Resolving cultural affiliation through
multiple methods: A case study
Determining Cultural Affiliation
In California, the disposition of Native American skeletal remains discovered on nonfederal lands is decided through negotiation between the landowner and a Native
American representative appointed as the Most Likely Descendant (MLD) of the
deceased person by the California State Native American Commission. The California
law is similar to the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
(NAGPRA) in that it provides no clear standards for determining the strength of the
ancestor-descendant relationship. The California reburial law differs from NAGPRA by
giving authority over the disposition of remains to individuals, not federally recognized
tribes. Our collaboration with the MLD of a person buried at Temescal Canyon, near
the historic border between the Chumash and Gabrieliño of southern California,
provides an example of how physical anthropologists and Native Americans can work
together to resolve questions concerning tribal affiliation.
Jacqueline T. Eng and Phillip L. Walker
Department of Anthropology
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Evidence of Interpersonal Violence
The possibility that this person was a victim of intertribal warfare increased the
uncertainty regarding cultural affiliation. A concave-based, chert projectile point with
an intact tip is firmly embedded in the right, lateral aspect of the fourth lumbar
vertebral body. Points such as this were used by both the Chumash and Gabrieliño
and are not culturally diagnostic. If we assume that the victim was standing when
shot, the horizontal orientation of the point in the bone suggests that the arrow
traveled along a horizontal trajectory from a short distance. Thus, the assailant likely
would have been in the semi-kneeling position archers often assume for concealment
during violent confrontations. Macroscopic and radiographic evidence of new bone
formation indicates that the wound was not immediately fatal. A reconstructed path of
the arrow shows it would have passed through the abdominal oblique and psoas
major muscles before embedding in the vertebral body, missing major blood vessels
and nerves. A second projectile point was found in the soil within the body cavity, near
the distal end of the right forearm. These facts suggest that the person was a victim of
Lateral view
X-ray: Axial view
Superior view
X-ray: Anterior view
Craniometric Analysis
To explore the biological affinities of the Temescal Canyon burial, discriminant
analysis was performed to determine which native southern California population this
individual's cranial form most closely resembles. Skeletal samples from Middle and
Late period southern California sites produced the following group membership
probabilities: Buena Vista Lake p=0.63, Northern Channel Islands p=0.28, Southern
Channel Islands p=0.09, and Malibu p=0.00. Single linkage cluster analysis showed
similar morphological affinities. These results indicate that the high face and broad
head of the Temescal Canyon burial most closely resembles the Buena Vista Lake
sample from Yokut territory and the Chumash of the Santa Barbara Channel area.
These groups differ markedly from the dolichocephalic inhabitants of the Southern
Channel Islands.
Frontal and superior view of reconstructed skull of the Temescal Canyon burial
CT scan: Axial view
4
Close up
3
The Temescal Canyon Burial
Archaeological monitoring work at the site CA-LAN-224 resulted in the discovery of a
human burial. This site is located near the historic period boundary between the
Chumash and Gabrieliño tribes. Because of the burial's location, the MLD appointed
to determine the disposition of the remains became concerned that this person may
have been of Chumash instead of Gabrieliño descent. As a result, we were asked to
conduct physical anthropological and biochemical studies aimed at clarifying this
person's cultural affiliation.
Linguistic Differences
Linguistic data suggest that the ancestors of the Chumash and Gabrieliño tribes
migrated into southern California in separate waves. The Chumash are derived from
an earlier southward migration of Hokan-speakers, while the Gabrieliño are derived
from a later westward migration of Uto-Aztecan speakers into the Southern Channel
Islands and mainland south of the Chumash. Thus, the Chumash and Gabrieliño
have different cultural, as well as biological, heritages.
Archaeological Context
The fact that this burial was an inhumation is one reason that the Gabrieliño cultural
affiliation was questioned. Cremation, not inhumation, is typical of the Gabrieliño and
distinguished them from the Chumash who, with rare exceptions, disposed of their
dead through inhumation. The southern orientation and flexed position of the burial
are also suggestive of a Chumash cultural affiliation.
2
Fourth lumbar with embedded projectile point
and radiographs (X-ray and CT scan).
Cross section showing anatomical structures in the
path (red arrow) of the projectile point embedded in L4.
SITE
1
4
Group Centroids
1
2
0
Temescal Burial
Osteoperiostitis
The ilia, femora, right scapula, and
right radius of this person show
osteoperiostitis indicative of an
active systemic process. The
distribution and gross morphology of
these lesions is not typical of the
treponemal disease commonly seen
among prehistoric Native
Californians. When the contralateral
element of an affected bone is
preserved, the periosteal lesions are
bilateral, which suggests that a
systemic process is responsible for
the lesions. It is possible that these
changes are a systemic response to
6
4 Buena Vista Lake
-1
3 Malibu
-2
2 No Channel Islands
?
1 So Channel Islands
-3
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
0
Southern
Channel
Islands
Northern
Channel
Islands
Malibu
Buena
Vista
Lake
Temescal
Dendrogram Based on Craniometric Data
5
Function 1
Plot of canonical discriminant functions derived from cranial
measurements of the Temescal Canyon skeleton and
cranial series from other southern California area sites.
?
Diagram showing areas affected by periosteal reactions.
“?” indicates element was not recovered.
Skeletal Analysis
Osteological analysis of the Temescal Canyon remains indicates that this person was
a male who died when he was in his 40's. Dental characteristics (shovel-shaped
incisors and heavy tooth wear) support the determination of Native American
ancestry. The individual's cranial morphology is also relevant to the issue of cultural
affiliation. Physical anthropologists have long noted differences in the cranial form of
Native California populations. The late prehistoric Chumash population of the
Northern Channel Island area is characterized by high faces and broad heads. The
late prehistoric period Gabrieliño inhabitants of the Southern Channel Islands, in
contrast, had narrow heads and broad noses.
Depiction of the Temescal Canyon burial in situ
12
3
Dissimilarity measure
Map of major linguistic families in
California
Function 2
Map of the historic period boundary between the
Chumash and Gabrieliño
Dendrogram of single linkage cluster analysis of the
cranial measurements from the Temescal Canyon
skeleton and southern California sites.
Biomolecular Analysis
In view of the results of the craniometric analysis, the MLD requested that DNA
testing be conducted on the remains to help clarify the biological relationship between
the Temescal Canyon burial and modern descent groups. Considerable data are
currently available on DNA sequences from modern people of Chumash, Yokut, and
Gabrieliño descents that could be used as a basis for comparison. Our preliminary
amino acid racemization tests indicated that DNA may have been preserved in a
maxillary molar. DNA extraction proceeded, with the samples and negative controls
sent to Dr. Kevin Miller, an expert in ancient DNA analysis, at the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. His laboratory targeted the hypervariable regions 1 and 2 (HV1 and
HV2) of the control region of the human mitochondrial genome for amplification via
the PCR technique, but amplification products were not observed in the bone
Reburial of the Temescal Canyon Remains
The Temescal Canyon burial's morphological features, geographical location, and
cultural associations make its cultural affiliation with modern Gabrieliño descendants
problematic. In fact, several lines of evidence suggest biological and cultural affinities
with Chumash of the Northern Channel Islands or their neighbors (the physically
similar) Yokuts of the Kern County. Based our findings, the MLD decided to consult
widely with members of several southern California tribes concerning the appropriate
disposition for the remains.