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Mortars, Pestles, and Division of Labor in Prehistoric California: A View from Big Sur

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Terry L. Jones
Terry L. Jones*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
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Abstract

The mortar and pestle, technologically linked to intensive acorn economies, appeared initially in low frequencies over a large portion of California ca. 4000-3500 B.C. Three sites on the Big Sur coast of central California illuminate the circumstances surrounding the advent of this new technology, which initially supplemented hand stones and milling slabs. Excavation results suggest that ca. 3500 B.C. production of hunting-related flaked-stone tools increased relative to ground stone, and hunted resources became more important, as part of a transition from a highly mobile, selective use of the coastal resources, heavily focused on gathering, to a less mobile, more intensified lifeway. Obsidian hydration profiles indicate that interregional exchange increased at the same time. Evaluation of alternative mussel collection techniques further indicates that shellfish-harvesting strategies became less efficient at this juncture, promoting the emergence of a processing specialization, concomitant with increased hunting intensity. These transitions apparently mark the appearance of lineal descent organization and the system of gender-specific task appropriation observed at European contact.

Resumen

Resumen

El mortero y la mano, vinculados tecnicamente a las economías intensivas de bellota, apareció originalmente disperso en una gran área de California ca. 4000–3500 a.C. Tres sitios en la costa de Big Sur en California central revelan el contexto de la llegada de esta nueva tecnologia, que sirvió alprincipio como un suplemento a las manosy metates. Los resultados de las excavaciones indican que la producción de utensillos de la caza hechos de piedra tallada subió, comparados con los de piedra pulida, cerca de 3500 a. C. La caza llegó a ser más importante, como parte de la transición de el uso selectivo y transitorio de la zona costera, con su énfasis en la recolección, a un modo de vida mís sedemtario e intensiv. Una evaluación experimental de las alternativas técnicas la recolección de mejillones indica que las estrategias de la cosecha de mariscos perdieron progresivamente su eficiencia en este período, lo cual promovió el desarollo de una especialización en el procesamiento, concomitantemente con una elevada intensidad en la caza. Estas transiciones marcan la aparición de descendencia lineal y división sexual del trabajo, las quefueron observadas en el momenta de la conquista.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 61 , Issue 2 , April 1996 , pp. 243 - 264
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1996

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