"In this monograph, we consider the prehistory of one of California's least-known, most isolated, and last-studied estuaries: Morro Bay on the central coast of California in San Luis Obispo County. Morro Bay is a shallow 2000-acre estuary that was occupied by speakers of Northern Chumash at the time of historic contact in 1769. Here we summarize findings from a 14-year project investigating middens in the communities of Los Osos and Baywood Park. The work was undertaken in anticipation of construction of the Los Osos Wastewater Project, a centralized sewage treatment system, the initial planning for which began in the 1980s. Between 2002 and 2016 Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc., with support from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo excavated over 200 cubic meters from six prehistoric archaeological sites for this project. These excavations revealed 10 temporally discrete component areas dating from 8000 to 300 cal BP. The rich collection of artifacts and subsistence remains from the components, when combined with findings from previous studies around the estuary, provided an unprecedented opportunity to develop an integrated prehistory for the Morro Bay area"--Provided by publisher.

"In this monograph, we consider the prehistory of one of California's least-known, most isolated, and last-studied estuaries: Morro Bay on the central coast of California in San Luis Obispo County. Morro Bay is a shallow 2000-acre estuary that was occupied by speakers of Northern Chumash at the time of historic contact in 1769. Here we summarize findings from a 14-year project investigating middens in the communities of Los Osos and Baywood Park. The work was undertaken in anticipation of construction of the Los Osos Wastewater Project, a centralized sewage treatment system, the initial planning for which began in the 1980s. Between 2002 and 2016 Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc., with support from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo excavated over 200 cubic meters from six prehistoric archaeological sites for this project. These excavations revealed 10 temporally discrete component areas dating from 8000 to 300 cal BP. The rich collection of artifacts and subsistence remains from the components, when combined with findings from previous studies around the estuary, provided an unprecedented opportunity to develop an integrated prehistory for the Morro Bay area"--Provided by publisher.

Morro Bay began as a coastal fishing and farming village. Today it is a well-known vacation destination. At its heart, it has changed little since John Riley first envisioned it in 1872. The community has had brushes with dramatic change, but fate has allowed it to remain a typical American small town.

Reader of original synthesizing articles for introductory courses on archaeology and native peoples of California.

The California coastline has long been of interest to archaeologists.This book directs attention to the largely ignored Pecho Coast, a rugged, isolated 20km long peninsula between modern-day Morro Bay and Pismo Beach. Archaeological work along this stretch was last synthesized in 1972. Jones and Codding now bring together the extensive contract work and field school studies of the intervening years, shedding new light on the region's early inhabitants. The first people of the Pecho Coast were part-time residents who exploited shellfish, fish, and marine birds, including the flightless duck, Chendytes lawi, which sustained hunting drove to extinction ca. 2800 cal BP.This marked the only unequivocal case of prehistoric, human-caused extinction in western North America. Cold, productive seas allowed inhabitants to weather droughts of the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (950n600 cal BP), after which shell beads became increasingly abundant, representing either the initial appearance of Chumash-speaking peoples or attempts by Chumash leaders to consolidate power through gifting, reciprocal exchange, or forced conquest. During the mission era, fishing sustained the Native community as, for the first time, individuals became fully sedentary, foraging within a limited radius to avoid contact with the Spanish.This record reveals a unique story of local adaptation, anthropogenic habitat change, social differentiation and, ultimately, resistance to colonial invasion"--Provided by publisher.

The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean offers new insights into the material and social practices of many different Mediterranean peoples during the Bronze and Iron Ages, presenting in particular those features that both connect and distinguish them. Contributors discuss in depth a range of topics that motivate and structure Mediterranean archaeology today, including insularity and connectivity; mobility, migration, and colonization; hybridization and cultural encounters; materiality, memory, and identity; community and household; life and death; and ritual and ideology. The volume's broad coverage of different approaches and contemporary archaeological practices will help practitioners of Mediterranean archaeology to move the subject forward in new and dynamic ways. Together, the essays in this volume shed new light on the people, ideas, and materials that make up the world of Mediterranean archaeology today, beyond the borders that separate Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

The archaeology of maritime cultural landscapes offers insights into cultural traditions, social transitions, and cultural relationships that reach beyond the narrow confines of waterfronts and beach strands and helps construct meaningful social histories. The long shore of California is not limited to the land that borders the Pacific Ocean, but includes the navigable waters that reach inland, the off-shore islands, and the riverways flow to the sea. Authors investigate the multifaceted character of maritime landscapes and maritime oriented communities in California’s equally diverse cultural landscape; viewed through an archaeological lens, and emphasizing social behavior and community as material culture in order to reveal intersections and commonalities.