The current exhibit at the Kelley House Museum, “Northern Pomo: Mendocino’s First People,” explores the history and rich culture of the local Indigenous people through the oral traditions passed down through generations and with stories still told by tribal elders. Before they were credible sources of their own history, much that was known about it was pieced together by anthropologists and archaeologists who learned about it by digging at sites known to have been inhabited by the Pomo.
Locally, Thomas N. Layton, a San Jose State University archaeologist, and his students conducted research in the early 1980s on private property on Albion Head about a mile north of the Albion River bridge. In “Western Pomo Prehistory: Excavations at Albion Head, Nightbird’s Retreat, and Three Chop Village, Mendocino County, California” (University of California, Los Angeles Institute of Archaeology, 1990), Layton describes the three sites examined in the Albion dig, and offers insights into what life was like for the Pomo before the arrival of white settlers.
The Albion sites yielded diverse artifacts: flaked stone tools (projectile points and flaking tools); stone hammers and net weights; the bones of elk, deer, and harbor seals; the bones and shells of marine creatures; bone and shell beads; and hazelnuts. The researchers inferred that the site was occupied at times by people from the south coast because some of the arrowheads were made from Monterey chert found only near Point Arena. Other occupants of the site used Franciscan chert and Clear Lake obsidian from inland sources.
The artifacts suggested that native peoples visited the sites seasonally to eat and gather mussels, chitons, limpets, turban snails, and hazelnuts. The abundance of projectile points pointed to much mammal hunting. Bones found were consistent with wildlife available in late spring and summer. Besides the bones of the larger mammals mentioned earlier, there were raccoon, mole, gopher, and mouse bones. There was also evidence of the butchering of large game. The people who stayed there brought from their permanent villages the rock and tools to make more projectile points. The seasonal camps at the Albion sites were occupied, then abandoned, repeatedly during roughly 5,000 years.
The Layton monograph also documents his investigations at two other sites—Nightbird’s Retreat west of Calpella near Eagle Peak, and Three Chop Village northwest of Willits. Franciscan chert was found, as well as obsidian from inland places such as Mount Konocti, and Lake County “diamonds” (quartz). Along with the rock tools were coastal chiton, mussel, and abalone shells. There was significant evidence of acorn harvesting at the inland sites, not unexpected since acorns were important in the Pomo diet and oak trees are far more abundant inland than on the coast. In the late summer of 1984, the researchers at Three Chop Village were very surprised to find Chinese ceramic pieces drilled into beads and pieces of green glass flaked into arrow points. Where had the Pomo who lived there gotten Chinese pottery and beer bottles?
It took over a decade to solve the mystery, but Layton eventually documented that the source of the exotic artifacts was the clipper Frolic which had foundered on rocks in July of 1850 near where Point Cabrillo Lighthouse now stands. The ship was carrying goods from China and bottled ale from India to sell to eager buyers in Gold Rush San Francisco. The Pomo from Three Chop Village were camping in the coastal cove at the time, as they were on Albion Head and other nearby spots, and they had salvaged some of the cargo. The discovery was further evidence that the inland Pomo spent summers on the coast hunting and gathering before returning to their more permanent settlements for the winter.
The artifacts uncovered at all three sites were turned over to the Mendocino County Museum in Willits. A few of the Pomo pieces and Frolic items are on loan to the Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers Association, where they can be viewed today in the history exhibit at the lighthouse. Digs like Layton’s would now be conducted in consultation or collaboration with local tribes like the Sherwood Valley Band, the Coyote Valley Band, or the Manchester Point Arena Band of Pomo Indians. Historic Preservation Officers in each organization work to blend scientific research findings with the tribe’s oral traditions, and to promote the integration of the special knowledge of tribal elders and spiritual leaders into scientific studies.
– Reprinted and expanded from the Kelley House “Making History Blog,” April 29, 2021
The Pomo exhibit can be viewed at the Kelley House Museum from 11AM to 3PM Friday through Sunday. Walking Tours of Mendocino are available throughout the week; the cost is $25. Visit the Kelley House Event Calendar for a Walking Tour schedule.