ARCHIVED REPORTS LEC APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION

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5.3 CULTURAL RESOURCES shaped mortars and pestles, and pottery in some parts of the central San Joaquin Valley (Moratto, 1984). 5.3.1.3 Ethnographic Setting The LEC project area was occupied ethnographically by the Yokuts (Kroeber,1925;Wallace, 1978). The Yokuts are unique among Native Californians in that they were divided into true tribes. Each tribe had a unique name,a distinctly different dialect, and a defined territory (Kroeber, 1925). The Yokuts language is a member of the California Penutian stock that includes four other groups found in central California,Miwok, Costanoan,Maiduan,and Wintuan. Yokuts were divided into three groups: the Southern Valley Yokuts, the Northern Valley Yokuts,and the Foothill Yokuts. Specifically, the project area is situated within the traditional lands of the Northern Valley Yokuts, of whom the least is known. The Northern Valley Yokuts rapidly disappeared once Europeans reached the area as a result of disease, missionization, and most importantly,the gold rush. The San Joaquin River was the center of the Northern Yokuts territory and their settlement and subsistence were heavily reliant on the river and its sloughs. Villages were placed on low mounds, above the flood levels and near larger bodies of water. The structure of the Northern Yokuts village is unknown but assumed to be quite similar to the groups to the north and south of the Northern Yokuts and based on the single family (Wallace, 1978;466). Members of a tribe lived in one principal settlement,periodically leaving the settlement during the spring floods to move to higher ground. The group would divide into smaller groups during different harvesting seasons,leaving a small group at the main settlement. Generally,the tribes stayed at the main settlement as food near the village was very abundant. Fish,mussels,pond turtles,waterfowl,tule elk,pronghorn antelope,jackrabbits, squirrels, and quails were all found in abundance in and near the water. Salmon, in particular,is noted as a prime source of food in historical accounts of the Northern Yokuts. Acorns from valley oaks and tule roots were ground into a meal and cooked as a thick soup or gruel. During the Spanish and Mexican Periods, 1769-1846,the Northern Yokuts rapidly declined in population. European disease swept through the San Joaquin Valley. In 1833, a particularly virulent malaria epidemic wiped out entire tribes. Decreasing native populations along the coast resulted in the Franciscan friars pulling neophytes from further and further inland. Many of the Northern Yokuts were taken to the San Jose,Santa Clara,Soledad,San Juan Bautista, and San Antonio missions. It is not clear if the neophytes willing left the San Joaquin Valley (Wallace, 1978). During the Mexican Period,Northern Yokuts,who had been successfully stealing animals from the new ranches,clashed with ranchers. Finally, during the American Period,which began in 1846,the Northern Yokuts were further decimated by the thousands of prospectors who descended upon the San Joaquin Valley in search of gold (Wallace, 1978). Most of the Northern Valley Yokuts who lived near the project area are now gone;in October of 2007 when the U.S. government issued direction regarding the return of funerary items to the Yokuts found in the 1930s near Lodi,the Santa Rosa Indian Community was determined to receive these items. The Santa Rosa Indian Community,also known as the Tachi Yokuts tribe,is located approximately 150 miles south of where the items were found (Federal Register;V. 72,No. 164;Friday,August 24,2007;Notices). 5.3-4 SAC/371322/082330008(LEC_5.3_CULTU RAL.DOC)