Glass and Ceramic Beads from the Shepherd Ranch Site, 1864-1905
Abstract
Archaeological excavations conducted at the site of the 1864-1905 Shepherd Ranch recovered 301 glass and ceramic beads of 77 varieties, including 42 varieties of drawn, 9 varieties of wound, 21 varieties of mold-pressed, and 5 varieties of Prosser-molded beads. Varieties from three localities indicate possible cultural behavior associated with the Shepherd family and Paiute working at the ranch. A critical review and comparative analysis of existing temporal ascriptions for trade bead types, regional trade bead chronologies, and sites with trade beads in the Inyo-Mono region has determined that temporal significance may exist for a few bead types and colors. Sometime before the 1860s early protohistoric sites may be identified by having only white and/or blue beads. Sometime prior to the 1870s later protohistoric sites may have only white and/or blue and red beads. Later during the late 19th-century as Paiute were assimilated into the local American agricultural economy of the lower Owens River Valley, sites occupied by Paiute may have green, black, and/or Karklins Type Ia beads. Historical information for bead manufacturing technologies has shown that generalized temporal ranges may be attributed to various attributes for drawn, wound, mold-pressed, and Prosser-molded beads. An analysis of the distribution of trade beads throughout the Inyo-Mono region suggests that these perceived temporal inferences also may have geographical and cultural significance for Paiute sites containing trade beads concentrated almost exclusively along the southern Owens River Valley for the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with some possibly associated with similarly dated sites in traditional pinyon pine nut harvesting areas to the east and west of the valley.
Summary
The Shepherd Ranch site (CA-INY-4873H), is located on the eastern flanks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Inyo County, California. It was cattle ranch located on the west side the Owens River approximately 20 miles north of Owens Lake, in the ethnohistorical territory of the Owens Valley Paiute. During World War II, the property became a part of the Japanese-American interment camp, known as Manzanar Relocation Camp, now the Manzanar National Historic Site.
Under management by the National Park Service, prehistoric and historic sites with Manzanar National Historic Site are being located and evaluated to assess their archeological content, contexts, and significance for future research. In the spring of 2003, as part of this assessment, the site of the Shepherd Ranch farmstead was extensively surveyed. From selected areas, artifacts were collected from the surface and a few subsurface excavation units and backhoe trenches. Among the artifacts recovered were a total of 301 ceramic and glass beads collected from 10 localities (Ross 2004), including
Drawn Glass Beads
Undecorated Cut Drawn Beads (10 varieties)
Decorated Cut Drawn Beads (6 variety)
Undecorated Hot Tumbled Drawn Beads (25 varieties)
Decorated, Blown Lampworked Cut Drawn Bead (1 variety)
Wound Glass Beads
Undecorated Freewound Lamp-Wound Bead (1 variety)
Undecorated Shaped Lamp-Wound Bead (1 variety)
Undecorated Shaped Furnace-Wound Beads (7 varieties)
Mold-Pressed Glass Beads
Undecorated Mold-Pressed Beads (8 varieties)
Decorated Mold Pressed Beads (13 varieties)
Prosser-Molded Ceramic Beads
Undecorated Prosser-Molded Beads (3 varieties)
Decorated Prosser-Molded Beads (2 variety)
This bead assemblage appears to contain a mixture of beads used by the Euro-American Shepherd family during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as beads possibly used by the Owens Valley Paiute during the late 19th century. When compared to other trade bead assemblages from the region, a few chronological inferences can be made.
From a comparative analysis of the trade beads recovered from over 50 archaeological sites in the Inyo-Mono region, there are a few hypothetical temporal associations for specific bead types and colors that warrant further evaluation:
1. Sites with only white and/or blue beads (perhaps also with a few amber beads) may be associated with a pre-1860s period.
2. Sites with only white and/or blue and red beads (perhaps also with a few amber beads), and Karklins Type Ia beads, freewound wound beads, and/or mold-pressed beads with random ground facets or pierced and punched conical perforations may be associated with a pre-1870s period.
3. Sites with green, black, and/or Karklins Type Ia beads, furnace-molded wound beads, and a wide variety of mold-pressed beads may be associated with late 19th-century contexts.
Using these tentative correlations and comparing the distribution of sites sharing common bead attributes, it is possible that during the late 19th century, Paiute were leaving the southern Mono and northernmost Inyo region to live along the western area of the southern Owens River. If true, this may reflect a unique agricultural economy for the region, providing for the successful acculturation of Paiute with their American neighbors that may not have existed for other areas within traditional Paiute territories.
Presently, there is insufficient data to positively date specific bead types or varieties within the region, but there are a number of bead attributes that may prove useful in the future for establish terminus post quem temporal markers, including manufacturing techniques and attributes for drawn, wound, mold-pressed, and Prosser-molded beads:
1. For drawn beads, those manufactured using the a speo and pan rounding techniques may not have found their way into the Inyo-Mono region, suggesting that the later hot tumbled drawn beads produced after 1817 may have been the earliest drawn beads for the region.
2. For wound beads, large undecorated furnace-wound and decorated mold-pressed beads may have replaced earlier large undecorated and decorated freeewound lamp-wound beads.
3. For mold-pressed beads, molded facets may have replaced earlier ground facets, pierced perforations may have replaced earlier pierced and punched perforations, and zig-zag mold seams may have replaced horizontal mold seam during the late 19th century.
4. For Prosser-molded beads, this type may not have come into the region until the late 19th century.
Monochrome, short multi-sided, undecorated, cut drawn beads with patterned ground facets (Karklins Type If)
Miscellaneous drawn beads
Miscellaneous mold-pressed beads
Prosser-molded beads
Reference
Ross, Lester A.
2004 Glass and Ceramic Beads from the Shepherd Ranch Site (CA-INY-4873-H), Manzanar National Historic Site, Inyo County, California, 1864-1905. Ms. National Park Service, Western Archeological and Conservation Center, Tucson, AZ.
12 February 2005