A survey on San Nicolas Island found a cluster of over 4,200 shell beads associated with Middle Holocene archaeological deposits eroded from a coastal dune at CA-SNI-12. Among the 12 bead types recovered were more than 146 Olivella Grooved Rectangle (OGR) beads, including a previously unknown subtype with diagonal grooves, >3,000 Olivella cap beads, and nearly 400 Olivella spire-removed beads. Direct AMS radiocarbon dates (~5,000 cal B.P.) on two bead fragments con rm the Middle Holocene age of the feature. Between approximately 5,400 and 4,400 cal B.P., California’s southern Channel Islands appear to have been the focal point of OGR bead production and use, though these beads have been found in a variety of archaeological contexts across western North America. The broad distribution but short temporal duration of these beads makes them an important Middle Holocene indicator of bead production and exchange in California and the Great Basin.

We present a detailed faunal analysis of bulk samples excavated from Cave of the Chimneys, located on the northeast coast of San Miguel Island. The site contains at least six discrete cultural components in a well-strati ed and well- preserved sequence spanning roughly 6,000 years, from about 8,500 to 2,400 years ago. Although species composition and shell sh richness changed over time, rocky intertidal shell sh dominate the faunal assemblage. The Early Holocene strata predominantly consist of California mussels (Mytilus californianus) with other species present in low numbers. The contribution of other shell sh taxa in the Middle Holocene strata greatly increases so that no single species dominates the assemblage. Fish remains are present throughout, but vary in abundance and dietary importance. We discuss these trans-Holocene patterns in the context of other San Miguel Island sites and general patterns of maritime subsistence developed for the Santa Barbara Channel region.

Two caches of balancing rock features were recently uncovered during archaeological excavations at the Tule Creek site (CA-SNI-25) on San Nicolas Island, California. The features consist of groups of stacked rocks in association with cut red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) shell, ochre, and asphaltum. Feature 1 is made up of a serpentinite disc base and a basalt mid-section overlain by an inverted sandstone bowl. Feature 2 consists of a phallic sandstone pestle capped by a pecked pyramidal granitic top. Radiocarbon dates on associated marine shell suggest the cairns were buried during the fourteenth and fteenth centuries A.D., before the arrival of European immigrants into the region

Malcolm J. Rogers (1930) described artifacts in his eld notes that he referred to as stone saws. Recent excavations at CA­SNI­25 yielded numerous utilized sandstone artifacts that might very well be the saws noted by Rogers. In this paper, we describe the production, use, and function of these tools and their spatial distribution across the site. Experiments show that these tools were capable of working a variety of materials, including wood, sea mammal bone, and marine shell; however, our study suggests that they were probably used for the manufacture of circular shell shhooks.

When the last San Nicolas Island resident, known as the ‘Lone Woman,’ was brought to Santa Barbara in 1853 after 18 years of solitude following the 1835 removal of her people to the mainland, efforts were made to locate speakers who could communicate with her. That search was reported to be unsuccessful, and the Lone Woman died seven weeks later, unable to recount her story. After the Lone Woman’s death, many accounts presumed that everyone from San Nicolas Island had died. Recent research in provincial Mexican papers, Los Angeles documents, American records, and church registers has uncovered original primary source information that details the experience of the Lone Woman’s people in Los Angeles. Five men, women, and children are con rmed or are likely to have come to the Los Angeles area from San Nicolas Island in 1835, and the parents of a newborn girl baptized the following year also may have come from that island.