Did you know humans might have been living in your neighborhood 130,000 years ago?
I was visiting the San Diego Natural History Museum when my eyes fell upon an interesting display concerning the Cerutti Mastodon site.
Thirty years ago, during the expansion of State Route 54 in the South Bay, a team of researchers from the San Diego Natural History Museum discovered mastodon bones among cobbles. The bones appeared to have been intentionally broken. It was believed the stones, which had impact marks, had been used by humans to fracture the mastodon bones to extract marrow.
Using radiometric dating, the bones were found to be about 130,000 years old. If, indeed, early humans had worked these bones, that would mean humans were in North America about 100,000 years earlier than previously thought!
Many experts asserted the bones were broken due to the heavy machinery used for freeway construction. Two years ago, however, more evidence was obtained. Bone micro-residues were observed on the cobbles, which seems to confirm that ancient inhabitants of San Diego did indeed hammer at fresh, tasty mastodon bones!
If all of this excites your curiosity, the Wikipedia article concerning San Diego’s scientifically important Cerutti Mastodon site can be found here.
And here’s a detailed article about the discovery written in 2017.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Once a month, every third Saturday, the Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center in Poway opens to the public.
Today I enjoyed a tour of the archaeological site and its educational visitor center. I was surprised to find so much history preserved in this small island of natural beauty just off Poway Road.
Poway is derived from the Native American Kumeyaay word Pauwai, which means the shape of an arrowhead or the merging of two creeks. A short distance to the south is Poway Creek.
As you will see in the following photographs, a small Kumeyaay village of approximately 20 families once lived on the hill that I and my docent tour guide, Heidi, explored.
The Kumeyaay people have lived in this region for at least 10,000 years. These first people had their lives severely disrupted with the arrival of Europeans in 1769. Today, descendants of those who lived in Pauwai are members of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians.
Please enjoy the following photos to get a taste of what you might discover when you visit. Read the captions for a few of the things I learned.
Are you a local history or anthropology enthusiast? Or a community-minded person who loves the outdoors? The Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center is always looking for volunteers!
Check out their Facebook page and learn about the special days and hours when you can visit here.
Sign at the end of Ipai Waaypuk Trail, south of Poway Road, where there is parking.Kiosk welcomes visitors to an important historical site.My tour guide Heidi starts up stairs that lead to short looping trails.At the Replica Village in a clearing stand several recreated Kumeyaay ewaas. These are shelters made of sycamore or willow tree branches, covered with cattails or baccharis, and tied with yucca or agave fiber string. These replica ewaas are old and need to be refurbished. The Kumeyaay would refresh their watertight ewaas regularly. A grinding stone, or metate, lies nearby.This nearest ewaa was recently reconstructed. Volunteers who’d like to maintain this special place are welcome!Heading up to the top of the hill along a very short, moderately steep section of trail.I’m shown Wild Cucumber. Like many native plants, it had various practical uses. Seeds ground into a powder by the Kumeyaay were added to pigments to create rock art. The crushed roots, when tossed into water, would paralyze fish!In the distance we could see Mt. Woodson, Iron Mountain, and Cuyamaca Peak. Depending on the season, the Kumeyaay would migrate east to the mountains or west to the Pacific Ocean coast.One of several outdoor ramadas built for visitors to the Interpretive Center. Historical ramadas erected by the Kumeyaay were shady places for village activities and ceremonies.It was thought that rock art might be found on these monumental boulders crowning the hilltop, but a thorough study using modern technology detected no traces.A wise Kumeyaay observer found in this rock formation a whale, a turtle, and the head of a dolphin. Do you see them?A nearby fire pit once used by the Kumeyaay villagers.Soot remains in this natural rocky oven. A crack in the rear conveniently served as a flue for smoke.Cooking stones would be heated in the fire, then placed in baskets to prepare food.Many small broken pottery sherds have been found near this primitive kitchen.At the top of the hill are very deep grinding holes, or morteros, where acorns were ground for thousands of years. After being reduced to powder, the acorns would be leached