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5.0 Environmental Setting 5.3 Cultural/Historical Resources
<br />Avion Project SEIR
<br />Page 5.3-2
<br />The Paleoindian Period in San Diego County is most closely associated with the San Dieguito
<br />Complex, as identified by Rogers (1938, 1939, 1945). The San Dieguito assemblage consists of well-
<br />made scraper planes, choppers, scraping tools, crescentics, elongated bifacial knives, and leaf-
<br />shaped points. The San Dieguito Complex is thought to represent an early emphasis on hunting
<br />(Warren et al. 1993:III-33).
<br />The Archaic Period brings an apparent shift toward a more generalized economy and an increased
<br />emphasis on seed resources, small game, and shellfish. The local cultural manifestations of the
<br />Archaic Period are called the La Jollan Complex along the coast and the Pauma Complex inland.
<br />Pauma Complex sites lack the shell that dominates many La Jollan sites. Along with an economic
<br />focus on gathering plant resources, the settlement system appears to have been more sedentary.
<br />The La Jollan assemblage is dominated by rough cobble-based choppers and scrapers, and slab and
<br />basin metates. Large side-notched and Elko series projectile points appeared. Large deposits of
<br />marine shell at coastal sites argue for the importance of shellfish gathering to the coastal Archaic
<br />economy.
<br />Near the coast and in the Peninsular Mountains beginning approximately 1,500 years ago, patterns
<br />began to emerge which suggest the ethnohistoric Kumeyaay. This period is characterized by higher
<br />population densities and elaborations in social, political, and technological systems. Economic
<br />systems diversify and intensify during this period, with the continued elaboration of trade networks,
<br />the use of shell-bead currency, and the appearance of more labor-intensive, but effective
<br />technological innovations. The late prehistoric archaeology of the San Diego coast and foothills is
<br />characterized by the Cuyamaca Complex. It is primarily known from the work of D. L. True at
<br />Cuyamaca Rancho State Park (True 1970). The Cuyamaca Complex is characterized by the presence
<br />of steatite arrowshaft straighteners, steatite pendants, steatite comales (heating stones), Tizon
<br />Brownware pottery, ceramic figurines reminiscent of Hohokam styles, ceramic “Yuman bow pipes,”
<br />ceramic rattles, miniature pottery various cobble-based tools (e.g., scrapers, choppers,
<br />hammerstones), bone awls, manos and metates, mortars and pestles, and Desert side-notched
<br />(more common) and Cottonwood Series projectile points.
<br />b. Ethnohistory
<br />The Kumeyaay (also known as Kamia, Ipai, Tipai, and Diegueño) occupied the southern two-thirds of
<br />San Diego County. The Kumeyaay lived in semi-sedentary, politically autonomous villages or
<br />rancherias. Settlement system typically consisted of two or more seasonal villages with temporary
<br />camps radiating away from these central places (Cline 1984a and 1984b). Their economic system
<br />consisted of hunting and gathering with a focus on small game, acorns, grass seeds, and other plant
<br />resources. The most basic social and economic unit was the patrilocal extended family. A wide range
<br />of tools were made of locally available and imported materials. A simple shoulder-height bow was
<br />used for hunting. Numerous other flaked stone tools were made including scrapers, choppers, flake-
<br />based cutting tools, and biface knives. Preferred stone types were locally available metavolcanics,
<br />cherts, and quartz. Obsidian was imported from the deserts to the north and east. Ground stone
<br />objects include mortars and pestles typically made of locally available, fine-grained granite. Both
<br />portable and bedrock types are known. The Kumeyaay made fine baskets. These employed either
<br />coiled or twined construction. The Kumeyaay also made pottery, using the paddle-and-anvil
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