An Abalone Pendant Reveals Bits of Our Past
By Julie Olsen Edwards,
based on an article by Gary S.Breschini and Trudy Haverstat,
Archaeological Consulting, Salinas, CA.
Nestled in a locked case at Cabrillo College lies a ten-centimeter long ornament made from red abalone recently radiocarbon dated between A.D. 425 to 1560. The ornament is shaped like an upside down banjo, or a large head. The edges of the ‘head’ are incised, and small punctations decorate its surface.What is it? What was it used for? What can it tell us about the early residents of the Monterey Coast? Who crafted it with such care? How did it come to be buried in the dark soil of the Pajaro Valley?
The ornament first came to the attention of twentieth century people in the modern cemetery of St. Francis Church in Watsonville (CA-SCR-44) where is was unearthed in 1955 along with twelve similar artifacts that are now in private collections. This still shining, red iridescent piece was given to the Archaeology Department at Cabrillo College where it has remained as various archaeologists over the years have worked to understand its significance. It seems to be the first and only ornament of this special type reported from the Monterey Bay Area. While several hundred ‘banjo’ ornaments have been found in pre-historic sites between Sacramento (CA-SAC-6, CA-SAC-28, CA-CCO-138) and San Francisco (CA-ALA-329), most have single lateral projections and do not have the particularly unusual incised edges and punctuations of the local artifact. What was it doing in Watsonville? What do its unique design elements mean?
Dr. Robert Heizer, U.C. Berkley California archaeologist, believed that the pendants might be associated with the ‘big-head’ performances of the Kuksu dances of certain peoples living North of San Francisco bay between A.D. 1400 until European contact. In these Kuksu religious performance the dancers wore a headpiece with willow sticks radiating outward two or three feet and decorated at the tips with a fluff of white down, giving the impression of a huge head.
Bobe Givson and Garrett Fenenga, archaeologists who have done recent studies on this style of abalone ornaments reached a similar conclusion:
The secret society (of the Kuksu) was open to most males and higher status and was not a right by birth but earned by receiving instruction, making payment, and in some cases being chose to replace a person of the highest status. The highest rank within the secret society of Kuksu was called the Moki. To become a Moki performer one had to enact all other spirit impersonations. He also attained his post having acted as assistant to the individual who was the last incumbent and designated him as successor. It is possible that certain ceremonial regalia may have been passed on as well as the title.
Among the Patwin, some men passed through twelve degrees or stages before attaining the highest rank within the secret society. It is interesting to speculate that the punctations which occur on early Haliotis (red abalone) effigy ornaments marked the particular level which the performer held within the Kuksu or other secret society.
So why is the Watsonville ornament unique? What was it doing so far from the inland valleys where similar ones are found? Local archaeologists Gary Breschini and Trudy Haverstat have just completed a new analysis of these shell pendants including the one fromCabrillo. They find the punctations to be of particular importance and to be a counting or ranking measure of some kind. Perhaps they suggest the number of punctations represents either rank or possibly the number of cycles such as a series of dances that one has participated in. They also postulate (using other data as well), that the rare artifact may well be evidence of direct communication between the people of the central and coastal valleys and the Monterey Bay area. It is possible, in fact, that the Kuksu missionaries could have visited Watsionville around A.D. 1500 spreading their religious system to the people of the Pajaro Valley.
The research continues. Meanwhile the pendent waits, attracting our admiration for its beauty, exciting our curiosity about the artisans who created it and the path it traveled to Watsonville over 500 years ago.
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