ANNUALREPORT:WINDWOLVES2016FIELDSCHOOLDirector(s): DavidW.Robinson,UniversityofCentralLancashireCo-Director(s): JulienneBernard,EastLosAngelesCollege
The2016seasonoftheWindWolvesFieldSchoolwasrewardingandproductive,bothintermsofaccomplishingourresearchgoalsandachievingpedagogicalsuccesses.Thisyearweworkedwith11excellentfieldschoolstudentsfromtheUSandtheUK,andconductedexcavationatseveralareaswithinCacheCaveaswellasattheRunawayCamplocationintheSanEmigdioCanyon.Workingattheseplacesenabledustodevelopourunderstandingoftheuseofthecaveandtofurtherbuildourregionalunderstandingoftheuseofbedrockmortars.
Insidethecave,weexcavatedover20unitsinordertoremovetheremainingportionsofthecavedeposits.Thisincludedareasadjacenttothetrenchexcavatedinapreviousseason,thechuteportionofthecave,andthecrevice.Wefoundmanyofthesametypeofperishableitemsthathadbeenrecoveredinpreviousseasons,aswellasafewnewitems.Oneofthemostexcitingdiscoverieswasalargesectionofnetting:wehadrecoveredsmallknotsandportionsofnetinthepast,sothislargefindbroughtfruitiontothosesmalldiscoveries.Wecontinuedtofindsmallpiecesofbasketry,aswellassomeitemsmadefromreedslashedtogether.Wealsorecoveredawovenitemofgrassthatwespeculatemayhavebeenafragmentofasandal.Thisseasonweachievedgreatstridesinsidethecaveindocumentation,successfullylaserscanningthecaveschambersandtheobjectsfoundwithin.
AtRunawayCamp,wesoughttosupplementtheworkinthegeneralmiddenareasthatwasconductedaspartofDr.Bernard’sdissertationresearch.Weopenedaunitadjacenttothebedrockmortarthatislocatedontheeasternoutskirtsofthesite.Asthesolebedrockmortarinthisportionofthecanyon,andthenearesttothehistoricvillageofTashlipun,thisexcavation
enabledustoevaluatethetimingoftheuseofthisBRMandassesswhetheritwasusedduringtheprecolonialoccupationofthesites.Wefoundveryfewartifactsoverall,butwedidrecovertwoglassbeads,whichenabledustoconfirmahistoricperioduseoftheBRM.Giventheshallownessoftheculturalmaterials,webelievethattheBRMwasusedprimarilyduringthehistoriceraandthusreflectstemporalvariabilityinthebasicactivitiesperformedatthesites.Thisseason’sexcavationatRunawayCampwillalsoarticulatewiththeexcavationsatBRMsthatwehaveperformedaspartoftheEnculturatingEnvironmentsproject.Now,wecanbetterincorporatethissiteintotheregionaldatacollectedoverthelast10years.OurnextgoalistobeginthewriteupofthecaveandintegrateitintoamonographontheEmigdianoChumashregionbasedonoursharedresearchendeavorsoverthelastdecade.
Inall,ourseasonwasproductiveandenjoyableinmanyways.Someofusmadediscoveriesweneverdreamedof.Someofusovercamelongheldfears.Wesawendangeredspeciesandotheranimalsthatfewpeoplewilleverseeinnature.Welearnedtousestate-of-the-artarchaeologicaltechnologyaswellasthetechniquesarchaeologistshavereliedonfordecades.Wemadenewfriends,frombothclosetohomeandacrosstheAtlantic.Wealllearnedandgrewasarchaeologistsandindeed,aspeople,anditwasanunforgettableexperienceforallofus,staffandstudentsalike.
