Anthro Professor Excavates California Site

Anthropology graduate students Erik Martin, Kate Magargal and Peter Yaworsky joined Assistant Professor Brian Codding in the excavation of a prehistoric shell midden along the coast of San Luis Obispo (SLO) county, California. The University of Utah team joined others from Cal Poly State University, SLO lead by Professor Terry Jones and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) archaeologist Mike Taggert. Located along an undeveloped tract of land called the Pecho Coast, the site is located within PG&E lands. Because the property is largely undeveloped, the site is well preserved. However, it is subject to erosion by the Pacific Ocean and much of the site is lost annually due to storm surges. As such, the project was designed to test the deposit for potential inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places and to sample the deposit along the eroding cliff edge. While preliminary, the finds suggest that the inhabitants of the site lived there during the Mid-Late Holocene and focused on hunting marine mammals and collecting red abalone. These findings add to our growing understanding of prehistory of this region and helps us know more about the long-term records of human and environment interactions that characterize Western North American prehistory. This inaugural collaboration between the University of Utah and partner organizations promises to grow in upcoming years with more opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students alike.