Week Two of ANF ECHO 2006
Week Two has revealed many new things about the section house on Echo Mountain. This week, we completed two excavation units – B1 (a 2x2 meter unit located inside the section house) and C1 (a 1x1 meter unit located on the pathway between the house) – as well as continued working on B2 (a 2x2 meter unit inside the house) and began exploring the cesspool. Stacy Kozakavich, a doctoral candidate at University of California, Berkeley, came down to the site to assist with the excavation.
B1 produced an interesting looking metal star. After a bit of research (thanks to my husband Ben Camp who assisted with this!), we found an advertisement in the 1908 Sears Roebuck Catalog for a “Security Cyclometer” that features a star similar to the one we uncovered. Stacy K. also pointed out that the star could have been used as a decoration on a number of things as well – a leather belt, a hat, a boot. We also think we have found what may be a posthole in B1 (see photo below). This would have contained a wooden beam to hold up the section house’s wooden frame structure.
After carefully mapping, photographing, and removing the brick cooking (?) feature in B2, we came across numerous bone fragments. Kristin Nado identified several of these fragments, one of which is a fish vertebrae pictured below. With a bit of funding, I am hoping to send off these fragments to a zooarchaeologist or faunal specialist who can help me identify the exact species of the fish and other faunal samples found across the site. Several large cement fragments also came out of B2, including pieces which feature paint that would have most likely been applied onto the exterior of the house. The colors – which are incredibly faded – appear to be light red and light yellow, Pacific Electric Railway Corporation’s company colors.
Several visitors to the site have asked how I, as an archaeologist, decide where to place excavation units. I have chosen to place my excavation units in spaces that were both out of view and in sight of the railway and tourists at Echo Mountain with the hope of seeing if particular practices can be associated with public and private space. Are there, for instance, spaces where condemned behavior (forbidden by Pacific Electric Railway’s reform program, see “Site History” section on this website for more information) – such as eating Mexican food or consuming products associated with Mexican identity in 19th and early 20th century California – could take place? I am also interested in seeing how the space of the section house was used – are there different types of activities (cooking, sewing, etc.) taking place in different rooms of the house, and if so, how is this division of space related to Mexican American identity and/or Pacific Electric Railway’s conception of Mexican Americans.
We laid out new units in the South of the house since we’ve been working on the North portion of the house for the last two weeks. This will help me answer some of the questions I have in regard to space and identity outlined above. We will be opening up these units in Week 4.
We bid goodbye to several of our volunteers at the end of Week Two – Denise Brown, Christine Hajek, Jamie Kistner, and Kristin Nado all gave nearly two weeks out of their busy lives to assist with the project. I am looking forward to welcoming a few experienced archaeologists on the project in Week 4 (Dr. Dudley Gardner and Dr. Barbara Voss) to pick their brains about the possible posthole and the stratigraphy in each unit.
Upcoming Events
Week 3 will be a short work week due to the holidays, so if you plan on coming out the site, make sure to visit on Thursday or Friday as we will not be working Monday through Wednesday. On Saturday, July 8th, and Saturday, July 15th, we will be welcoming Girl Scouts from the Mount Wilson Vista Council division of GSUSA for a Career Day. On Saturday, July 22nd, we will be welcoming the general public the site for a Public Interpretation Day. More information on this event will be posted on the main page of the website in Week 3.
Brick Cooking (?) Feature in B2
The Team working on a Rainy Day!