of tannic acid and cooked into a mush called shawii.A important cultural site representing thousands of years of indigenous history in Poway.A Coast Live Oak beside the trail. One of several types of oak trees in the San Diego region. Acorns were a staple of the Kumeyaay diet.As I and my tour guide walk back down the trail, another group heads up toward the hilltop.A hollow Elderberry branch. Not surprisingly, these were used to make musical instruments such as flutes.Some of the rugged natural beauty that we enjoyed.At another ramada replica, we saw a series of genuine metates that Third Grade students can use during educational field trips! These metates were rescued during road construction many years ago and were donated to the Interpretive Center.There is much to learn about Kumeyaay tools, food, basket weaving, pottery and more!Third Grade students use these small stones to paint their own rock art!We head into the building at the Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center to learn even more!Look at all the smiling docents!Dorothy M. Tavui was a Kumeyaay friend who helped to establish the Interpretive Center in Poway.Shelves full of artifacts that kids can explore and handle to learn about Kumeyaay life.A willow basket full of acorns. The long conical acorns are from Coast Live Oaks. The big acorns are from Black Oaks in the Cuyamaca Mountains. They were the largest and tastiest! The abalone shells you also see were obtained from the coast and often used as trade items.Old photo of a 6 foot tall willow basket! Acorns would be gathered in season to last the entire year.Sandals made of natural plant fibers.I learned this is a seed beater! It’s being demonstrated on dried blooms of sage.A beautiful mural inside the Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center in Poway shows what village life was like here for many thousands of years. By artist Brigitte Lopez, 2012.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
An extraordinary work of public art welcomes curious eyes in southeast San Diego.
To Light the Way Within is a colorful glass mosaic mural that greets visitors as they approach the front entrance of the Malcom X Branch Library and Performing Arts Center in Valencia Park. It was created by local artist Jean Cornwell Wheat in 1995.
Last weekend I captured photographs of the 40-foot outdoor entry wall mural, working my way from left to right. The complex imagery relates the story of human language–its history and evolution. Ancient drawings, pictographs and symbols seem to mix and dance forward together when you examine the mural closely.
According to what I’ve read, the mural, created in collaboration with another San Diego artist, Raul Guerrero, incorporates a lantern, a symbol of enlightenment that lights up when it becomes dark. I’ll have to check that out one evening.
Learn more about artist Jean Cornwell Wheat at her website here.
A few days ago I posted photographs of her truly remarkable “hidden” public sculpture Dragonfly Dreams. See that here.
Several years ago I also blogged about an African American fine art exhibition at the San Diego History Center. Check that out here and you’ll see one of Jean Cornwell Wheat’s canvases, along with other great works by renowned San Diego artists!
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Kids learn about archaeology at Arch In The Park, an annual educational event near the Historic Ranch House in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.
Today I headed to the Historic Ranch House in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve to enjoy the 20th Annual Arch In The Park!
Arch In The Park, hosted by the San Diego County Archaeological Society, is an educational event where curious people of all ages can learn about archaeology in San Diego and the surrounding Southern California region!
I enjoyed looking at many displays and learning about opportunities to intern and volunteer with different organizations. Students talked about what they were learning, and kids got a glimpse of what it’s like to work as an archaeologist. Other exhibits concerned anthropology, our natural environment, and enjoying our local State Parks and National Forests.
After I checked out the various booths near the old adobe Ranch House, I headed to a nearby field where actual excavations could be viewed. Archaeology students from Palomar College told me about what they were doing, how they were doing it, and what they’d discovered!
To read information on the following posters, click my images and they will enlarge.
If you’d like to learn more about the historic Los Peñasquitos Ranch House, click here!
Visitors check out displays by colleges, businesses and organizations concerning the region’s archaeology, anthropology and natural environment.
People learn to how to weave baskets, an essential skill of the region’s Native American Kumeyaay people.
