San Dieguito-Pinto tradition
Encyclopedia
The San Dieguito Complex is an archaeological pattern left by early Holocene
inhabitants of southern California
and surrounding portions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Radiocarbon dating
places a 10,200 BP (Before Present
) (8200 BCE
) date consideration.
in 1919 at site SDI-W-240 in Escondido
, San Diego County
, California (Rogers 1966). He assigned the Paleo-Indian designation of 'Scraper Makers' to the prehistoric producers of the complex, based on the common occurrence of unifacially flaked lithic (stone) tools
at their sites.
In an initial synthesis, Rogers (1929) suggested that the Scraper Makers were the region's second inhabitants, following the people of the Shell Midden culture, later known as the La Jolla Complex
, whose remains lie closer to the coast. However, his 1938 excavations at the C. W. Harris Site (CA-SDI-149) in Rancho Santa Fe
established that the site's San Dieguito component underlay its La Jolla component, at the base of the stratigraphic sequence (Warren
1966).
Subsequent excavations at the Harris Site confirmed Rogers' main conclusions and obtained radiocarbon
dates that placed the site's occupation as far back as 10,200 BP (8200 BCE) (Warren and True 1961; Warren 1967).
Characteristics suggested for San Dieguito Complex assemblages, in addition to the abundant scrapers
, have included large, percussion-flaked biface
s; flaked crescentic stones; Lake Mohave or Silver Lake style projectile point
s; a scarcity or absence of milling tools (manos and metate
s); and an absence of small projectile points and pottery.
Interpretations of the San Dieguito Complex have varied. Some have seen its makers as big game hunters, perhaps in succession to the late Pleistocene
-era Clovis culture
, while others have seen them as generalized foragers
. While Rogers viewed the San Dieguito Complex as the product of a chronologically and ethnically distinct people, some subsequent researchers have stressed evidence of continuity with the subsequent La Jolla Complex. A more radical reinterpretation has suggested that the San Dieguito Complex was neither chronologically nor ethnically distinct, but represents a specialized activity set (perhaps related to lithic quarrying or stone tool production) of the same people who produced the La Jolla Complex throughout most of the Holocene (Gallegos 1987).
Rogers (1966) extended the San Dieguito label to a wide region of western North America, recognizing four major regions: a Central Aspect, in southeastern California, western Nevada, and northeastern Baja California; a Southwestern Aspect, in southwestern California and most of Baja California; a Southeastern Aspect, in the Yuma Desert
of southern Arizona and Sonoran Desert
of northern Sonora; and a Western Aspect, in north eastern California's upper Great Basin
. In the latter, early Holocene
remains are more generally assigned to the Borax Lake Complex
and Post Pattern
. In the Mojave Desert
and the lower Great Basin, such remains are now most frequently termed the Lake Mohave Complex. The San Dieguito Complex nomenclature is still in active use in southwestern California, the Colorado Desert
, northern Baja California
, and northern Sonora
Mexico.
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
inhabitants of southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and surrounding portions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
places a 10,200 BP (Before Present
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
) (8200 BCE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
) date consideration.
Archaeology
The complex was first identified by Malcolm J. RogersMalcolm Jennings Rogers
This article refers to the archaeologist. For others with the name Malcolm Rogers, please see Malcolm Rogers .Malcolm Jennings Rogers was a pioneering archaeologist in southern California, Baja California, and Arizona....
in 1919 at site SDI-W-240 in Escondido
Escondido, California
Escondido is a city occupying a shallow valley ringed by rocky hills, just north of the city of San Diego, California. Founded in 1888, it is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. The city had a population of 143,911 at the 2010 census. Its municipal government set itself an operating...
, San Diego County
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
, California (Rogers 1966). He assigned the Paleo-Indian designation of 'Scraper Makers' to the prehistoric producers of the complex, based on the common occurrence of unifacially flaked lithic (stone) tools
Stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric, particularly Stone Age cultures that have become extinct...
at their sites.
In an initial synthesis, Rogers (1929) suggested that the Scraper Makers were the region's second inhabitants, following the people of the Shell Midden culture, later known as the La Jolla Complex
La Jolla Complex
The archaeological La Jolla Complex represents a prehistoric culture oriented toward coastal resources that prevailed during the middle Holocene period between c...
