Cottonwood Glade Test Excavations
Mendocino National Forest, California, 2007
By Barbara A. White, Forest Archaeologist
In July 2007, archaeologists from two national forests, the Bureau of Land Management, and Cal-Trans and tribal representatives from the Yuki and Nomlaki bands came together with PIT volunteers for a week of work and fun.
Cottonwood Glade is located on the border between the Yuki and Nomlaki, but at the time of contact was ethnographically held by the Yuki. This area has been used by various people throughout time. In the 1920s and 1930s, one of the creeks was dammed and the area became a major recreational fishing locale. Today the area is still used by people for hunting camps and Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) parking and trail riding.
Test excavations were conducted at the site to answer a variety of questions. Are there still intact cultural deposits of artifacts and/or features present in the site? If so, can their ages be determined? A one-day lab was set up at the volunteer campsite to wash, sort, count, and catalogue artifacts. Several of the 1X1 meter excavation units yielded hundreds of pieces of debitage, which are waste flakes of chert and obsidian from the stone tool making process.
Once significance of the site has been determined, appropriate protection measures will be implemented.