Speakers of Ohlone dialects occupied the lands encompassed by Alameda, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and San Francisco Counties. One Ohlone triblet, the Carquin, occupied lands on the north shore of the Carquinez Strait in Solano County and probably in the southern part of Napa County.
Agua Caliente EastThree bedrock mortars and one anvilElevation 475 ft.Joel discovered this mortar rock up the creek from the Agua Caliente site.It’s unusual to see mortars in such poorly cemented sandstore. Note the small stones in the rock matrix.Photographs by Bob Bardell
Frick Lake16 bedrock mortars and anvils.This site hugs the southwestern boundary of Brushy Peak Regional Preserve. Thanks to Joel for discovering it.Looking down at the site and at Frick Lake.Photograph by Bob Bardell.The mortar rocks.A closeup of one of the mortar rocks.Another mortar rock. Note the range of mortar sizes–from the cupule/anvil through the shallow […]
North Vargas Plateau1 bedrock mortar and 1 portable mortarPossible adjoining prayer seat.Elevation 1150 ft.A reader of Native American Indian Sites in the East Bay Hills turned us on to this site. Keep those emails coming folks.In the distance: Alameda Creek catchment basin, Coyote Hills, the Peninsula.A closeup of the pestle. The discoloration probably isn’t paint, […]
Swett Ranch16 bedrock mortarsElevation 372 ft.Looking toward the site.At least one mortar rock has tumbled into the nearby creek.A partially buried mortar rock.The same mortar rock after daylighting.More mortar rocks at this site. It’s easy to make out the single mortar rock, but the multi-mortar rock surface is nearly obscured by shrub branches.We were conducted […]
Blue Rock Springs Park — South Curved Rock Alignment Elevation 520 ft. This alignment extends along the north and east sides of a little knoll at the bottom of valley. Who constructed it and why? A closer look. The knoll is flat on top. A detail shot showing the stacking.
Jeff’s Niles Canyon MortarOne bedrock mortar and a house pit along Alameda CreekElevation 217 ft.This is another one of Jeff’s beautiful single mortar sites.The site is on the left side of the trail under the trees.These rocks sit on a terrace above Alameda Creek, which flows in the background, and are arranged in a horseshoe […]
Rock Scramble JacalStacked rock complex above Alameda Creek overlooking the Rock Scramble.Elevation 1069 ft.Thanks to Michael for turning us on to this remarkable site. We’ve seen nothing like it in the Bay Area. It feels like a fortress. It could be a massive hunting blind, yet it contains elements that don’t seem related to the […]
Upper Ukraina29 bedrock mortars at and around a creek confluence.Ukraina was the final and only safe home for Agapius Honcharenko, Ukrainian patriot and Greek Orthodox priest who was harassed by Tsarist police and special agents across Europe and America on account of his pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian writings. That he found a safe haven on Walpert […]
Chitactac75 bedrock mortars and a petroglyphBay Area Rock Art Research Association (BARARA) members view the restored village site.Remember: Stay on the pathway and no daylighting!
Miller’s Creek3 bedrock mortarsThere’s a lot of up and down hiking from Lake Del Valle to Murietta Falls. Miller’s Creek is about halfway there. It flows down in the depths of Williams Gulch.Bob leans against the bedrock mortar rock beside Miller’s Creek.
