53) “is not reflective of a heavily terrestrial
form of adaptation. In addition, when viewed in conjunction with the fish
results, it appears that some form of marine travel and exploitation must
have taken place during the initial occupations.”The fish results Hildebrandt
referred to are the two pelagic turkey-red rockfish found in PSG I deposits.
Gould (1966a:86) also remarked on their presence, noting that “the suggested
inference is that, although deep-sea fishing began to be practiced in [PSG I]
times, it was not until the [PSG II] occupation that this kind of activity
assumed real importance”Gould (1966a:86).
Late Period Seasonal Scheduling and Increased Use of Distant Patches
Point St. George is located along a productive rocky intertidal zone and many of
the identified species are available in this local habitat. However, there is also
strong evidence for logistical procurement of resources, meaning that food was
also procured from distant patches by task-oriented groups for later storage at
the home base village. As discussed below, it has been debated whether marine
mammals were hunted at offshore islands or at more accessible mainland rook-
eries, but either case represents offsite pursuit of prey. Seasonal scheduling was
essential to the efficient capture of both sea lions and cormorants, as “people had
to be at the right place at the right time—in this case at Point St. George during
the summer. It is possible that sometimes they combined their taking of cormor-
ants with this sea-lion hunting, since both of these natural ‘crops’became avail-
able at about the same time and place”(Gould 1966a:95).
The CA-DNO-13 fish data provide additional evidence for seasonal schedul-
ing and logistical procurement. This includes the mass capture of fish (especially
of smelt) at offsite camps, probably in the late summer. As smelt only spawn
along sandy beaches, and Point St. George is surrounded by rocky intertidal
habitat, harvesting the resource would have required movement to places
such as the Sweetwater fish camp (Figure 1).
64 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

The charred nut and seed data from CA-DNO-13 indicate that people con-
sumed plant foods from offsite locations (Wohlgemuth 2010). Assuming that
the plant foods were brought to Point St. George to be consumed by site resi-
dents, many of the identified plants (those two to three miles distant from
the site) could have been collected within a day’s walk. However, the more
distant inland plant foods, such as bay laurel and acorns (located in patches
nine to ten miles from Point St. George) and hazelnuts (five miles distant),
bear greater consideration. Ethnographic coastal Tolowa obtained acorns on
special logistical forays to the interior (Figure 1). As Gould noted, it is difficult
to know whether the same was true prehistorically; it is also possible that these
inland foods were obtained through trade with people living in the interior. For
example, coastal Tolowa were known to have traded dried fish, sea lion meat,
and chert for ocher stone, obsidian, and woodpecker scalps with interior
groups (Gould 1966a:96).
Middle Period Targeting of Highly Ranked Prey
Gould suggested that during PSG I times, Point St. George was the site of a small
temporary camp that was used by mobile hunter-gatherers essentially as a chert
quarry. Flintknapping appeared to be “the only important activity for the people
who lived here,”and the faunal evidence indicated “little interest in the abun-
dant marine fauna at the Point”(Gould 1966a:87).
Our view is slightly different. We see the Middle Period component as simply
reflecting a more mobile foraging system where people are targeting almost
exclusively high-ranked taxa with the highest energy returns, regardless of
whether they are terrestrial or marine foods. There are far fewer taxa rep-
resented in the PSG I sample compared to PSG II (Figure 5), but upon inspection
it becomes clear that people were focusing on large-bodied pinnipeds and
artiodactyls.
Certainly, people seem to have had little interest in locally available shellfish.
None of the rocky intertidal shellfish that are so ubiquitous in the Late Period
deposit (e.g., mussels and barnacles) are associated with the PSG I deposit
(Table 1). Assuming that foragers select prey species that produce the greatest
net rate of energy gain, it is surprising that these mass harvestable species are
not present. In fact, the only identified species are Pacific little neck clam and
Washington clam, species that are large but must be dug one at a time. These
species are also not available in the immediate area; both favor calm water set-
tings such as the Lake Earl estuary (located approximately two miles from Point
St. George).
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 65

Despite the lack of a significant shellfish midden, highly ranked marine
foods were part of the PSG I diet, and marine mammals may have been more
important than realized. For example, the pinniped to artiodactyl index for
PSG I suggests that large marine mammals were as important, if not more
important, than terrestrial elk and deer (Table 10). In fact, we think it is possible
that the purpose of these Middle Period camps was not exclusively to quarry and
knap chert—after all, there are many sources of high-quality chert along the
Smith River basin. Rather, Point St. George may have been part of the seasonal
round of mobile foragers who came to the coast, probably in the late summer, in
pursuit of marine mammals.
Late Period Subsistence: Analogous to Ethnographic Tolowa?
Because PSG II archaeological materials at CA-DNO-11 were recognizable to the
ethnographic Tolowa, Gould (1966a, 1968) argued that oral testimony could
reasonably be used to interpret the site’s Late Period component. However,
many of his observations remained qualitative in nature due to the nature of
his field collection and reporting, and several of the staple foods used by the eth-
nographic coastal Tolowa (Figure 3) remained undocumented archaeologically.
Below we examine the reported quantitative data to evaluate whether the
described Late Period dietary residues compare favorably with those expected
based on Gould’s (1966a, 1975) model of Tolowa settlement and subsistence.
Marine Mammals
Gould (1966a, 1968) argued that prehistoric marine mammal hunting was ana-
logous to that of the historic Tolowa, who pursued sea lions at distant offshore
islands in large seaworthy canoes. The presence of harpoons and pelagic fish (in
particular, vermillion and turkey-red rockfish) provided additional evidence of
these offshore activities. Referencing the Tolowa model, Hildebrandt (1981,
1984) and Jobson and Hildebrandt (1980) argued that the “oceangoing canoe-
harpoon complex”developed at Point St. George and other sites north of Hum-
boldt Bay so that people could exploit marine mammals present on distant off-
shore rocks in this area. Critics of this idea focus on whether the proxy measures
first cited by Gould (e.g., abundant marine mammal bone, harpoons, and pelagic
fish) were in fact strong indicators of offshore marine mammal hunting (Lyman
1991, 1995). Tushingham (n.d.) addresses these high-profile debates by explor-
ing the newly quantified faunal evidence. Regardless of where they were
pursued, however, it is clear that marine mammals, in particular Steller sea
lions, were a major part of the diet for prehistoric Point St. George villagers.
66 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

Shellfish
The abundance and variety of identified shellfish associated with the PSG II com-
ponent suggested to Gould (1966a:80) that although “there are no figures avail-
able on the quantities of various kinds of shellfish consumed at the site, there
can be little doubt of the importance of these as a source of food”in the Late
Period. The CA-DNO-13 data support this conclusion and indicate that mussels
and barnacles were the most important shellfish species (Figure 5). Point
St. George is surrounded by a productive rocky intertidal zone, so it is a reasonable
expectation that shellfish species available in this habitat would dominate the
assemblage. Furthermore, mussels and barnacles are easy to collect in bulk as
they are present in concentrated patches covering rocks that are exposed
during low tides. Less common identified species, such as clams and cockles,
are available at sandy beaches and tend to take longer to locate and harvest.
Barnacles and snails/limpets are often classed as “riders”in archaeological
collections, meaning that they were not intentionally harvested but were
attached to other species that were brought to the site. However, the high pro-
portion of these species by weight in the CA-DNO-13 samples is well above what
would be expected if the majority were riders. While we lack experimental data
from the north coast, a study from southern California found the weight of
riders to include 6.9 to 7.8 grams of barnacles and 0.1 to 0.4 grams of snails/
limpets for every 100 grams of intentionally collected mussel, depending on
the method of harvest (Jones and Richman 1995). In comparison, the
CA-DNO-13 samples contained 60 grams of barnacles and 14 grams of snails/
limpets for every 100 grams of mussel. Obviously, additional sampling and
local experimental studies might help us to better understand the contribution
of these taxa in the prehistoric diet. However, the data at hand suggest that bar-
nacles were intentionally collected for food.
Ethnographically, the larger species of barnacles, including the giant acorn
barnacle (Balanus nubilus),thatched or rock barnacle (Semibalanus cariosus),
and the gooseneck barnacle (Mitella polmerus), “were relatively important in
the diet of many coastal gatherers”(Greengo 1951:66-67). Barnacles were
eaten by the Tolowa, who apparently consumed them immediately after collect-
ing “by building fire on rocks directly over barnacles”(Gould 1966a:80). If bar-
nacles were harvested in this way, prehistorically their relative dietary
importance might actually be underestimated. The ethnographic evidence on
snails and limpets is mixed. Although Kroeber and Barrett (1960:113) stated
the Tolowa ate at least two kinds of snails, Gould’s informants reported that
they did not eat black turban, mud snail or top shell (Gould 1966a:81).
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 67

