A Burial Cave in Baja California Part 2

Directly to the north of Bahia de Los Angeles, in the 18th century, shamans used whistles in ceremonies performed several days after a death (Sales, 1794, I:79), just as the modern Kiliwa use a reed flute at the _niwey_ ceremony (Meigs, 1939, p. 45). In neighboring southern California, the use of flutes was nearly universal, while whistles were used infrequently (Drucker, 1937, p. 25).

_Bull-roarer_ (?).--One highly polished wooden artifact (139565) may have been used as a bull-roarer. This artifact, with a length of 23.5 cm., a diameter of 5.1 cm., and a thickness of 6 mm. (pl. 15, _i_), is made of a very hard dark wood--probably ironwood, _Olneva_ _tesota_. It is concave on both faces. At each end, and at a right angle to the main axis of the specimen, is a groove filled with a hardened black substance inlaid with fragments of _Olivella_ sh.e.l.l (_O_. _biplicata_). The hole at one end is biconically drilled. This artifact has been tentatively called a "bull-roarer" because no other purpose can be conjectured. It is too large for a net-gauge, which it somewhat resembles because of its concave ends.

There is no mention of bull-roarers in the Spanish sources for the peninsula; however, one archaeological specimen has been recovered from the surface of a cave in the San Julio Basin, to the east of Comondu.

This wooden bull-roarer has a conventional shape; it is a long oval-shaped piece of hardwood which is double-convex or lenticular in cross section and has a length of 21.5 cm.[2]

[2] This specimen (3-10308) is in the University of California Robert H.

Lowie Museum of Anthropology, Berkeley. Location is from field notes, Ma.s.sey, 1946.

The use of bull-roarers for ceremonial purposes was nearly universal in southern California (Drucker, 1937, p. 25). They have also been reported for the Kiliwa of northern Baja California, where they were used by shamans in the _niwey_ ceremony, and for placating ghosts by anyone in an emergency (Meigs, 1939, p. 45).

_Projectiles._--A single compound arrow (139587) or dart is in the Palmer Collection. Although it is broken, there can be no doubt that the two pieces of cane shaft form a single piece, 92.5 cm. in length (pl.

15, _a_). There is no foreshaft. The sting-ray spine, which makes an excellent natural projectile point, was let directly into the split end of the cane, and was secured by cord binding (see "Haftings"). Instead of the usual nock in the b.u.t.t end of the shaft for a bowstring, there is a cuplike depression (fig. 1). This suggests, of course, that this may have been a dart for use with a thrower or atlatl. Although that weapon is unreported in the Spanish sources on central and northern Baja California, dart-throwers were reported by Spanish explorers for the first quarter of the 17th century for the southern Cape Region; they are also known archaeologically from the same area (Ma.s.sey, 1957, pp.

55-62).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 1. Detail of arrow or dart (139587), showing sting-ray spine point and cuplike depression at b.u.t.t end.]

One smoothed wooden specimen (139560) appears to have been a foreshaft.

It is sharply pointed at one end, and has a cuplike depression in the opposite, thicker end. It is straight and tapered, with a length of 38 cm. (pl. 15, _f_). Similar specimens are common in historic levels of caves in the Sierra de La Giganta (Ma.s.sey and Tuohy, MS).

_Viznaga spines._--A bundle of seven spines of the _Viznaga_ cactus (_Echinocactus_ _wislizeni_) was found (139547; pl. 14, _a_). These spines had all been straightened from their natural curved condition.

They could have served a variety of piercing purposes.

_Miscellaneous wooden artifacts._--In addition to the artifacts of vegetable origin that can be identified with certainty, there are several fragments and whole specimens which remain to be considered.

There is a round straight piece of wood (139559), measuring 30.5 cm. in length and 8 mm. in diameter, which has both ends blunted and rounded, apparently from use in grinding and pounding (pl. 15, _e_). Its exact use is unknown.

Two sticks, lashed together in two places, were found (139585a).

Together they measure 50 cm. in length (pl. 15, _c_). The longer pointed stick has a notched end as for an arrow b.u.t.t (see "Haftings" for details of the tying).

