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Traditional knowledge, along with archaeological and linguistic evidence, documents that California supports cultural and linguistically diverse Indigenous populations. Studies that have included ancient genomes in this region, however, have focused primarily on broad-scale migration history of the North American continent, with relatively little attention to local population dynamics. Here, in a partnership involving researchers and the Muwekma Ohlone tribe, we analyze genomic data from ancient and present-day individuals from the San Francisco Bay Area in California: 12 ancient individuals dated to 1905 to 1826 and 601 to 184 calibrated years before the present (cal BP) from two archaeological sites and eight present-day members of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe, whose ancestral lands include these two sites. We find that when compared to other ancient and modern individuals throughout the Americas, the 12 ancient individuals from the San Francisco Bay Area cluster with ancient individuals from Southern California. At a finer scale of analysis, we find that the 12 ancient individuals from the San Francisco Bay Area have distinct ancestry from the other groups and that this ancestry has a component of continuity over time with the eight present-day Muwekma Ohlone individuals. These results add to our understanding of Indigenous population history in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, and in western North America more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health of humans is intricately linked to the substances we ingest—both food and nondietary items. Adverse health outcomes related to smoking of such products as tobacco and other psychoactive substances are clearly established in modern populations but are less well understood for ancient communities. Grasping these dynamics is further complicated by the curative, religious, and medicinal context of many of these substances, which have often been commodified, refined, and altered in recent history. As part of a larger collaboration with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe dedicated to understanding medicinal plant use among Native Californians, this article summarizes new metabolomic data from three Middle- and Late-Period ancestral heritage Ohlone sites: Thámien Rúmmeytak (CA-SCL-128), 'Ayttakiš 'Éete Hiramwiš Trépam-tak (CA-ALA-677/H), and Síi Túupentak (CA-ALA-565/H). The authors used an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry platform to analyze chemical residues from 95 human dental calculus samples from 50 burials. Using multivariate statistics, they coanalyzed demographic and skeletal pathology data with chemical residue profiles and considered skeletal markers for a series of oral and postcranial health conditions. Results indicate sex and age biases in consumption patterns. Periodontitis stands out as the most significant local factor for changes in the oral metabolome. However, while chemical markers of oral diseases may be related to pathogen activity, associations between residues and postcranial conditions such as osteoarthritis suggest traditional curative practices and the ingestion of medicinal substances. Hence, this study yields new insights into the broader context of illness and healing in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the use of specially trained canines to detect the location of human burials in nonmodern archaeological contexts. It discusses the history of the discipline, training and field methods, the importance of developing a working relationship with descendant communities, project examples, an assessment of canine detection effectiveness, and ways to select a canine detection team. The article highlights how the application of canine detection training and protocols to the archaeological record makes it possible to locate potential precontact Native American burial areas without ground disturbance. In some cases, probable burial areas located by canines can be confidentially mapped to ensure avoidance during upcoming construction projects. For a variety of reasons, many Native American communities have been wary of embracing this new method to locate ancestral burials. Today, however, canine detection is widely accepted by many tribal groups in California to locate ancestral burials that might be impacted by construction. Although additional controlled studies and rigorous field laboratory experiments are needed to understand the range of variation in efficacy fully, available results in both North America and Europe demonstrate that specially trained canines can often accurately locate human burials that are more than a thousand years old to within a few meters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data recovery at Late Period site Síi Túupentak (CA-ALA-565/H) provided a unique opportunity to integrate non-destructive methodology into the identification of human remains. In April 2017, the Institute for Canine Forensics conducted an examination of a 21-by-14-meter portion of the site. Three dogs trained to detect the scent of human remains alerted 12 times in seven locations, indicating possible burials. Subsequent excavation and analysis provided preliminary data on canine detection of ancient human remains, including advantages and limitations. The results suggest that this remote sensing technique is an effective identification tool that will improve with further collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonality estimates of shellfish harvest at the Middle/MLT Period Yerba Buena site (CA-SFR-114) were determined using oxygen isotope values from three shellfish species: Macoma nasuta (bent-nose clam), Mytilus trossulus (bay mussel), and Ostrea lurida (Pacific oyster). While clam and mussel seasonality estimates are prevalent in archaeological isotopic studies, we also examined oyster seasonality for the first time in California. Overall, harvest was most intensive in summer and fall/early winter, although timing varied by species and temporal component. Bay mussel and Pacific oyster specimens were harvested primarily in the summer months in the Upper Midden area dated to the Middle-Late Transition and Late 1 Period, and the fall months in the Lower Midden area dated to the Middle 3 and Middle 4 periods. Unlike bay mussel and bent-nosed clam, harvest of Pacific oyster specimens was particularly prevalent in the fall months in the Upper Midden area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shellfish eaten by hunter-gatherers, rather than being viewed as a monolithic food type, could more appropriately be divided into species that are more similar in behavior and reproductive biology to animals, and those that are more similar to plants, with the vast majority belonging to the latter category. We present the record of prehistoric gathering of two small shellfish species—bean clam (Donax gouldii) and California hornsnail (Cerithidea californica)—both of which follow a trajectory similar to plant remains in the archaeological record of California. We argue thatDonaxexploitation in southern California is tied to social circumscription, which led to increased settlement permanence and excluded some foragers from ready access to high-ranking lagoonal and rocky shore shellfish.Cerithideawere exploited throughout the Late Holocene in the Southern San Francisco Bay Area, but are found in varying abundances in regional assemblages. We argue that the inclusion ofCerithideawas not the result of diminishing populations of higher ranked oysters, but instead was part of a broader pattern of intensification driven by risk-averse foraging decisions, particularly by women with small children. Overall, this article reinforces the perspective that shifts in social interaction and demography are as important or more important in driving patterns of shellfish exploitation than biological and ecological processes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Reviewed by Brian F. Byrd, ASM Affiliates and University of California, San Diego. This elegantly produced monograph presents the analytical results of chipped stone material recovered from an early Natufian [...]

The Yñigo Mound (CA-SCL-12/H) is one of the few remaining prehistoric shellmounds along the southern edge of San Francisco Bay. The site also falls within Rancho Posolmi, which was granted to Ohlone Native American Lope Yñigo in 1844. Yñigo was one of a handful of Native Americans to receive a Mexican land grant, and is a well-known historical figure. Despite being located in a modern, urban setting, portions of the mound remain preserved at the junction of two major freeways. We review the unique history of the site, summarize prior archaeological investigations, and place the site within the broader context of South Bay area shellmounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the architecture found at the Ain Ghazal, Jordan, site of a Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPNB) period settlement. Only a small sampling was excavated but the encroaching roadwork itself had exposed many samples. Large houses and their construction are described and hearths built as part of the floor structure are noted. The site is compared with other Neolithic sites in the Levant and the uniqueness of burial areas under the floors found at Ain Ghazal is discussed.

Considerable prior research has focused on the interconnected pluvial basins of Owens Lake and Searles Lake, resulting in a long record of paleohydrological change in the lower Owens River system. However, the published record is poorly resolved or contradictory for the period encompassing the terminal Pleistocene (22,000 to 11,600 cal BP) and early Holocene (11,600–8200 cal BP). This has resulted in conflicting interpretations about the timing of lacustrine high stands within the intermediate basin of China Lake, which harbors one of the most extensive records of early human occupation in the western Great Basin and California. Here, we report a broad range of radiocarbon-dated paleoenvironmental evidence, including lacustrine deposits and shoreline features, tufa outcrops, and mollusk, ostracode, and fish bone assemblages, as well as spring and other groundwater-related deposits (a.k.a. “black mats”) from throughout China Lake basin, its outlet, and inflow drainages. Based on 98 radiocarbon dates, we develop independent evidence for five significant lake-level oscillations between 18,000 and 13,000 cal BP, and document the persistence of groundwater-fed wetlands from the beginning of the Younger Dryas through the early Holocene (12,900–8200 cal BP); including the transition from ground-water fed lake to freshwater marsh between about 13,000 and 12,600 cal BP. Results of this study support and refine existing evidence that shows rapid, high-amplitude oscillations in the water balance of the Owens River system during the terminal Pleistocene, and suggest widespread human use of China Lake basin began during the Younger Dryas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]