A poster shows California State Parks Southern Service Center’s various Archaeological Projects 2017-2018.
Another California State Parks display shows interns at work sorting and identifying material from excavations in Southern California.
This curious dog was more interested in learning about archaeology than that nearby bobcat.
A display contains info regarding the Anza Borrego Foundation and the Colorado Desert Archaeology Society.
Members of the Colorado Desert Archaeology Society can volunteer and become citizen scientists at Anza Borrego, Palomar Mountain and Rancho Cuyamaca State Parks!
Rock samples from different geological formations in Penasquitos Canyon.
Guinevere, the Merlin Falcon, is an animal ambassador for the San Diego Humane Society. (She had a wing injury and can’t fly properly.)
At Red Tail Environmental’s table, kids could create sand art based on a ground painting by Native Americans at Mesa Grande.
Chambers Group had an interesting poster concerning fossil mastodons and whales.
Kumeyaay artifacts were displayed on the SDSU Department of Anthropology’s table. (If you’re a teacher, it might interest you that they offer free classroom presentations.)
Enjoying a sunny San Diego day at Arch In The Park, presented each year by the San Diego County Archaeological Society.
The Forest Fire Lookout Association had a cool display of all the Lookouts of Southern California.
When smoke is spotted from a fire lookout, this simple device is used. Visually lining up the sighting determines the fire’s direction, or azimuth.
Cleveland National Forest had a big display, too. They also love volunteers.
Some photos from the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area, one of my favorite places.
Some artifacts on display created by Native Americans from San Luis Rey. Two of the baskets (near the top of this photo) were made in the 1800s.
A friendly student at this table talked to visitors about the California State University San Marcos Anthropology Club.
As I headed over to a field where real archaeological digs can be seen, I was passed by people on horseback, enjoying their day at Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.
Excavations at Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve are carried out by students in the Archaeology Program at Palomar College.
I learned the Kumeyaay in this region obtained obsidian for projectile points by trading with other native people who lived to the east, by the Salton Sea. Ancient arrowheads and other mysterious objects are sometimes unearthed in this area.
A field east of the Los Peñasquitos Ranch House where archaeology students search for clues about the historic and prehistoric past.
Walls and drainage structures poke out from the field. Their exact story is a puzzle that will eventually be pieced together.
A part of a torn down barn’s foundation has been discovered here. Small, interesting finds are collected by general type in a cupcake pan!
Tunneling gophers make reconstructing the past more difficult. They move materials about as they dig.
Nearby I saw several devices used for wet screening excavated soil, a process that follows dry screening.
Smokey Bear must also be an archaeology enthusiast! I spotted him checking out debris left on the ground in another corner of the field, the area used for dry screening excavated soil!
…
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a phone or small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Looking out the rear of the Cabrillo National Monument Visitor Center on a beautiful day.
I saw on the morning news that an important exhibit was opening today in the Cabrillo National Monument Visitor Center. I haven’t been up that way since I blogged about the park’s centennial, so I figured I’d go check things out!
The traveling exhibition is called Yankee Baleeiros! The Shared Legacies of Luso and Yankee Whalers. That’s quite a long title, but it’s fitting for the epic displays that occupy about half of the sizable visitor center. Developed by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the exhibit “celebrates the interwoven Luso-American stories of the Azorean, Cape Verdean, and Brazilian communities in the United States from early immigration in the 18th century through the latter half of the 20th century.” Sounds like a long and tedious thesis! But it’s actually fascinating! Basically, it shows the rich history of Portuguese speaking whalers in the Northeast, primarily New Bedford, and how they interacted with Yankee whalers.
As San Diego is one of the world’s best places to encounter a large variety of whale species, and as this is the season for migrating gray whales, the exhibit is more than appropriate. The displays also address how whaling techniques evolved over the years, the success of modern conservation efforts, and how whale-watching is now a much larger industy than whaling.