There is also a round, sharply pointed, and tapered fragment of hardwood with a length of 8.8 cm. The shape suggests that it may have been part of a digging stick; however, the specimen is very highly polished on all of its preserved surfaces.

Two wooden fragments (139586) are listed in the catalogue of the United States National Museum as parts of a bow. Actually there is little about their shape to suggest such a use (pl. 15, _b_). Both are round in cross section, and they do not fit together. One piece (139586a), which is 58 cm. in length, is slightly curved, with a k.n.o.b carved on the complete end. There are faint indications that there had previously been wrappings at this end. The other specimen (139586b), with a length of 56.5 cm. and a diameter of 1.3 cm., is fragmental at both ends. It has two places in which the shaft has been carved around. Incised diagonal lines mark the surface in several places.

CORDAGE AND TEXTILES

In addition to the cordage used in the fabrication of articles of apparel, household utensils, and for the hafting of tools, the cave contained the usual miscellany of prepared fibers and knots (139544) usually of agave fiber. There is also a bundle of unspun hair tied in the center with an overhand knot (139543). The bulk of the miscellaneous cordage is 2-ply cord--each single S-twisted with a final Z-twist. Since the spinning is so uniformly of this twisting, it is highly probable that manufacture of the cordage followed that described by Kissell for the Papago, and noted in many other places. This method of "down movement" followed by an "up movement" to make the 2-ply gives a preliminary S-twist and a final Z-twist (Kissell, 1916, p. 229).

Under the microscope, one of the specimens shows a single fiber, used as a tie at a position where a new bundle of fibers is added, weaving in and out of the old and new bundles. This gives the fibers much stronger binding than does twisting together alone. The twist is normally medium-hard to hard with an occasional crepe twist.

Fur-wrapped cord, of which only fragments were recovered, consists of strips of hide with fur attached, about 1 cm. wide, wrapped around (S-twist) already prepared 2-ply _agave_ fiber cord. No articles were found which had been constructed with fur-wrapped cord.

Since these fragments are undoubtedly bits broken from finished articles or remnants from the construction of articles, it is not surprising that, with one notable exception, they cover the range of prepared cordage for the other specimens. The exception is cotton cord, of which no fragments were recovered. This strengthens the hypothesis that the cotton cloth (139537) was brought to the peninsula in its manufactured state.

Both human-hair cord and palm-fiber cordage, common to cave collections from the Cape Region of southern Baja California, are missing here at Bahia de Los Angeles.

Square knots are most common in the collection of miscellaneous cordage.

This is to be expected, in view of the square-knot construction of the hairnets and carrying nets found in the cave.

Identifiable vegetal fibers include those of _Apocynum_ sp. (probably _cannabinum_) and _Agave_ sp.[3]

[3] Identifications were made by Dr. Herbert Mason and Miss Annetta Carter, University of California Herbarium.

On a comparative basis the cordage and miscellaneous knots from Bahia de Los Angeles are most like historic-period materials from central Baja California. Excavated sites and large private collections there contain an overwhelming amount of cordage that is 2-ply Z-twist; both square and overhand knots were found. Again like Bahia de Los Angeles, nets were made by the square-knot technique (Ma.s.sey and Tuohy, MS).

The southern part of the peninsula, on the contrary, exhibits 2-ply Z-twist cordage only in slightly over 50 per cent of collected specimens. Both knots were known, but netting was made entirely by lark's-head knotting (Ma.s.sey, MS 1).

_Simplest Uses of Prepared Cord_

_Four-warp weaving._--Many samples of 4-warp weaving were found in the miscellaneous fiber collection (139544) and in a group of woven fragments (139554). None was found in connection with the finished articles of the collection, so that their use is purely conjectural. The warp is generally 2-ply, Z-twist, medium- to hard-twist cordage; the weft is the same, but generally lighter in weight than the warp.

_Cord-wrapped sticks (bobbins?)._--There are two kinds of sticks wrapped with cordage: single short sticks loosely wrapped around the midsection (bobbins?), and pairs of sticks tied together end-to-end tightly in two places. The cord on these specimens is invariably of the common 2-ply Z-twist agave fiber.

