Archaeology can tell us much about the ways that people
lived in the past. In an archaeological deposit we may find tools and the debris left by their manufacture and use,
dietary remains and indications of butchering, food preparation and cooking practices,
and ornaments, along with evidence of how they were used. We may be able infer where
and how food was collected, and even some of the effects of the local population on the
surrounding environment. Human skeletal remains provide information about stature,
diseases and injuries suffered by the population, warfare, and life expectancy.
However, archaeology is limited to the study of what can be
learned from material remains, usually those of cultural groups whose practices have changed significantly
since prehistoric times. We must fall back on inference to investigate ceremonial and
religious practices, and we can only speculate about the thinking and beliefs of the people
represented by the physical remains in the ground.
In every culture, death is a significant event. The practices
surrounding disposal of the dead--as represented in what may be preserved archaeologically-- may provide a glimpse
into the thinking and beliefs of those who are left behind. There is nothing more poignant
for archaeologists, nothing more evocative of the people behind the archaeology, than
a human burial found as it was placed in the ground, surrounded by valued ornaments and
tools. A human interment in many ways is a snapshot in time because we know that the
human remains and the artifacts found in the grave were deposited together, and represent
a single significant episode in human lives. A burial may provide us with insight about
what was important and valuable to the people at that place and time.
The people of the Emeryville Shellmound buried their dead
with reverence and ceremony. Some archaeologists and modern Native Americans even have suggested that
the Emeryville Shellmound was primarily a ceremonial place, where people from the
surrounding area came to bury their dead and to participate in memorial feasting hosted
by powerful leaders. It has been suggested that the mound itself--which over time was
built up into a substantial topographic feature which would have been visible at great
distances around the bay--was a ceremonial marker and beacon, rather than a living
place. While this speculation is not substantiated convincingly by archaeological
findings, the shellmound clearly was an important place to local Native Americans, and
many hundreds of individuals were interred there during the 2000 years of the site's
occupation. The mound is composed of vast quantities of dietary debris, intermixed with
charcoal and rocks from cooking hearths, and a wide range of stone and bone tools. The
soft soil created by the accumulation of this material over time formed a mound elevated
above the waters of the bay, and was a place where a grave could readily be excavated.
People buried their dead close to where they lived, just as they carried out the other
activities of their lives.
Archaeological excavation in the Emeryville Shellmound in
1999 was confined to the basal layers of the mound, since the huge cone of midden material that originally had
identified the site had been destroyed long before. When the mound was
leveled in 1924, archaeologist W.E. Schenck noted as many as 700 burials. However, many burials--represented by skeletal remains and associated
artifacts-- also were present in the basal part of the mound, the 6 to 8 feet of deposit that
remained after the cone was destroyed in 1924 and during subsequent industrial activity
on the site. During 1999 archaeological excavations, skeletal remains of over 120
individuals were recovered from the site. Some of these were represented only by a few
scattered bones, often found in midden material that had been removed from the cone and
dumped elsewhere on the site during historic times. However, other
skeletal remains were
found intact, just as they had been placed in the ground.
The portion of the mound where most burials were found
intact was deposited between 2000 and 2400 years ago. Similar patterns can be observed in many of the interments of
that time. The grave generally was an oval pit just large enough to accommodate a
crouched individual. Archaeological evidence suggests that the grave pit would be
about 2 feet deep; additional soil might have been piled on top. Before the individual was
placed in the grave, a fire might be built there: many graves are lined with a shallow
bed of ash with charcoal and burnt animal bone and shell. After the fire went out, a layer of
red ochre and sometimes a woven fiber mat might be placed atop the ashes in the grave
pit. The individual might be arrayed with ornaments, including strings of beads made
from the shells of olive snails and finely made abalone shell pendants, often placed about
the neck and head, perhaps attached to a head-dress or other clothing. Abalone ornaments
sometimes were placed over the eyes or around the chest and pelvis as well. Groups of
whistles or tubes of bird or elk bone, bone pendants or spatulas, or bundles of bird bone,
raptor talons, and possibly whole fish accompanied some individuals. In many cases, the
body was coated with a fine powder or paste of red ochre--a deep red pigment. The deceased
would then be arranged in a tightly flexed position, with knees drawn up to the chest, and
placed in the grave, usually face down or on one side. Then the grave was refilled with
soil. Beds of ashes overlying some graves suggest that another fire might be built atop the
grave, but this is uncertain. Graves from the same general period tend to be grouped
together, which suggests that there was a designated mortuary area on the site during
different periods. However, there is no archaeological evidence that graves
were otherwise marked and, in fact, the excavation of later graves not infrequently disturbed
earlier graves.