Waterfowl
The Tolowa captured a wide variety of waterfowl, but cormorants “were of by far
the greatest importance in the total diet”(Gould 1975:158). This is consistent
with the CA-DNO-11 avifaunal data, which include many identified species,
such as a variety of ducks (n = 10), geese (n = 11), and cormorants (n = 9).
Most of the cormorant bones were of nestlings (Ziegler identified five of nine
cormorant bones as juvenile), suggesting that there was a prehistoric antecedent
to the summertime Tolowa tradition of collecting cormorant nestlings before
they could fly from nests perched on nearby coastal and island rocks (Gould
1966a:84-85). The CA-DNO-13 micro samples also include bird bones (n =
17), ranging from small to very large birds, but unfortunately none of these
could be identified to species.
Surf Fish
The CA-DNO-11 fish data provide no direct evidence of smelt fishing. Because
smelt bones are small, they were not identified in CA-DNO-11 excavations
where screening was not employed. Indirect evidence of surf fishing is proble-
matic because there are no artifacts “diagnostic”of the activity, such as
“V”-shaped smelt fishing nets that have no durable parts or net-making tools
(e.g., shuttles, gauges) that could be associated with other types of nets.
Smelt bone, however, was identified by the thousands in the CA-DNO-13
micro samples, demonstrating the importance of this mass-harvested fish.
Salmon and Acorns?
One surprising finding is the lack of evidence demonstrating the dietary impor-
tance of salmon and acorns. Acorn use at CA-DNO-11 was implied by the pres-
ence of plant processing tools (pestles, grinding slabs), but direct evidence was
unavailable (Gould 1966a:95). Acorns were found in the CA-DNO-13 samples,
but in very low numbers; bay nuts far outnumber all identified plants and
exceed acorns in abundance by a 23:1 ratio (by count). Now quantified, it is
also clear that relatively little salmon bone was identified at CA-DNO-11 (n =
11, or 6.1% of the sample). In the CA-DNO-13 sample, salmonid bone was
also relatively scarce (n = 4, or 12.1% of the sample, not including smelt
bone). While present, the low number of salmon and acorn remains relative
to other identified fish and nuts seems incongruous both with Gould’s model
and with the standard view that salmon and acorns were the two most
68 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

important dietary staples among ethnographic groups in northwestern Califor-
nia (Baumhoff 1963).
The question then becomes, is this a real pattern, could it be that these foods
were less important at Point St. George than previously assumed? Perhaps
coastal resources were primary foods at these sites simply because of their abun-
dance in the immediate area and because access to inland locations may not have
been as free as it was ethnographically. Or is this situation simply the result of
sampling error, site taphonomy, and/or other causes? If it can be demonstrated
that sampling is not the issue, it is possible that smelt were preferred over
salmon because they are fattier and there are less transport and processing
costs associated with the resource. Of course, the low numbers of salmon
bone could have something to do with how and where they were processed.
Salmon was mass-harvested and processed at camps along rivers; most cuts
were boned and transported back to coastal sites. Purposeful discard well
away from the site could be an additional cultural explanation, but such a prac-
tice was apparently limited to only the first salmon (and sea lions) taken by the
Tolowa (Gould 1966a:82).
The scarcity of acorn nutshell seems more difficult to explain. While it is poss-
ible that small stands of bay laurel were once located near the coast, assuming that
bay nuts and acorns were equally available, perhaps bay nuts were preferred
because they can be consumed without the elaborate and time-consuming leach-
ing process typically associated with acorns. While bay nuts are not knownto have
been a major staple, they were sometimes eaten by the Yurok, Tolowa, and Karuk,
who prepared them by roasting or baking after being shelled (Baker 1981:59-60).
Or perhaps some acorns were shelled at another site area (e.g., the residential
area) or at the offsite camp. According to one source, some acorns were shelled
while others were transported back to home villages (TLC 1972:55). In any
case, resolution of this issue obviously requires additional sampling and analysis.
Underrated Artiodactyls, Intertidal Fish?
Gould (1975:65) evaluates elk and deer as a part of a “minor procurement
system”along with other terrestrial mammals, berries and other plants, and
ocean fish, because they “are solitary game and cannot be hunted en masse.
Stalking and pit snares were used by individual hunters to good effect, but
total amounts of meat taken in this way cannot have been great compared to
even the least productive of the staple food procurement systems. This is in con-
trast to sea lions, which are gregarious creatures that congregate in known areas
and seasons. Sea lions were also probably easier to transport whole to home base
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 69

