The Journal of California Anthropology

What has happened to the village sites visited by Portola and his men? Like so many historical and archaeological sites, they have either been forgotten, destroyed by thoughtless relic collectors, or covered by urban sprawl. After years of farming, grazing, erosion, relic collecting, and construction activities, little is left of the coastal villages of these people, although one, Ystagua, is currently under study for possible preservation. Scattered pot shards, broken trade beads, and shell mounds stand as silent testimony to a way of life which began its end in July, 1769, as another way of life commenced.