PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY FOR CALIFORNIA ARCHAEOLOGY
1988-2004
“Introduction to Recent Archaeological Investigations at the Salton Sea Test Base, Imperial County, California”
Rebecca McCorkle Apple
Abstract
Evidence from archaeological investigations associated with the Navy's base closure and clean-up activities at the Salton Sea Test Base indicate that it wasn't very long ago that aboriginal peoples were fishing and camping along the receding shoreline of Lake Cahuilla. These investigations revealed a number of features constructed out of the local sandstone, along with ceramics, groundstone, flaked lithics, and fish bone. While most of the archaeological material appears to be associated with late period fishing camps, there are limited indications that the time span of human activity extends into the Archaic and Paleoindian Periods. As an introduction to these recent investigations, this paper will focus on the background and setting of the study, with more detailed presentations of results provided in subsequent portions of the symposium.