After listening to a short opening presentation by Park Superintendent Tom Workman and Christina Connett, PhD, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, I headed out to Cabrillo’s excellent Pacific Ocean viewing areas to scan the horizon for spouts. I didn’t see any, but there were a bunch of boats off Point Loma whale-watching on this sunny Sunday afternoon. I got more pics from my visit coming, so stay tuned!
If you haven’t been to Cabrillo National Monument in a while (or ever), head on over! The special exhibit will be on display through April 12, 2015.
Park Superintendent Tom Workman talks while Christina Connett of the New Bedford Whaling Museum listens.
People listen to presentation at opening of Yankee Baleeiros whaling exhibit.
Displays recount the history of Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) whalers in America.
New Bedford was the major port for whalers in the Northeast.
Inside the visitor center is a section of the 1848 Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World by Benjamin Russell and Caleb Purrington.
Portions of the 1848 Grand Panorama of a Whaling Voyage ‘Round the World by Benjamin Russell and Caleb Purrington were on display inside and outside the visitor center. The complete work is 1,275 feet long and eight and a half feet tall! It’s believed to be the longest painting in the world! The piece went on a national tour shortly after completion, and appeared at the 1964 New York World’s Fair! Cool!
The fantastic displays are museum quality and extremely informative.
Photos of sailors rowing out to hunt whales, and a harpooner at the ready.
A dead whale is hauled to the ship’s side and stripped of blubber by many hands.
People point out spots on a map of historical whaling grounds.
The opening presentation is over and folks head out to take in the many sights around Cabrillo.
Is there a whale out there? Probably not. This back door faces San Diego Bay!
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Elaborate facade of the beautiful California Building in Balboa Park.
Here’s one iconic sight in Balboa Park I always lift my eyes to enjoy. The elaborate facade of the California Building, home of the San Diego Museum of Man, contains sculpted historical figures molded from clay and plaster. These figures include Junipero Serra, father of California’s Spanish missions, and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who discovered San Diego Bay nearly five centuries ago in 1542.
This fantastic building, inspired by the church of San Diego in Guanajuato, Mexico, was erected for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, an event that celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal and promoted San Diego as a destination. Like other similar buildings to the east along El Prado, it is in the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style, which was largely developed by Bertram Goodhue.
The California Building and adjacent California Tower, and the more simple structure to the south across El Prado–housing Evernham Hall and the St. Francis Chapel–form the California Quadrangle. The courtyard-like area at the quadrangle’s center, where visitors can sit at tables and through which cars today travel, is called the Plaza de California.
Every few years I venture into The Museum of Man just to refresh my memory. There are a number of interesting anthropological exhibits, including a whole room full of spooky Egyptian mummies!
Here are some more pics…
Gazing up at the colorful dome of the California Building, and the California Tower.
People on the street in front of the Museum of Man. El Prado runs through the Plaza de California.
Plaster figures from local history adorn the ornate facade.
Banners near the entrance show current exhibits at the Museum of Man.
Plaque a bit west of the Museum of Man, beside the archway into Balboa Park’s California Quadrangle, commemorates Cabrillo’s discovery of California.
Sitting at a table under an umbrella near the beautiful Museum of Man.
Here are even more photos from a later date…
Sign in the California Quadrangle. Built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, the Plaza de California and surrounding buildings served as the grand west entrance for the exposition.
Photo toward the southeast corner of the California Quadrangle shows Mission Revival style arches.
Photo of the iconic California Tower from a point east on El Prado.
The ornate upper levels of the California Bell Tower. Tours up the tower’s stairs provide amazing views of Balboa Park and San Diego.
Photo of the beautiful California Building from the east, near the Old Globe Theatre.
Elaborate ornamentation around the archway outside the east side of the California Quadrangle.
Colorful dome tiles, part of the Spanish Colonial Revival masterpiece of exposition architect Bertram Goodhue.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to share and enjoy!
Cool San Diego Sights! 