El Sobrante Middens
Our avid researcher Joel discovered these two Middens in El Sobrante.
The further you get into this research the more you realize our native predecessors had villages everywhere there was fresh water and had a far larger population than is generaslly recognized.
A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, lithic debitage, and other artifacts and ecofacts associateed with past human occupation.
These features provide a useful resource for archaeologists who wish to study the diets and habits of past societies.
| El Sobrante Library Village site and shellmound Elevation 95 ft.The library was constructed right on top of a major village site, but you’d never know it. |
| El Sobrante La Honda Midden and probable village site. Elevation 134 ft. |
The house probably sits on top of a village site, perhaps one those along San Pablo Creek marked on Sherburne Cook’s map of East Bay Indian villages.
Shells have a high calcium carbonate content, .which slows the normal rate of decay caused by soil acidity, leaving a relatively high proportion of organic material (food remnants, organic tools, clothing, human remains) available for archaeologists to find.
The Ohlone and Coast Miwok peoples built over 425 shell mounds in the San Francisco Bay Area. These mounds were used as:
- Burial sites
- Ceremonial places
- Living cemeteries
- Places of prayer
The mounds were constructed over thousands of years. They were often discovered by accident during construction, mining, or farming.
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