Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology

The function of pitted stones, one of the most common artifacts on the central coast of California, has never been clear. Suggested functions have included use as a hammer or anvil to crack nuts, process acorns, open shellfish, or reduce cobble cores, but most researchers favor a function related to processing coastal resources. Here we report multiple lines of evidence to suggest that the primary use of pitted stones along the coast was to crack open California sea mussels and occasionally turban snails. An evaluation of their spatial distribution showed that pitted stones are concentrated on open rocky coasts, and are under-represented inland and at estuaries. An experiment involving processing mussels with a hand-held stone and anvil showed a remarkable similarity between the experimental anvil and archaeological pitted stones. Finally, we point out that most accounts of food consumption in native California emphasize soups, gruels, and stews prepared for groups. Mass processing of raw mussels via a pitted stone produces a quantity of shellfish meat that could be readily used as part of a stew prepared for such groups.