It is of interest that abalone ornaments at Emeryville were
found almost exclusively in graves. In fact, almost no abalone shell in any form was found in the deposit outside of
graves, although the midden contained millions of clam, mussel and oyster shells.
Abalone, which occupies rocky habitats in the low intertidal zone, is not present in the inner
reaches of the San Francisco Bay. The inhabitants of the Emeryville Shellmound would
have had to travel to the ocean coast, or trade with coastal groups or intermediaries to
obtain this material. Since no abalone manufacturing debris was found in the
Emeryville midden, we must assume that the occupants of Emeryville obtained abalone
ornaments ready-made in trade. Such traded items undoubtedly were exceptionally
valuable, since they had to be "purchased" ready-made, probably were not easily
obtained, and likely were limited in availability. The presence of such valuables in
graves is yet another indicator of the reverence accorded the dead, and also suggests that
these ornaments had more than ornamental value, and perhaps were primarily ceremonial
in use.
Sometimes an individual was accorded exceptional treatment
in death: a few interments were accompanied by large numbers of bird bone tubes or whistles, clusters of plummet
stones ("charmstones"), or unusually large numbers of shell ornaments and beads. Other
individuals were buried without ornaments or tools, or only with a coating of red ochre.
Differential treatment of human burials often has been interpreted by archaeologists as an
indication of the status of the individual. For instance, it has been suggested that a
renowned warrior or leader might be buried with more ceremony and accompanied by
more artifacts than with an undistinguished individual. At some sites infants and
children--who presumably had not lived long enough to acquire high status through their
achievements-- are accompanied by elaborate grave assemblages. Some archaeologists
have suggested that this may imply a stratified social structure, in which higher status
was accorded to some families, and might be inherited rather than earned. Although
analysis is still underway, in the basal levels of Emeryville there is no distinct pattern of
grave treatment differentiated by age or sex. However, the elaborately accompanied
individuals at Emeryville include several infants and young children.
Multiple burials, particularly of infants, are relatively common
at Emeryville. This might be expected from a time when infant mortality was high. However, there also are
instances of multiple adult or adult and child interments, which is suggestive of epidemic
disease, or other events that affected the health of the wider population over a short
period of time. There also is evidence of at least three deaths by human violence: three
burials included one or more projectile points either embedded in the bone or within the
body cavity. One isolated skull, found interred neck-down in a bowl mortar, also
suggests violent death. Broken bones, often healed before death, are not unusual.
Evidence of arthritis is very common, even among relatively young individuals, and
significant tooth wear is almost universal among the burial population, even among
children. Tooth wear--grinding down of the chewing surfaces of the teeth,
such that the inner pulp is exposed--results from a diet high in abrasive materials. The diet of
California Native Americans relied extensively on plant foods, such as acorns
and seeds, prepared by grinding with a stone mortar and pestle. As the tools were used, the fine
stone grains worn off their surfaces were included in the meal that was produced.
Tooth wear also resulted from the use of teeth in processing hides and sinews for use in
clothing.
The study of human remains is among the most valuable
sources of direct information about an archaeological population. However, because it entails the disturbance of
human graves, it also is a highly sensitive topic. For many, reverence for the dead and
for the mourners who interred them, also extends to reverence for the skeleton, and the
grave and all that was placed in it. In California, when disturbance of a grave cannot be
avoided on a construction project, the grave may be excavated by archaeologists, but
state law requires that the recommendations of potential descendants of the deceased be
sought, to ensure respectful treatment of the remains. The most common practice today
is that the skeleton and the artifacts that accompanied it are reburied after excavation, in a
place that will not be subject to further disturbance. In some cases, the Native American
descendant may be willing to have archaeological studies made of the skeleton prior to
reburial. These may include photography, measurements of the bone, examination to
determine age and sex of the individual, and studies of diseases and genetic traits. In
other cases, the descendant may prefer that no such studies by done.
Based on descendant recommendations, archaeological
treatment of human remains from the Emeryville Shellmound consisted of exposure and drawing of the remains in the
ground, and removal to a lab on site for washing, inspection and basic inventory of bones
present. More detailed studies were not permitted, as it was the feeling of the descendant
that these would be disrespectful. For artifacts found within a grave, and also within
one-meter of any human bone, drawing, photography and casting of selected
artifacts were
permitted. (Casting is the process of making a mold of the artifact from
which replicas can be made for study or curation). Once these tasks were completed, the burial
collection was stored for reburial.
It is the intent of the Emeryville Redevelopment Agency
that these replicas of artifacts be made available for educational
purposes. Some may be viewed at the Community Room of the Bay Street project.