One of the pairs of sticks (139585a), with a total length of 50 cm., consists of a pointed stick with a nocked b.u.t.t end lashed tightly to the second stick in two places (pl. 15, _c_). The stick with the nock appears to be the b.u.t.t end of a projectile shaft. If it were, it would be unusual for Baja California, where projectile shafts are usually of cane. The second specimen (139558d) consists of two lengths of cane, 10.3 and 5.4 cm. long, which are loosely bound with a single-strand fiber (pl. 14, _f_).

Four specimens of sticks wrapped with cord were recovered. Lengths of these specimens are as follows: 139558a, 22 cm. (pl. 15, _d_); 139558b, 15.8 cm. (pl. 14, _e_); 139558c, 17.3 cm. (pl. 14, _d_); and 139549, 11 cm.

_Strings for beads._--Sh.e.l.l beads were strung on a very fine 2-ply cord, probably made of agave fiber; each ply consists of about three fibers, probably of agave also (139546; pl. 13, _d_). Both of these groups are fragments, so use is again problematical.

_Miscellaneous._--There is a piece of hide wrapped with a 2-ply cord, probably of agave fibers, loosely Z-twisted (139548; pl. 14, _g_). The first end is secured by wrapping-over; the outer end is drawn under some of the cord and pulled tight.

Noticeably lacking from the cave materials are sections of reed strung on cord, which formed the ap.r.o.ns of women throughout most of the peninsula. Specimens of this type are abundantly reported for all of central and southern Baja California, and they have been archaeologically found in the central area (Ma.s.sey, MS 1).

_Haftings_

Five different types of hafting were found among the Bahia de Los Angeles artifacts.

_Flakers (see "Wooden Artifacts")._--One bone flaker (139556; pl. 14, _b_) is hafted with eight rounds of cord, of 2-ply Z-twist agave, medium- to hard-twist; each single consists of three to five fibers, Z-twisted, loose-to-medium. The original end was secured by wrapping-over; the final end is broken and not secured at the present time. An overhand knot with no function occurs in the wrapping.

A second bone flaker (139557; pl. 14, _c_) is hafted with a 2-ply agave cord, S-twist, medium, which is wrapped three times around the bone and wood. The end is drawn under the three wrappings and twisted to the original end.

_Darts or arrows._--A third hafted specimen (139585) consists of what appears to be broken parts of two arrows hafted together for greater length, wrapped in two places. The "rear" haftings, obviously the main tying, consist of a cord wrapped twelve times around the two pieces; the first end caught down by the succeeding wrappings and the final end pulled tight under the entire series and cut off. The same type of cord is used for the secondary "front" tie, where it is wrapped around from the middle and tied with a granny knot.

The sting-ray spine point of the cane projectile (139587) was simply inserted into the hollow cane shaft which had been split down to a node.

The cord securing the point begins at the node on the shaft where the cord end is caught under three wrappings, carried up the split in the cane, wrapped three times around the end of the cane, and broken (fig.

1). It may once have been secured by drawing under the final wrappings, as were most of the Bahia de Los Angeles haftings. The cordage used is 2 mm. in diameter of 2-ply agave (?) with a medium-to-hard Z-twist. Each single is S-twisted and very loose.

_Water bags (?)._--There is a cord wrapping around what may have been the neck of a bladder or skin water bag (139555; pl. 16, _b_). The piece of skin had been folded together very evenly by accordion-pleating and wrapped for a length of 2 cm. with a 2-ply loosely twisted Z-twist cord, and finally secured with a granny knot.

Skins of animals and fish bladders were in use as water containers in this area in early historic times, as reported by Francisco Ulloa in 1540 (Wagner, 1925, pp. 25, 28). Farther south on the peninsula similar water bags were reported in use in the 18th century (Baegert, 1942, p.

85; W. Rogers, 1928, p. 208).

_Matting_

Two pieces of matting of distinct types were preserved in the collection. They probably were saved by Dr. Palmer as samples of the types in the cave.