DIVE DRY WITH DR. BILL #844: NATIVE AMERICAN BOWL SCARS
When I descend into King Neptune's realm, it is usually to locate interesting critters to film and share with my readers (all two of you). That's what a marine biologist and educator is supposed to do! However, my eyes also lookout for other interesting facets of the submarine world. Geology is one example (although I'm far from an expert) both because it is an intriguing part of our island's formation and long-term history, and it often is significant in terms of what critters might be found at a site.
Another interesting subject relates to our pre-European settlement history. I'm talking about archaeological subjects "down under." I wrote a column last year (#815) about the Native American middens I've filmed off Hen Rock at a depth of about 40 ft. If they are from the Tongva culture, which according to my understanding arrived on the island between 1,000 and 1,500 years ago, this would seem to indicate that sea level has risen more than 40 ft during that time period. Of course this is due to the post-glacial melt following the last Ice Age.
Shortly after I first arrived on Catalina in the summer of '69, our school was asked to conduct an emergency archaeological salvage dig at Two Harbors. The Island Co. had requested this as they intended to build a new hotel there. I was asked to join the team as a marine biologist. As someone new to the biota of California, I had difficulty identifying many of the marine invertebrates tossed in these Native American trash heaps. And, you might ask, just where is that "new" hotel promised some 50 years ago?
Another aspect of Tongvan culture is the manufacture of soapstone bowls for cooking and for trade. The Natives would carve bowl "blanks" out of the soft soapstone and fashion them into cooking utensils, storage vessels, etc. After popping the blank off the rock, there would be a scar left behind. Island residents and many visitors have seen the bowls in our Museum and elsewhere, as well as the bowl blanks on rocks at such places as Casino Point and the Airport-in-the-Sky.
But how many have seen them in Davy Jone's Locker? Well, I have... out at Torqua Springs. I was diving there back in 2007 when I encountered several bowl scars on submerged rocks. I don't remember the exact depth I saw them at, but it could have been comparable to that where I filmed the submerged middens off Hen Rock. I was surprised that the soft soapstone would still reveal these scars after many years in salt water.
Now we know that following the last glaciation our planet warmed up and melted much of the ice, causing sea level to rise as much as 400 ft over a period of thousands of years. Many coastal Native American sites that existed when the First People arrived in our region, are now deep beneath the sea. Certainly much farther than I'm willing to dive! However the last sites to submerge are still shallow enough for us to explore.
Archaeologist Robert Wlodarski, who has studied the bowl manufacturing history on Catalina Island, wrote that these bowls were created as early as 4,000 years ago. Heck, I wasn't even born then. He adds that large-scale bowl manufacturing (for domestic use and trade) probably only happened over the last 500 to 700 years. So the submerged site I observed was probably mined within that time period.
Today we face rising sea level due to climate change as planet Ocean warms up. It is occurring on a much faster scale than during the post-glacial period (beginning 8,-10,000 years ago). That is one reason I bought my house up on a hill in Avalon. I doubt future SCUBA divers will encounter any artifacts I leave behind like the ceramic bowls I threw under the direction of the Toyon School's art teacher, Camie Herrick nearly 50 years ago. Hmm, come to think of it, they are almost old enough to be antiques like me!
© 2020 Dr. Bill Bushing. For the entire archived set of nearly 850 "Dive Dry" columns, visit my website Star Thrower Educational Multimedia (S.T.E.M.) Home Page
Image caption: Soapstone bowl scars underwater at Torqua Springs; bowl scars at Casino Point and finished soapstone bowl; some of my ceramic "artifacts".
When I descend into King Neptune's realm, it is usually to locate interesting critters to film and share with my readers (all two of you). That's what a marine biologist and educator is supposed to do! However, my eyes also lookout for other interesting facets of the submarine world. Geology is one example (although I'm far from an expert) both because it is an intriguing part of our island's formation and long-term history, and it often is significant in terms of what critters might be found at a site.
Another interesting subject relates to our pre-European settlement history. I'm talking about archaeological subjects "down under." I wrote a column last year (#815) about the Native American middens I've filmed off Hen Rock at a depth of about 40 ft. If they are from the Tongva culture, which according to my understanding arrived on the island between 1,000 and 1,500 years ago, this would seem to indicate that sea level has risen more than 40 ft during that time period. Of course this is due to the post-glacial melt following the last Ice Age.
Shortly after I first arrived on Catalina in the summer of '69, our school was asked to conduct an emergency archaeological salvage dig at Two Harbors. The Island Co. had requested this as they intended to build a new hotel there. I was asked to join the team as a marine biologist. As someone new to the biota of California, I had difficulty identifying many of the marine invertebrates tossed in these Native American trash heaps. And, you might ask, just where is that "new" hotel promised some 50 years ago?
Another aspect of Tongvan culture is the manufacture of soapstone bowls for cooking and for trade. The Natives would carve bowl "blanks" out of the soft soapstone and fashion them into cooking utensils, storage vessels, etc. After popping the blank off the rock, there would be a scar left behind. Island residents and many visitors have seen the bowls in our Museum and elsewhere, as well as the bowl blanks on rocks at such places as Casino Point and the Airport-in-the-Sky.
But how many have seen them in Davy Jone's Locker? Well, I have... out at Torqua Springs. I was diving there back in 2007 when I encountered several bowl scars on submerged rocks. I don't remember the exact depth I saw them at, but it could have been comparable to that where I filmed the submerged middens off Hen Rock. I was surprised that the soft soapstone would still reveal these scars after many years in salt water.
Now we know that following the last glaciation our planet warmed up and melted much of the ice, causing sea level to rise as much as 400 ft over a period of thousands of years. Many coastal Native American sites that existed when the First People arrived in our region, are now deep beneath the sea. Certainly much farther than I'm willing to dive! However the last sites to submerge are still shallow enough for us to explore.
Archaeologist Robert Wlodarski, who has studied the bowl manufacturing history on Catalina Island, wrote that these bowls were created as early as 4,000 years ago. Heck, I wasn't even born then. He adds that large-scale bowl manufacturing (for domestic use and trade) probably only happened over the last 500 to 700 years. So the submerged site I observed was probably mined within that time period.
Today we face rising sea level due to climate change as planet Ocean warms up. It is occurring on a much faster scale than during the post-glacial period (beginning 8,-10,000 years ago). That is one reason I bought my house up on a hill in Avalon. I doubt future SCUBA divers will encounter any artifacts I leave behind like the ceramic bowls I threw under the direction of the Toyon School's art teacher, Camie Herrick nearly 50 years ago. Hmm, come to think of it, they are almost old enough to be antiques like me!
© 2020 Dr. Bill Bushing. For the entire archived set of nearly 850 "Dive Dry" columns, visit my website Star Thrower Educational Multimedia (S.T.E.M.) Home Page
Image caption: Soapstone bowl scars underwater at Torqua Springs; bowl scars at Casino Point and finished soapstone bowl; some of my ceramic "artifacts".
