One thing that makes the Coso archeological complex
special is that it is exceptionally well-preserved. This is partly due
to the remoteness of the place and the dry, stable climate, but it is
also the result of the U.S. Navy's efforts to meet its obligations as
a federal land management agency.
All federal land-holding agencies are charged with protecting the cultural
resources under their care. As the protector of a National
Historic Landmark, the Navy faces the additional requirement that
they not allow their normal functions to affect the Coso petroglyphs in
an adverse way. Archeological discovery and analysis allows the Navy to
know just where the petroglyphs are and, consequently, how to plan their
exercises around them.
Since the early 1960s, archeologists have studied Coso
with the aim of determining the District's borders. One three-season survey
in the late 1960s was thorough enough to identify the essential range
of petroglyph concentrations, resulting in preliminary borders for the
District.
Archeologists walked along the bases of the volcanic terraces or down
through the canyons, locating and recording rock art. They also found
numerous intact village, camp, and work sites, each containing important
information about the lives and beliefs of the ancient Numic
people.
Further surveys fleshed out the variety of petroglyph types, styles,
and locations. Likewise, newly-discovered work and occupation sites provided
fresh insights into how Coso culture changed—and remained stable—over
time. more
>>
In the early 1990s, the Navy contracted a study that
would help set final borders for the Coso Rock Art District. Members of
the archeological team reviewed the earlier studies and were struck by
the prevalence of rock art sites on the volcanic areas of the landscape.
This insight led them to theorize that Coso people specifically sought
out volcanic "canvas" for their images.
To test their theory, they came up with a plan to verify sites from previous
studies, to find and examine new sites for a more complete archeological
picture, and to study the surrounding granitic landscape to see how—or
if—Coso's people put it to use.
The study confirmed that Coso Indians had an extraordinary
interest in the local volcanic landforms; indeed, the granitic alluvial
landscapes seem all but unused by comparison.
The newly-examined volcanic lands produced 17 new sites, each representative
of the various uses typical of Numic and pre-Numic culture. Five were
associated with petroglyphs.
Then archeologists looked at the surrounding granitic landforms, and
found significantly fewer new sites. Those they did find suggested little
more than occasional, short-term hunting and tool-making camps. None were
associated with petroglyphs. more
>>
The results were so clear that very reasonable boundaries
for the District were drawn. The borders simply trace the intersection
of volcanic and granitic landforms.
The new archeology also showed that use of the southern Coso Range intensified
during the last couple thousand years, indicating that people began to
travel less across the landscape and more up and down
its vertical axis. Coso's people had so refined their botanical knowledge
that they could simply move from one altitude to another depending on
what resource was ready for harvesting.
The particular refinements apparent in these newer patterns
are consistent with those that archeologists cite as the hallmarks of
the so-called Numic Spread into the Great Basin.
Because signs of Numic development occur at Coso before or very early
in the Spread, some conclude that Numic culture formed here first and
expanded shortly thereafter. If further study supports this assessment,
it would be reasonable to think of the Coso area as the birthplace of
one of America's most long-lived indigenous cultures.