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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 22, 2015 - 09:36pm PT
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On a recent trip to Joshua Tree back country I found these Native American artifacts. The area is about 4 miles west of Geology Tour Road and 4 miles east of Ryan Campground.
Please comment with your ideas and any other fun artifacts you may have encountered.
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Jones in LA
Mountain climber
Tarzana, California
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Apr 23, 2015 - 06:30am PT
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Cool finds, @spidey. It makes you wonder: what were they grinding? Acorns maybe? Maize?
When I was 7 years old my parents bought a newly-built home in Goleta, CA in a housing development that was, at the time, on the 'edge of civilization': there was nothing between our backyard and the mountain range that stands between Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley. My very first day playing in our backyard, before we had planted anything at all, I found a completely intact pestle. It was way cool looking -- like it had come from space aliens or something. Sadly, I lost track of it sometime way back. I wish I still had it.
Rich Jones
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Roots
Mountain climber
Tustin, CA
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Apr 23, 2015 - 08:06am PT
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Great find!
All that looks similar to what can been seen in Anza on the Morteros Trail; shelters and mortars. The place I mention is a well known Indian Village site. -yours is pretty much the same set up.
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Craig Fry
Trad climber
So Cal.
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Apr 23, 2015 - 09:06am PT
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Neat
I love looking for Indian caves and artifacts in Josh.
We found several caves with matatees (sp?) up near the top of Queen Mt.
Once I was up there at the caves and thinking that we were the farthest away from any trail you could be, and probably only 6 people know about this cave, when all of a sudden a Ranger that was guiding folks comes out of nowhere!!!
He had a map of all the Indian Caves in the Park, someone in the 70s did the research.
Here is another story I love to tell, there was a bunch of locals all hanging out in the Josh Parking lot in front of Caveman, early 80s. Bachar looks down at the ground, then bends down and picks up a perfect arrowhead, it was right there all along, all it needed to be exposed was someone kicking up the dirt.
You never know what's right below your feet.
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Craig Fry
Trad climber
So Cal.
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Apr 23, 2015 - 10:52am PT
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One of the best caves near the Hidden Valley Campground is just behind the Hobbit Hole. See my Bouldering book for the Hobbit Hole Location.
It's like a Hotel, multi roomed, multi-storied. It's always in the shade, so stays cool.
The Stahl Bros say they found sleeping mats in it when they discovered it in the 70s.
I found Congo's stash in it when I checked it out, I took one of his books, "The End of the Intellectual Age" or something. It was about how Christianity stopped intellectual growth through the middle ages, good read, and so true, they're still trying to squash it even now!
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Apr 23, 2015 - 11:05am PT
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We actually found the sleeping mats (tied with strips of rabbit hide/fur) near the hobbit hole. We left them in place, but they disappeared several years later ;-( The mortero's on queen mountain still had the pestles/mano's inside like someone had just walked away from them yeaterday. They used them to grind acorns, seeds etc.
If you are willing to ramble, there is so much wonderful stuff in the JT backcountry. Some of the best times in JT were wandering the backcountry with Craig, Todd's B and G, DEE and company along with my bro Dave.
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ManMountain
Mountain climber
San Diego
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Apr 23, 2015 - 12:04pm PT
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Please be advised any artifacts, even those on private land, are federally protected. It is a crime to take them.
As a desert rambler I've found and photographed many wonderful artifacts and left them undisturbed. It irks me to return to a site a year or two later to find *someone* has stripped the site of all the artifacts.
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Apr 23, 2015 - 12:22pm PT
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If you happen to know where this is mum's the word...
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 24, 2015 - 07:05am PT
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Nice picto Kris. I searched my little Flinstone's village hoping for a pictograph find but did not see any. Sometimes they are there but can be elusive.
I found a few crude stone tools at this site. They are pretty common. I always leave what I find. I used to keep stuff but it just went into a shoe box in the garage. What good is that? Much better to leave it for another to enjoy the magic.
I don't think they had acorns at Josh. Some pinon nuts in the higher elevations. Perhaps for grinding the buckwheat, which is very common.
The older sites, about 10,000 years, like those around the prehistoric lake in Pinto Basin, may have seen different vegetation than today. Do you think oaks might have been common that long ago?
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