Speakers of Bay Miwok dialects occupied most of the area of Contra Costa County not bordering San Francisco or San Pablo bays. The territory of one Bay Miwok tribe, the Jalquin, may have extended into Alameda county and touched San Francisco bay at the mouth of San Leandro Creek.
Los Vaqueros Pond Village130 bedrock mortars and 4 slicks.CA-CCO-461Elevation 642 ft.The pond here is often dry. Nearby Adobe Creek would have provided year-round water to this village.Jim among grinding rocks and housepits.A view of the streamside terrace on the south bank of Pond Village Creek. At least three mortar rocks are visible in this photograph. […]
Manhattan Trail–Black Diamond Mines5 cupule rock, 1 bedrock mortar at the top of Manhattan Trail.Jim and Heather examine cupules.
Off Marsh Creek RoadAt least 5 bedrock mortarsElevation 370 ft.You’ll find the mortars on this exposed bedrock bench.Three of the mortars.A small hill rises about a quarter mile southeast of the bench. Bob enjoys the view from a curiously-shaped (and colored) rock we call “the throne.”This perfect bowl occupies the top of a rock not […]
Slick Ridge33 bedrock mortars, numerous slicks, and multiple housepits on a ridge between Blue Oak and Volvon Trails.Many of these mortars are pot or pan-shaped, relative rarities in Volvon territory.We call this Slick Ridge because of all the flat rocks with shallow indentations we’ve found here. It’s hard to tell sometimes what’s a slick and […]
Volvon Overlook3 bedrock mortars, 2 of them bowls.Looking down Mallory Creek toward Brushy Peak.It is only 6 miles as the crow flies to the regional trading grounds on the NE side of Brushy Peak.This is a natural lookout point. A group concerned about security would undoubtedly post someone up here.
Below Cave Point11 bedrock mortars all one one rock.Think those big holes are geoconcretions? Think again. They are huge bowl mortars. Their side walls bulge out into the surrounding rock in a classic “Olla” shape–the bowl is wider at the side walls than it is at the rim. The bottoms of these bowls are basically […]
Coyote Trail below reservoirSeven bedrock mortars near the source of a Marsh Creek Tributary.Bob jots down the dimensions of a classic oval-mouthed cone-shaped mortar.
Hummingbird10 bedrock mortars at Hummingbird/Volvon trail.Rock slab with trough. Bedrock mortars nearby.
Louise’s WalkwayRock feature. Two bedrock mortars nearby.Here is another spot Louise Lacey turned us on to. It’s a great place to hang out and be alone with the world.Parallel rock alignments like Louise’s Walkway turn up elsewhere in Morgan Territory Regional Preserve.Rocks at the open ends of this alignment give it the aura of a […]
Manzanita berry grinding slick with one cupule.
