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recorded as an occupation site, although only baked clay was noted. Riddell's (1970) description <br /> refers to a large habitation site which may represent a major late prehistoric village for the <br /> region. It is perplexing that such a description is cited, as he observed no artifacts. <br /> 4.2.5 The Lake Site <br /> This site was recently recorded by Ananian and Rice (1991). Besides subsuming the sites <br /> discussed above (and CA-SJO ), they also incorporated an extensive area ranging from the <br /> south shore of Tracy Lake to the north bank of the Mokelumne River, and between the NIS <br /> trending levee at the west boundary of the property eastward to the NIS trending historic ditch <br /> which drains waters off South Tracy Lake into the Mokelumne River. Within the boundaries <br /> delineated for this large site, only two midden loci were located. These loci were recorded as <br /> discrete entities, CA-SJG and site_ . d . No prehistoric cultural materials were observed <br /> on the remaining land comprising the vast Lake Site. <br /> The Lake Site is described by Ananian and Rice (1991) as a large occupation site with <br /> numerous house floors. A total of 46 depressions were depicted on their sketch map. At the <br /> time of the present field investigation, numerous depressions were observed. However, most <br /> of these depressions were not associated with midden or cultural material of any kind. Diameter <br /> measurements for the off-site depressions fall within a range that might be attributed to sweat <br /> houses but for the lack of ash. It is possible that other structures such as menstruation huts may <br /> have been similarly built, not necessarily yielding evidence of cultural activity. Soil samples <br /> were taken from a number of these depressions. Field carbonate testing produced no reaction <br /> to indicate the presence of midden. Alternative explanations for the origin of these depressions <br /> include: derivation by either washouts of non-consolidated soil pockets, tree stump removal, or <br /> borrow pits for levee construction. <br /> 29 <br />