Settlement and Subsistence at San Sebastian: A Desert Oasis on San Felipe Creek, Imperial County, California. Volume 1. Technical Report

摘要

A Class III intensive survey was conducted of three sections of previously private land that have been transferred to the public sector. The area is centered on the site of San Sebastian, a large desert Kumeyaay settlement that was visited by the early Spanish explorers De Anza, Garces, Font, and Fages. Fifty-seven sites were documented, within which were recorded numerous general activity campsites, hearths, middens, lithic and sherd scatters, cremations, and other features. Correlations of site type and habitat show a clear preference for areas that are close to mesquite dunes, mesquite woodlands, and adjacent alkali flats near perennial streams and springs. An entensive review of ethnohistoric sources is also provided to reconstruct the social, political, and economic basis of the community.