The Shellmound Memorialization Program

A MARK IN TIME

ddd"Three thousand years ago, the San Francisco Bay Area was a very quiet place. …In many places, you might go for days without ever seeing another human being, but there were many animals, and lots of open space.

ddd One day, a small group of people came down to the bay to gather oysters and mussels to eat. These were easy to collect from the marsh along the shore of the bay. At the place that one day would be Emeryville, there was a large creek where the people could get fresh water, so they decided to camp there for awhile. At that time, no one else lived there. … Thousands of ducks and geese flew over the bay, sometimes so many that they almost darkened the sky. At the edge of the bay was a huge, wet marsh. It was full of frogs and fish and the noise of red-winged blackbirds. Huge elk and many deer browsed among the tule reeds and brush.

ddThe edge of the creek was a great place to camp… When the tide was low, anyone in the village could gather oysters from the gravelly bottom of the bay or use a stick to dig clams out of the mud of the tide flat. It was easy to get shellfish and they probably were eaten at almost every meal. This was a really good place to live, with plenty of everything people might need; water, food, space, and the materials to make shelters. The people decided to stay in Emeryville."

The specific elements include: