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The ruins of 200 generations
Beth Hyman, a Southern Oregon University student, sifts through soil at an archaeological dig in the Butte Creek Drainage area Thursday. The site covers about five acres and has been partially ruined by looters. An unusual archaeological site on land managed by the BLM reveals signs of early civilizations and the recent footprints of illegal looting T hey may have come to this forested bench overlooking Butte Creek shortly after life returned to normal in the aftermath of the Mount Mazama eruption some 7,700 years ago. They built pit houses - semi-subterranean dwellings - and cooked elk and deer and roasted camas roots dug from nearby meadows. The Native Americans inhabited this site for more than 200 generations, each leaving evidence of having passed this way. "This is one of the richest archaeological sites I've ever worked on - there are just thousands and thousands of pieces," observed Mark Tveskov, assistant professor of anthropology at Southern Oregon University. "We've found dozens and dozens of projectile points - spear points, arrow points," he added. "And lots of burned bones from elk and deer." If that wasn't enough, a piece of a mammoth tooth has been found at the site located on the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management. "We don't think it's related to the site, but it's very interesting it occurred there," said district archaeologist Ann Ramage. "There is a possibility there could have been mammoths around at the same time as humans. That's something we really haven't discussed yet." The area - officials have asked that the exact location not be disclosed - has played host to an archaeological field school held by SOU and the BLM. The four-week school, which ends July 20, drew 17 students who helped authorities sample the site, which covers more than five acres. Unfortunately, illegal pot hunters have been looting the site for years, possibly decades, Tveskov said. In fact, the piece of mammoth tooth was found in debris left by a pot hunter, making it nearly impossible to determine how it fit in the history of the Native Americans who lived here. There are pits hastily dug with pick and shovel. The pot hunters also left their own archaeological legacy: a moldy pair of leather gloves, a Pepsi bottle, an empty can of Coors Lite beer. "Somebody has been here for the last month or so and has destroyed about a third of the entire site," Tveskov said. "This was a target of choice. It's a place they've returned to, time and time again." "Once artifacts are removed from their context, archaeologists and others are no longer able to re-create the story accurately of what happened at this site," added Amy Sobiech, a cultural resource specialist with the BLM. "Archaeological sites are finite in number," Tveskov said. "Once you dig them up, they are gone." The test digs only sample the cultural riches, he said, noting that looters can destroy in weeks thousands of years of cultural history. Those living at the site would have been the ancestors to the members of the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz, Tveskov said. He was referring to members of the Takelma tribe who were forcibly moved by the U.S. Army in 1856 to the Siletz Reservation on the central Oregon coast. "This site goes back over 200 generations," he said. "Families would come in the spring and summertime to hunt and gather plants." The continuity of inhabitation is what makes the site unusual, Tveskov said. "At least 2,000 years continuously, and probably up to 5,000 or 6,000 years," he said. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the first occupation began shortly after Mount Mazama blew up and continued more or less until white people got here." When the mountain blew its top, it created what is now known as Crater Lake. European settlers began arriving in the Rogue Valley about 150 years ago. In one test pit, pestle and mortar stones were found about two feet below the surface. A mortar stone covered with moss sits on the surface a hundred feet away. Nicole Norris, a senior at SOU majoring in anthropology, was busy sifting soil through a screen. She has several plastic bags containing bits of stone worked by humans. "There is something exciting, and a little solemn, about dealing with the past," she said. "These little bits and pieces help tell the bigger picture here." That includes the tiny bone fragments she has found. "This is from the animals they were eating," she said, noting the chemical composition indicates the bones had been heated. "These animals were cooked and eaten here." Claire Dickey, a junior at Ashland High School who was taking the SOU class, was scraping dirt on what may have been the floor of a house pit. "I appreciate things that happened before," she said, then added, "Digging in the dirt is a bonus." |
