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4 Environmental Analysis 4.5 Cultural Resources Emergent Period (Cal A.D. 1000—Historic) The Emergent Period is characterized by the appearance of bow and arrow technology, the rise of wealth-linked social status, the specialization of bead manufacturing, and increased social complexity as indicated by increased variation in burial types and furnishings (Milliken and Bennyhoff 1993; Bennyhoff and Fredrickson 1994; Rosenthal et al. 2007). This period is also marked by the intensification of plant resources, and the use of the mortar and pestle (Wohlgemuth 1996; Rosenthal et al. 2007; Rosenthal and Wohlgemuth 2011). Rosenthal and Wohlgemuth (2011) examined environmental and artifact assemblage data for several upland (west-central Sierra Nevada) and lowland (Central San Joaquin Valley) archaeological sites. The authors suggest that plant intensification was adapted earlier in the lowland regions compared to the uplands due to the greater availability and spatial distribution of various resources in the valley, allowing for more residential stability and increased population. Artifact assemblages are characterized by small corner-notched and side-notched projectile points, Olivella lipped and clam disc beads and bead drills, magnesite cylinders, hopper mortars, pottery, clay balls, and village sites with house pits. Ethnographic Overview The Project area is within the northwestern ancestral land boundaries of the Northern Valley Yokuts, who spoke a branch of the Penutian (Yok-Utian) language family (Gayton 1948; Wallace 1978). The Yok-Utian language is divided into only two distinct subbranches: the Miwok- Costanoan (also known as Ohlone) and Yokuts (Golla 2007). A brief ethnographic summary of the Yokuts culture is provided below. Northern Valley Yokuts The Yokuts fall into three geographical divisions: the Foothill Yokuts, Southern Valley Yokuts, and Northern Valley Yokuts (Gayton 1948; Wallace 1978). The Northern Valley Yokuts' territory extended southward from between the Mokelumne and Calaveras Rivers to the upper San Joaquin River, and from the crest of the Coastal Range to the west and the Sierra Nevada foothills to the east. The Project site is within the extreme northwestern territory of the Yokuts. The Northern Valley Yokuts generally established villages on low, natural rises along major water courses (i.e., San Joaquin River or its major tributaries) (Wallace 1978). These water sources supported a large variety and abundance of natural floral, aquatic, and faunal resources. The Yokuts practiced a mixed economy of resource procurement and focused on fishing, hunting, fowling, and collecting freshwater shellfish, as well as plant resources, such as roots and seeds (Wallace 1978). Salmon and acorns were important food staples. The basic domestic and economic social unit of the Southern Valley Yokuts was the nuclear family. Additional grouping consisted of patrilineal totemic lineages represented by a totem symbol that was transmitted by father to all his children. Exogamous lineages were formed by families sharing the same totem (Wallace 1978). The Yokuts did not necessarily own land but did practice collective traditional ownership over specific desirable resource areas (e.g., fishing, hunting, seed-grasses, tree groves) among families, and among the tribelet (Gayton 1945:417, 1948:160; Wallace 1978). Individual women could designate a specific tree or seed resource area as their own, and certain areas may have been inherited from one's mother (Gayton 1945:417). Villages were occupied most of the year until late spring, when families would venture out for several months to collect seed-plant and other resources (Wallace 1978). Collected surplus resources were privately Griffith Energy Storage Project 4.5-5 Tetra Tech/SCH 2022120675 Draft Environmental Impact Report August 2023