Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Finding Mid-19th Century Native Settlements: Cartographic And Archaeological Evidence From Central California, Lee M. Panich, Tsim D. Schneider, R. Scott Byram

Faculty Publications

Historical maps have the potential to aid archaeological investigations into the persistence of Native American settlements during the mid-19th century, a time when many Native communities disappear from archaeological view. Focusing on Tomales Bay in central California, we evaluate the usefulness of historical maps as a way to discover and interpret archaeological deposits dating to the period, with the aim of better understanding indigenous patterns of residence at the transition from missionary to settler colonialism. In particular, we focus on diseños and plats created to document Mexican-era land grants as well as early maps produced by the General Land Office …