Speakers of Ohlone dialects occupied the lands encompassed by Alameda, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and San Francisco Counties. One Ohlone triblet, the Carquin, occupied lands on the north shore of the Carquinez Strait in Solano County and probably in the southern part of Napa County.
Stonebrae, 16th hole5 bedrock mortars on the 16th hole at Stonebrae golf course.Fore! At least they saved this site, a fate not shared by three others that had the misfortune to lie in the path of the Stonebrae development. That’s three we know about. There may have been more.Two of the mortars here are bowls […]
Upper San Antonio Creek2 small cone-shaped bedrock mortarsPhotograph by Bob Bardell
Blue Rock Springs Park — North Rock wall Elevation 695 ft. This wall reminds us of similar alignments on Mission Peak and in the South Bay. It runs, with breaks, nearly all the way to I-80. The barbed wire fence and rock wall coincide with each other. Were they constructed at the same time? Compare […]
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 […]
Jeff’s LookoutOne bedrock mortar, one slick, one pestle, one probable mortar, and one possible mortar.Elevation 1329 ft.This is another Sunol Ridge site Jeff turned us on to. Keep up the good work Jeff!The vicinity of Jeff’s Lookout offers fabulous views of Niles Canyon and Alameda Creek.The bedrock mortar and the slick form part of a […]
Mission San JoseEstablished in 1797 at the Alson village of Oroysom.The mission complex as it appeared prior to its destruction in 1868 by the last great earthquake on the Hayward Fault.Image courtesy of the Bancroft Library.The church and museum at Mission San Jose are open from 10 AM to 5 PM daily except for New […]
Reservoir7 bedrock mortarsElevation 743 ft.These mortars sit where relatively level ground gives way to rocks and rising contours. They are subject to burial by soils washed down from above.One of a pair of bullet-shaped mortars on a slab near the five-mortar rock pictured above. Note the machined interior and flat rim.Photograph by Bob Bardell.
Stromer Spring25 bedrock mortars, cupules, and PCN-style petroglyphsElevation 2023 ft.We used to drink from Stromer Spring in the not-so-distant past. The Park District warns against doing it now.A nice, single-track trail passes near here. We followed it many times without ever stopping to examine these rocks. If we considered them at all, we dismissed them […]
Upper Shady CanyonOne bedrock mortar and a possible rock cairnElevation 953 feetThanks to Nick the Scout for leading us to this site.This site offers a commanding view.Note how the mortar rim is raised in a “fat lip” configuration.
Blue Rock Springs Park — South Curved Rock Alignment Elevation 520 ft. This alignment extends along the north and east sides of a little knoll at the bottom of valley. Who constructed it and why? A closer look. The knoll is flat on top. A detail shot showing the stacking.
