Monte Bello Open Space–headwaters of Stevens Creek12 bedrock mortars and 34+ cupules, 14 on one rock and 20 on anotherElevation 2240 ft.Looking up at the site, another one of Joel’s South Bay discoveries.There are 14 cupules on the rock in the center of the photo. The proximity of cupule rocks to water sources is well-documented. […]
Diablo Grande Cave1 bedrock mortar and a 28 cupule slab8 bedrock mortars in a cave with (obscure) hematite pictographsElevation 1179 ft.Jim photographs the cupule rock. The cupules are hard to make out, so look carefully. That’s the cave (or rock shelter) with bedrock mortars in the background.
Pena-Vaca Adobe11 bedrock mortars and at least 9 portable mortarsElevation 179 ft.The original adobe dates from 1842.The low wall here partially encloses a burial ground.A diverse set of mortars. Lots of cupules/anvils too.A pretty setting near the Indian Council Grounds.
Don Edwards Preserve4 bedrock mortars, possible cupulesElevation 103 ft.Another one of Jeff’s amazing finds.Nearly all the bedrock mortars we’ve encountered in the Bay Area occur on sandstone. These are the only ones we’ve seen in metamorphic chert.A closer look. Note the paired, shallow mortars. Such arrangements are rare. The only others we’ve seen are on […]
Pine Canyon #12 bedrock mortars, 2 cupules, and an incised rock at the Intersection of Castle Rock and Stage Road Trails.Mortar and pestle.
Elephant RockOne bedrock mortar, cupules, and carved graffiti.Elephant Rock may have been a “prayer” site. See Cupule Petroglyphs in the Diablo Range by E. Breck Parkman in the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 254-55 (1986).Home of the Elephant Rock.
Rock City13 bedrock mortars, grinding slick, cupules, and incisions.There are deep, well-worn mortars here.Another view.
Evergreen Valley Cupule Rock on Silver Creek32+ cupulesElevation 570 ft.Thanks to Joel for directing us here.The rock.Some of the cupules on this rock could probably be classed as bedrock mortars.We believe the trinomial for this site is CA-SCL-63. There are PCNs on this rock too, but we didn’t notice any. See A Stylistic Analysis of […]
Round Valley Village317+ bedrock mortars, two cupule rocks, and a stacked rock enclosure.CA-CCO-320This settlement is the largest of three that sit along the eastern base of the Black Hills.Joseph Chartkoff in “A Rock Feature Complex from Northwestern California,” American Antiquity, Vol. 48, No. 4, (Oct., 1983), pp. 745-760, notes the similarity between this stacked-rock enclosure […]
