First excavated in 1938, the site of Muscupiabit (CA-SBR-425/H) has long been a subject of archaeological research in the San Bernardino Mountains. Previous excavations at the site have either been unpublished or limited in scope. A primary goal was to obtain a radiocarbon date for the site, giving a definitive age to the site. Other goals included determining the population size of Muscupiabit as well as the function of the site and its place in the Serrano settlement system. To obtain dateable material, an excavation was conducted in hopes of locating a thermal feature. An intact thermal feature was found and charcoal was recovered. In order to adequately address the proposed research questions, museum collections were used to gain a larger sample size. A large quantity of artifacts had been excavated in the 1980s but were never analyzed. Between those excavations and the 2017 excavations, 7 units were analyzed. Additionally, population records from the Spanish mission system were analyzed to address research questions about population size. Based on a radiocarbon date, shell bead types, and population records, it appears that Muscupiabit was occupied in the late 17th/early 18th century and was likely abandoned by 1815. Despite its location along a trade route, the site does not appear to have been controlling trade. Muscupiabit was intermarried with other villages but it’s level of political independence cannot be determined at this time.

No description available.

Orange County is the traditional homeland of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation. Though the tribal-nation is not federally recognized, it is a state and county recognized tribe. Development is a constant threat to Acjachemen ancestral homelands. The Acjachemen are faced with the problem that their ancestral sites are now other peoples' lands. Many Acjachemen sacred sites have already been developed, like the burial grounds at Putuidem. The four sacred sites I explore -- the Cogged Stone site at Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach, California, Puvungna in Long Beach California, Putuidem in San Juan Capistrano, and CA-ORA-64 at the Newport Back Bay in Newport Beach -- share very political histories as well as immense ceremonial significances, significances measured in great part by their sacred rocks, their other natural features, and their roles as gathering places. I learned that, by opening my mind to the ways rocks ground ceremony, I could better appreciate Acjachemen ways of being and, in turn, appreciate these spaces' sanctity. My role in writing this thesis is to facilitate an exchanges of ideas -- ideas which explore what is sacred and ceremonial, and why - in hopes of cultivating in the reader a consciousness about these complex issues. This is a celebration of the individuals who have shared their stories with me, a celebration of ceremony and Acjachemen heritage.