Feasting, Ritual Practices, and Persistent Places: New Interpretations of Shellmounds in Southern California

Summary

Intensive archaeological investigations at the largest extant shell mound in the Santa Barbara Channel area and one of the best-preserved Early Period archaeological sites in the region have produced an array of radiocarbon dates within solid stratigraphic contexts. Approximately 50 house depressions situated in rows on several terraces have been mapped on the eight meter high mound that measures 270 by 210 meters, approximately 5 hectares. Analysis of multiple lines of evidence, including stratigraphic profiles of multiple house depressions and features, 76 radiocarbon dates, ground penetrating radar, and mortuary analyses of over 200 previously excavated burials, support my claim that the mound, El Montón, was a persistent place where early visitors feasted on red abalone, urchins, sea mammals, and other marine delicacies, constructed dwellings, buried their dead, and performed ceremonies where select groups of infants, children, and adults were revered. These mortuary rites conveyed the symbolic power of the place and created a history of events that became part of a mythical and real past that was repeatedly visited, modified, and interpreted as social relationships were reinforced. This case study supports the idea of Southeastern archaeologists and others that shellmounds are socially constructed landscapes, not just accumulations of refuse.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage