Life in the Ballona: Archaeological Investigations at the Admiralty Site (CA-LAn-47) and the Channel Gateway Site (CA-LAn-1596-H)
Creators: name: Altschul, Jeffrey H.
name: Homburg, Jeffrey A.
name: Ciolek-Torrello, Richard S.
Publisher: name: SRI Press
Year: 1992
Subjects: subject: Marina Del Rey
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/41806/marina-del-rey
subject: Channel Gateway
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/82512/channel-gateway
subject: Santa Monica
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/41922/santa-monica
subject: Sa'angna
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/82513/saangna
subject: Southern California Coast
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/47784/southern-california-coast
subject: Los Angeles (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/4169/los-angeles-county
subject: Los Angeles
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/19067/los-angeles
subject: California (State / Territory)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/1484/california-state-territory
subject: Protohistoric Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/161/protohistoric-period
subject: late prehistoric period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/167/late-prehistoric-period
subject: Archaic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8/archaic
subject: Historic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/25/historic
subject: Late Archaic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/11/late-archaic
subject: Admiralty Site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/79332/admiralty-site
subject: Channel Gateway Site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/79334/channel-gateway-site
subject: CA-LAn-47
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/79333/ca-lan-47
subject: CA-LAn-1596-H
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/79335/ca-lan-1596-h
subject: Hamlet / Village
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/254/hamlet-village
subject: Domestic Structures
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/256/domestic-structures
subject: Archaeological Feature
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/339/archaeological-feature
subject: Artifact Scatter
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/340/artifact-scatter
subject: Domestic Structure or Architectural Complex
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/251/domestic-structure-or-architectural-complex
subject: Midden
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/347/midden
subject: Settlements
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/252/settlements
subject: Pollen
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/13/pollen
subject: Shell
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/14/shell
subject: Chipped Stone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/2/chipped-stone
subject: Dating Sample
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/3/dating-sample
subject: Fauna
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/4/fauna
subject: Ground Stone
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/7/ground-stone
subject: Macrobotanical
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/10/macrobotanical
subject: Archaeological Overview
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/1/archaeological-overview
subject: Consultation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/4/consultation
subject: Data Recovery / Excavation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/5/data-recovery-excavation
subject: Heritage Management
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/24/heritage-management
subject: Research Design / Data Recovery Plan
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/9/research-design-data-recovery-plan

description: The Admiralty site (CA-LAn-47) lies at the edge of the historic Ballona Lagoon. Situated between the mouths of Ballona and Centinela creeks and the Pacific Ocean, the region known as the Ballona was a sheltered environment that hosted a diverse array of terrestrial and aquatic plants and animals. The seasonal rhythms of the lagoon marched in harmony with the never-ending tug-of-war between the ebb and flow of the oceanic tides and the freshwater emptied from the mouths of rivers and streams. Human beings have been part of this rhythm for thousands of years. It is only in the last several hundred years, however, that people have sought to alter this balance to achieve mastery over the environment for their goals alone. To some this achievement is a testament to the success of the human species. To others it is a token of our arrogance that puts ourselves above all others. The story of the Admiralty site is one of a different time and culture: a time when people were part of the natural cycle, a culture that strove for balance, not dominance. At the time it was occupied, the site was one of many such sites along the coastline of southern California. Today it is one of the few survivors of this lost age. Although the scientific importance of the site can be measured in terms of the information provided about past lifeways and cultures, its cultural value to the descendants of its inhabitants is much harder to calculate. The 1989 excavations of the Admiralty site strove to maintain a balance between scientific objectives and the preservation of a cultural heritage. Along the way these goals sometimes clashed, and we were forced to make choices. Although we made no pretense that the course chosen was the only one, it was certainly not one charted in haste. To the extent that we have shed light on a heritage shrouded in darkness, we have succeeded.