CA-SCR-177 facts for kids
The Scotts Valley area is home to the oldest known human settlement in Central California. This amazing site was first found in 1978. Experts in archaeology later found tools and other items in 1983 and 1987. These discoveries showed that people lived here a very long time ago, between 9,000 and 12,000 years ago! They used special tools like crescent-shaped stones and large leaf-shaped points.
Discovering an Ancient Home
This ancient settlement is known as CA-SCR-177 by archaeologists. It was first officially recorded in 1978. Then, in 1980, a group called Archaeological Research Management studied the site. They wrote a report for the Scotts Valley City Council.
Sadly, the City Council at the time did not pay attention to the report. The Mayor even tried to have the site destroyed. But the Santa Cruz Archaeological Society stepped in. They asked the Council to protect the historical items found there. When their requests were ignored, the Society took legal action in November 1981. They wanted the site to be protected under a law called the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This law helps protect important natural and historical places.
In November 1982, the City of Scotts Valley agreed to a settlement. They promised to change their plans to better protect historical sites in the future. They also agreed to help fund more studies of the ancient settlement. This was to confirm how old and important the site truly was.
Digging for Clues
The Santa Cruz Archaeological Society then organized a huge volunteer dig for Memorial Day weekend in 1983. Many people came to help, making it one of the largest volunteer digs ever for such an event!
The work done by these volunteers helped confirm what earlier studies had found. They uncovered more tools and information. This included a chert crescent tool and a leaf-shaped chert biface. These tools helped show that the site was indeed very old, possibly 7,000 to 10,000 years old.
They also found a metate feature. A metate is a large stone used for grinding food, like corn or seeds. This particular metate is one of the oldest examples of ground-stone tools found in California. Ground-stone tools are made by grinding and polishing stones, rather than just chipping them.
