Unlike utilitarian objects which commonly occur in midden deposits, care was taken to place charmstones in meaningful contextsthat imply they had special symbolic value, as discussed in more detail below. The concentration of these rare artifacts in features and burials is one of the most convincing reasons for concluding they were not used for purely pragmatic purposes. It is also significant that less than 3% (n=14) of the 480 burials in the CCO-548 cemetery contained charmstones. Those facts imply they had special significance. Less than 12% of the charmstones from the site came from contexts other than burials and features (i.e., midden). That is because more than 26% of all charmstones from the site lacked provenience due to their retrieval during controlled grading operations. Over 51% of the of charmstones found at site CCO-548 came from grave lots, and that proportion rises to 70% of all charmstones from locations with known provenience. Types and Quantities of Charmstone Types at CCO-548. Examples of those types are illustrated below.įigure 1. The assemblage also includes 14 specimens classified as unique/fragmentary. In the classification scheme developed by Elsasser and Rhodes (1996), the charmstones from CCO-548 are dominated by symmetrical spindles (Type S), but also include phallic (Type PH), oval (Type O), and simple plummet (Type PT) varieties (Table 1). What follows is a summary of some of my key findings. However, the copyright will not allow direct distribution here. I published my findings in 2011 in California Archaeology 3(2):199-248. My analysis concluded that the types of charmstones at CCO-548 originated among the Windmiller people of the Delta region and appear to mark a pattern of warfare and competition for resources with Berkeley peoples from the Bay Area during the Early Period (3500-500 BC). That allowed precise temporal placement which, when combined with other data from CCO-548 and comparative data from other sites, allowed broader insights their age, manufacture, function, and cultural implications. More than a third of the specimens (n=26) specimens were directly dated with radiocarbon assays from grave lots. Bartelink and others (n.d.) kindly shared radiocarbon data for additional burials analyzed after the site. The excavation was reported by Wiberg (2010). I analyzed 68 charmstones found during complete exacavation of a prehistoric site CA-CCO-548 near Brentwood, California. My analysis departed from past research by taking a different approach. In sum, it has not been possible to tell whether they were used for pragmatic or ritual purposes, by whom, and in what specific places and times. But insights into their function, periods of use, and cultural affiliation remain ambiguous because they are rare, found in a variety of settings, and presumed to have limited value as temporal indicators.

The most ambitious prior investigations sought to establish their relative age and gross patterns of distribution (Elsasser 1955 Elsasser and Rhode 1996 Gifford and Schenck 1926 Ragir 1972). Despite that longstanding fascination, however, surprisingly few specimens have been directly dated and as a result, systematic analysis has been hampered. CharmstonesĬharmstones have interested archaeologists from the time Yates (1890) first applied the term to various plummet-shaped stones found in Central California sites.

To begin, I am posting a piece about Charmstones. You may also be interested in some of my articles on previous research, as well as musings on local history. This page is devoted to my research interests and new posts will be added from time to time. The intent is not to produce a single 'correct' version of the past, but instead to honestly explore and share the diverse stories, perspectives, and trajectory of cultural interactions over time as they are revealed in those various sources of data. That is the impetus for my investigations. What happened among people who left no written record? Can we also gain deeper insights about people with literate traditions that go beyond the incomplete and often biased narratives preserved in documents? Comparing material remains, records, and oral history is the most satisfatory way to approach accurate reconstruction of the human journey. Archaeology is about discovery, not in the acquisitive manner of looters and treasure hunters, but in the true spirit of curiosity and sharing the human past.

Charmstone figurine