villages on the coast in boats, while elk had to be transported overland, which
required butchering at offsite camps”(Gould 1966a:83).
Elk, however, are the second most common identified species in the
CA-DNO-11 faunal assemblage discussed herein, and there are several tapho-
nomic and cultural factors that may explain the comparatively low numbers
of artiodactyls. As Gould (1966a) noted, it is possible that sea mammal bones
were more common at the site because of differing patterns of bone discard;
that is, Tolowa informants stated that elk and salmon bones were always gath-
ered and discarded in brush away from the villages, while only the first sea lion
bones were discarded this way. In other words, after this initial ceremony there
were no special restrictions. Thus, “the rarity of bones of deer and elk at the site
conforms to the expectations based on informant testimony”(Gould
1966a:82-83). Other factors that may have contributed to the lower number
of identified artiodactyl remains include differential processing patterns
(unlike artiodactyls, seal and sea lion bones do not have marrow cavities and
would not have been pulverized for grease rendering) and preservation (sea
mammal bone is denser and probably preserves better than elk or deer bone).
Intertidal fish, which are relatively easy to collect and are found in the local
rocky intertidal zone, may also have been overlooked in Gould’s model. While
the CA-DNO-11 macro samples are dominated by large-bodied fish (Table 3),
both this sample and the micro-data from CA-DNO-13 include a wide variety
of nearshore species, including clingfish, Pacific hake, rockfishes, pricklebacks,
gunnel, and right-eyed flounder. Most of these are solitary species that were
likely fished one at a time on an encounter basis. While fish were caught offshore
with lines often baited with surf fish or mussels on hooks and gorges (cf. Driver
1939), the majority of these fish are those that could be collected in rocky tidal
pools, a common practice ethnographically: “Here the older men, as well as the
women, sought out codfish and other species which might have been stranded
when the tides receded”(Kroeber and Barrett 1960:89).
Conclusions
As one of only a handful of excavated multicomponent sites on the north coast
of California, CA-DNO-11 plays a key role in how archaeologists think about
subsistence-settlement systems in this part of the world. The studies under-
taken by Gould (n.d., 1966a, 1966b, 1968, 1972, 1975) were major contri-
butions to the field and his legacy continues to reverberate in current
interpretive frameworks. However, the nature of his data collection and report-
ing left several issues unexamined. In this article, we compiled previously
70 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

