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Rubbing rocks to make pre-history appear
George McKale | Special to the Sun
Turning Stones is a metaphor for discovery. Ever since I can remember, and just like many of the kids I see today, I have turned over stones to see what lays in wait underneath. I remember holding my breath with excitement in hopes of catching scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, worms, lizards and snakes. Uncovering the past is also about discovery. The deeper one looks, the more intriguing it becomes. History is about individuals who have influenced others, about visions coming to fruition, or having those same visions crumble before one’s own eyes. History is about recognizing the events from the past which shape how we live today. History, like the last part of the word suggests, tells a story.
Turning Stones will focus on Sonoma Valley history and draw from my experience as a historian and an archaeologist. A primary goal for each article is to provide readers with the historical background underlying many of Sonoma’s jewels. So while on a morning stroll or afternoon windshield tour, they can have a greater appreciation for the historical significance of a beautifully constructed Victorian home or late 19th century stone bridge.
Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “history” as a chronological account of significant events. Depending on the discipline or individual historians, there are hundreds of definitions for the word. Often California indigenous peoples are excluded from discussions of local history because they did not develop a system of writing, a system that acts to memorialize one’s cultural traditions. The term prehistory or prehistoric is often used to address indigenous peoples before Euro-American contact. I make no distinction between writers and non-writers. For me, if it occurred in the past, it is history, and this part of Sonoma’s history begins 12,000 years ago.
I’m often asked, “How long have humans lived in Sonoma?” You may get a different answer depending on who you ask. Here’s my version. Sit on a park bench in the Plaza on a warm April afternoon, close your eyes, and imagine the sights and smells of Pleistocene Sonoma County. Where today one might smell the burnt summer grass of California Prairie and Oak Woodland habitats, a mere 10,000 years ago the same location may have been dominated by conifer forests and marshy grasslands. Look closely within these habitats and you’d witness the Pleistocene megafauna, the mighty mastodon and mammoth, camels, giant sloths, and saber tooth tigers. Imagine, too, the angry cry of a mammoth being stalked by a group of irritating hunters, all motioning with their menacing spears, for it is in this environmental setting that humans may have first occupied Sonoma.
Humans began moving from Asia to North America around 12,000 years ago. Sea levels began to fall as massive amounts of ocean water turned to ice, forming incredibly large glaciers. Falling sea levels created a land bridge known as Berengia, connecting Alaska and Russia, allowing the mammoth and mastodon to expand their territories, with humans in hot pursuit. Mammoth and mastodon fossils have been found from the Yukon to central Mexico. In 1972 mammoth bones were identified at Bodega Head immediately northwest of the town of Bodega.
Archaeologists use the term “model” to tell a story and promote a hypothesis. In this case the model states that humans entered North America following Pleistocene megafauna. Human migration to the southern end of South America was quick, as sites have been identified at Tierra del Fuego coeval [that is, contemporary] with early archaeological sites identified in Alaska. The model goes on, indicating that these people hunted large herbivores including mammoth and mastodon for raw materials such as tools, clothing, and food. In 1977, in Washington State, the first bone spear tip was found embedded in one of the ribs of a mastodon.
These first peoples, referred to as Paleoindians or Paleoamericans, were always on the move, never staying in one place long enough to leave much evidence of ever having been there – rather problematic for the archaeologist. However, not far from home, one can travel over to the Sonoma Coast to view three large rocks exhibiting a unique polish. The rocks have been dubbed “Mammoth Rocks” by E. Breck Parkman, Senior Archaeologist for California State Parks, who along with paleontologist Raj Naidu identified the “rubbings” during a paleontological survey in 2001. Parkman believes the polished features are the result of residue from the rubbing activities associated with large herbivores such as mammoth, bison, and possibly sloth. The site is located between Shell Beach and Blind Beach, west of Highway 1. If you visit the rocks, please do not climb or touch the rubbings.
10,000 years ago we see the extinction of these late-Pleistocene animals marking the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene epoch. Two primary theories have been postulated for their demise: overhunting and climatic change. Whether one or the other, or a combination of both, one thing is certain – human populations didn’t go down with them. There is little evidence for the peopling of Sonoma 12,000 years ago. Finding evidence for Pleistocene archaeological sites linking humans with the amazing megafauna of the late-Pleistocene may be one turned stone away.
George McKale is the City Historian for Sonoma, appointed to the volunteer position in 2008. He lives in Sonoma with his wife and their four sons. He is a practicing archaeologist, holding an advanced degree in Cultural Resources Management, and has an environmental consulting firm based in Sonoma. McKale conducts prehistoric and historical research, including archaeological excavations, and also mediates concerns between developers, Native Americans, local historical societies, preservation, and other special interest groups. He may be reached with questions about Sonoma’s past at sonomasun.com, on the “Contact the Columnist” page.
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