, whose remains lie closer to the coast. However, his 1938 excavations at the C. W. Harris Site (CA-SDI-149) in Rancho Santa Fe
Rancho Santa Fe, California
Rancho Santa Fe known locally as ″The Ranch″, is one of the most exclusive and affluent communities in Southern California. It is also a census-designated place in San Diego County, California and an unincorporated bedroom community of San Diego County...
established that the site's San Dieguito component underlay its La Jolla component, at the base of the stratigraphic sequence (Warren
Claude Nelson Warren
Claude Nelson Warren is a California Desert anthropologist and specialist in early man in the Far West and has been instrumental in defining the San Dieguito and La Jolla cultural complexes...
1966).
Subsequent excavations at the Harris Site confirmed Rogers' main conclusions and obtained radiocarbon
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
dates that placed the site's occupation as far back as 10,200 BP (8200 BCE) (Warren and True 1961; Warren 1967).
Characteristics suggested for San Dieguito Complex assemblages, in addition to the abundant scrapers
Scraper (archaeology)
In archaeology, scrapers are unifacial tools that were used either for hideworking or woodworking purposes. Whereas this term is often used for any unifacially flaked stone tool that defies classification, most lithic analysts maintain that the only true scrapers are defined on the base of...
, have included large, percussion-flaked biface
Biface
In archaeology, a biface is a two-sided stone tool and is used as a multi purposes knife, manufactured through a process of lithic reduction, that displays flake scars on both sides. A profile view of the final product tends to exhibit a lenticular shape...
s; flaked crescentic stones; Lake Mohave or Silver Lake style projectile point
Projectile point
In archaeological terms, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a projectile, such as a spear, dart, or arrow, or perhaps used as a knife....
s; a scarcity or absence of milling tools (manos and metate
Metate
A metate is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind calcified maize and other organic materials during food preparation...
s); and an absence of small projectile points and pottery.
Interpretations
Rogers recognized three distinct chronological phases for the San Dieguito Complex, based primarily on changes in lithic technology, site locations, and site types. His changing terminology for these phases (including the equation of "Malpais" and "San Dieguito I") have caused some confusion in the archaeological literature (Rogers 1939). Most researchers do not now use these subdivisions.Interpretations of the San Dieguito Complex have varied. Some have seen its makers as big game hunters, perhaps in succession to the late Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
-era Clovis culture
Clovis culture
The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture that first appears 11,500 RCYBP , at the end of the last glacial period, characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools...
, while others have seen them as generalized foragers
Foraging
- Definitions and significance of foraging behavior :Foraging is the act of searching for and exploiting food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce...
. While Rogers viewed the San Dieguito Complex as the product of a chronologically and ethnically distinct people, some subsequent researchers have stressed evidence of continuity with the subsequent La Jolla Complex. A more radical reinterpretation has suggested that the San Dieguito Complex was neither chronologically nor ethnically distinct, but represents a specialized activity set (perhaps related to lithic quarrying or stone tool production) of the same people who produced the La Jolla Complex throughout most of the Holocene (Gallegos 1987).
Rogers (1966) extended the San Dieguito label to a wide region of western North America, recognizing four major regions: a Central Aspect, in southeastern California, western Nevada, and northeastern Baja California; a Southwestern Aspect, in southwestern California and most of Baja California; a Southeastern Aspect, in the Yuma Desert
Yuma Desert
The Yuma Desert is a lower-elevation section of the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States and the northwest of Mexico. It is in the Salton basin. The desert contains areas of sparse vegetation and has notable areas of sand dunes. With an average rainfall less than 8 inches each...
of southern Arizona and Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
of northern Sonora; and a Western Aspect, in north eastern California's upper Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
. In the latter, early Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
remains are more generally assigned to the Borax Lake Complex
Borax Lake Site
Borax Lake Site, also known as Borax Lake--Hodges Archaeological Site is an archaeological site near Clearlake, California.In 2006, a National Park Service statement about it read:It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2006....
and Post Pattern
Post Pattern
The Post Pattern refers to a Paleo-Indian archaeological culture of artifacts found in northwest California dating between 9,000-13,000 years ago. Excavation sites are around Clear Lake and Borax Lake. The Post Pattern is a local manifestation of the Western Pluvial Lakes Tradition.It is believed...
. In the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
and the lower Great Basin, such remains are now most frequently termed the Lake Mohave Complex. The San Dieguito Complex nomenclature is still in active use in southwestern California, the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
, northern Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, and northern Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
Mexico.