Busted Balls Shell Midden (CA-SMI-606): An Early Coastal Site on San Miguel Island,California

Abstract

California's Channel Islands have produced some of the earliest shell middens in North America, demonstrating that terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene peoples along the southern California Coast had relatively sophisticated maritime capabilities. Many of these early coastal sites are located adjacent to inland springs that “pulled” early maritime peoples away from now submerged shorelines. Near a spring in Busted Balls Cove on San Miguel Island, we recently identified and investigated a shell midden known as CA-SMI-606 that was occupied on multiple occasions between about 9400 and 8000 years ago. Although the site was heavily impacted by erosion, we identified several cultural features and recovered a relatively large sample of faunal remains. CA-SMI-606 appears to have been occupied by small groups of people whose activities while at the site were focused primarily on collecting mussels, abalones, and other shellfish from rocky intertidal habitats. Our study provides valuable information on the structure, age, and function of an Early Holocene shell midden, as well as the lifeways of some of the earliest maritime peoples of California's Channel Islands.