unpublished quantitative macro-scale data from CA-DNO-11, introduced new
micro-scale evidence from CA-DNO-13, and took a fresh look at some of the
ideas and assumptions of Gould’s model.
The CA-DNO-11 quantitative data presented here clearly support the con-
clusion that PSG I and PSG II were profoundly different from each other and
that marine resources were a focus of subsistence in the Late Period. In our
view, the terrestrial-marine resource dichotomy is useful, but does not necess-
arily capture the underlying organizational differences between these com-
ponents. We see the Middle and Late period components as simply reflecting
two fundamentally different adaptive strategies, with PSG I associated with a
more mobile foraging system where people are targeting almost exclusively
high-ranked taxa with the highest returns (regardless of whether they are
marine or terrestrial foods) and PSG II mirroring sedentary life on the coast.
When people begin to live in large, permanent plank house villages, diet
breadth expands and they begin storing a variety of foods (many of which are
logistically procured and mass harvested from distant locations) at their
home base. Similar changes have been documented at sites along the Smith
River about nine miles inland from Point St. George (Tushingham 2009) and
are probably reflective of a region-wide shift in social systems and residential
patterns that crosscut linguistic boundaries and ecological zones. People living
in interior zones were more terrestrially oriented (i.e., there was more evidence
for exploitation of interior nuts and salmon than of marine foods), but organi-
zationally the shift was identical.
In our analysis, the Late Period PSG II component is largely analogous to the
ethnographic Tolowa, and Gould’s use of oral histories in his reconstruction of
the Point St. George villagers’annual round was undeniably valuable. The
CA-DNO-13 sample findings are largely consistent with the model that Gould
constructed about sedentary Tolowa villages and hunter-gatherer organizational
strategies in precontact times and fills in gaps in our knowledge, particularly in
terms of understanding the contribution of various shellfish taxa, small-bodied
fish and mammals, and plant foods. The micro data confirm the importance of
smelt, providing direct evidence that was previously unavailable. The low
numbers of acorn shell and salmon bone, however, is a finding that is inconsist-
ent with the notion that these two mass-harvested and stored foods were
primary staples on the coast. Additional sampling and analysis is necessary to
determine whether this is the result of sampling error, or if there is another cul-
tural or taphonomic explanation.
However, taken at face value, the data from our study suggest that interior
resources were less of a focus at these coastal sites than in Gould’s model.
Macro and Micro Scale Signatures of Hunter-Gatherer Organization 71

Mass-harvested smelt may have provided an attractive, more local alternative to
salmon, because it is a good source of fat and has fewer associated processing
costs. Furthermore, access to inland locations may have simply been less free
in the past than it was ethnographically. Populations were likely more dense
before the Tolowa suffered massive population losses and upheaval at
contact, so it is possible that the landscape may have been more constrained
in the past. Future research may help us to better understand these dynamics
and possibly revise our notions about which resources people were keying in
on at Point St. George and other sites on the north coast of California.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, we wish to thank the Tolowa community, the Elk Valley Ran-
cheria, and Smith River Rancheria for their support and interest in this study.
North coastal native people continue their traditional harvest of many of the
marine and terrestrial foods described in this article, and we are thankful to
many individuals for their insights and discussions on this topic. We are grateful
to Frank Bayham, Richard Fitzgerald, Richard A. Gould, Frank K. Lake, Eric Wohl-
gemuth, and an anonymous reviewer for their insightful comments and very
useful suggestions, which substantially improved this article. We also thank
Robert L. Bettinger, Christyann Darwent, William R. Hildebrandt, Adrian Whi-
taker, and Gregory G. White for advice and guidance. Raven Garvey translated
the abstract into Spanish. Shellfish was identified by Jennifer Bencze with assist-
ance from Timothy Carpenter and Angela Arpaia. Fish bone was identified by
Kenneth W. Gobalet. Charred plant remains recovered in light fractions were
identified by Eric Wohlgemuth. Bird and mammal bone was identified by Trine
Bjørneboe Johansen. We thank Greg Collins, Richard Fitzgerald, and Steve
Horvitz at California State Parks, who provided assistance with assessment of
looting damage and the criminal investigation. Don Verwayen mapped the site
damage. The Elk Valley Rancheria, California, funded the archaeological
damage assessment, AMS dating, and charred plant studies. We thank Nick
Angeloff for facilitating a grant for the fish bone analyses through the Bear
River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria and Resources Legacy Fund.
Notes
1. There are many spellings for Tolowa words and places. Although orthographies vary, names
sound similar. Spellings for the village at northern Point St. George (CA-DNO-11) include
t’aįɣa
ʔ
n(Gould 1966a), ta’giatun (“standing up there”) (Drucker 1937), and taa-ghii -’a
(“outward placed there”) (Loren Bommelyn, personal communication 2006). Spellings for the
72 Shannon Tushingham and Jennifer Bencze

village at southern Point St. George (CA-DNO-13) include t’adįdn (Gould 1966a), tatitun
(Drucker 1937), and doh-tin-dun (Bommelyn and Humphrey 1989). For spellings in Tolowa
unifon, see TLC (1972).
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