HOMEThe Nate Harrison Historical Archaeology Project
Palomar
Mountain - San Diego County, California
The Official Site of the SDSU Historical Archaeology
Field School
ARCHAEOLOGY
Abridged
Research Design
The Nate Harrison Historical Archaeology project began with two sets of
research questions. The first was individualistic in terms of the singularity
of the site and its primary resident. This initial set of queries asked:
• Is this Nate Harrison’s homestead?
• Does the site have a date range of ca. 1850-1920 based on the
archaeological remains?
• Is there archaeological evidence of a pre- or post-Harrison occupation
at the site?
• Are the visible stones that slightly protrude out of the site
area in fact remnants of the foundations to the Harrison cabin?
• How do insights gleaned from this site compare with the established
stories of Harrison’s life?
The second set of research questions focused more on comparative regional
analyses. Attempting to broaden current investigations into the multi-ethnic
settlement patterns of urban San Diegans during the late 1800s and early
1900s, this project examines rural San Diego and then contrasts the two
regions. It poses questions such as:
• What does the historical archaeology reveal about everyday
life in San Diego County’s rural frontier community during the late
19th and early 20th centuries?
• What were the similarities and differences between urban and rural
communities in San Diego County during this time?
• How do the archaeological patterns compare between the regions
when looking at specific sites with different ethnicities, genders, or
classes?
• Is it possible to create an archaeological grammar relating to
multi-ethnic settlement patterns in San Diego County on the basis of relative
insights uncovered through the entire region’s cumulative historical
excavations?
The following report summarizes the 2004 summer field excavations at the
Nate Harrison site. It includes an overview of historical background relating
to Nate Harrison, details the archaeological methodology employed at the
site and in the lab, provides preliminary analyses and interpretations,
and offers a complete inventory of the exhumed artifacts. In synthesizing
the initial year of historical and archaeological work on the Nate Harrison
Historical Archaeology project, this annual publication serves as the
2004-2005 interim technical report.
Archaeological Background
An historic
resource record search conducted at the South Coastal Information Center
produced only one report for the area associated with Harrison's mountain
property. This report stated that archaeologists conducted a site survey
in April of 1959. They described a site entirely separate from the Harrison
cabin area as being a “summer village site of Pauma Indians”
(True 1959:1). The 1959 survey concentrated on two areas, both dealing
with prehistoric Native-American occupation. These areas contained a deep
midden and a large bedrock-mortar site. The 1959 archaeological investigations
resulted in the recovery of 152 artifacts during the survey, all of which
were Native American in origin. The report mentioned neither the Harrison
cabin nor the presence of any historical materials in the area. It did
remark, however, that, “an effort should be made to get into this
site before it is taken over by TOURISTS” (capitalization original,
True 1959:1).
Harrison's cabin is located in an area associated with a lengthy Native-American
occupation. Palomar Mountain is currently surrounded by present day Native-American
reservations occupied by La Jolla, Pala, Pauma, and Rincon Indians. The
Pauma Indians are “an interior variant of the La Jolla culture .
. . developed due to the silting of coastal lagoons which forced the inhabitants
to relocate in interior valleys and canyons” (Hoover 1978:4). Palomar
Mountain was once the site of acorn gathering and processing by prehistoric
indigenous populations due to the proliferation of oak groves located
on the mountain. Ethnographically, the Pauma Indians are part of Luiseño
territory, who inhabited a large area “of about 1,500 square miles
in coastal southern California from Aliso Creek in the north to Aqua Hedionda
Creek in the south. . . extend[ing] inland to Santiago Peak, down the
eastern side of Elsinor Valley to Mt. Palomar, and southwest to the sea”
(Hoover 1978:6). Historically, the Pauma Indians are closely related to
Palomar Mountain, beginning with land grants by the Mexican government.
The Pauma rancheria was a 13,300-acre grant deeded to Jose Antonio Serrano
that was later patented on August 29, 1871 (Hoover 1978:9). With the establishment
of California and the subsequent control of the United States government,
the land was eventually designated as both Pauma and Yaima Reservations
on August 18, 1892 (Hoover 1978:11). The 1896 Sickler survey map further
illustrated the spatial association between Pauma and Palomar Mountain,
citing the location of the mapped road as “a point in the Pauma
Townsite to the Summit of Palomar Mtn” (Sickler 1896). The Pauma
Ranch is clearly demarcated on the western side of the map (See figure
17).
Dr. Mallios contacted the State of California Native American Heritage
Commission (NAHC) to request a record search of the sacred land file.
The record search failed to indicate the presence of Native American cultural
resources in the immediate project area. Mallios then contacted every
indigenous group on the NAHC list in an attempt to ascertain any additional
information regarding cultural resources in the project area. None responded
to Mallios’s inquiry.
There was concern at the outset of the Nate Harrison Historical Archaeology
Project that the cabin area had been repeatedly looted. David Ross’s
1998 series of articles in The Daily Roadrunner revealed that non-archaeologists
used metal detectors extensively at the site. Ross wrote, “It seems
that for years he (the former landowner) and his family have used a metal
detector around the ruins of Nate's house, and found scads of stuff near
his front door . . . Most of it, of course, is of little interest. But,
over the years they have come up with quite a collection of items that
give fascinating little glimpses into life in another age” (Ross
1998:IV4). Accompanying Ross’s article are two photographs of a
picnic table covered with artifacts unearthed from around Harrison's cabin
(Figures 67 and 68). In addition, multiple letters in the Kirby Collection
from author Robert Melvin to the previous landowner detail multiple plans
to dig for artifacts at the site.
In 2002, Mallios and Stroud contacted the current landowners, James and
Hannah Kirby, in order to determine if the site had been significantly
disturbed and if an excavation was feasible. During Mallios and Stroud’s
first trip to the property, the Kirbys showed the SDSU archaeologists
the remains of what was thought to be Nate Harrison's cabin. All that
remained at the apparent site was the outline of a foundation for a small
amorphous structure (Figures 69-72). The area was only marginally visible
as it was overgrown with large bushy plants, weeds, and small trees. The
remaining stones formed haphazard lines, and there was evidence that the
walls may have fallen, as rocks had seemingly tumbled both into the center
of the remains and around the exterior. The ground surface in the center
of the structure was uneven. The foundation rested on a fairly level surface
that was surrounded by a lower cut or trail to the south and a hillside
rising on the north and east sides. There was no evidence of historical
material on the ground surface.
After explaining the goals of the project and intended extent of the archaeological
excavations, the Kirbys granted permission for the Nate Harrison Historical
Archaeology Project to be conducted on their property. Having gained permission
from the landowners, Mallios was then granted permission to conduct a
three-week historical archaeology field school during the summer session
of the 2004 school year by Dr. Paul Wong, the Dean of the College of Arts
and Letters at San Diego State University.
Archaeological Laboratory Methods
Interpretations and Conclusions
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