La Jolla Complex facts for kids
The La Jolla Complex was a group of prehistoric people who lived along the coast of what is now southwestern California and northwestern Baja California. They lived during the middle Holocene period, which was a long time ago, roughly from 8000 BC to AD 500. These people were also known as the Shell Midden People or the Encinitas Tradition. They were very good at using the resources found along the coast.
What They Used and Ate
The people of the La Jolla Complex used simple tools. They had handstones and flat grinding stones called manos and metates. These were used to grind food. They also made rough stone tools by hitting stones together.
They buried their dead in a special way, often with their bodies bent or "flexed." A big part of their diet was shellfish. They ate a lot of clams, scallops, mussels, and oysters.
They also had some unique items like "cogged stones" and "discoidals," which are round, disc-shaped stones. We don't know exactly what these were used for. They made simple jewelry from shells, especially beads from Olivella shells. They also used projectile points, which are like arrowheads or spear points.
Bones from sea mammals and fish are found in their ancient trash piles, called middens. However, these are not very common. The fish remains usually show they caught fish close to the shore. This means they mostly got their food from the coast and nearby waters, not from far out at sea.
Discovering the La Jolla Complex
An early archaeologist named Malcolm Jennings Rogers first studied these people. He called them the Shell Midden People. He also found different stages of their culture over time. Later, another archaeologist, Claude Nelson Warren, renamed them the Encinitas Tradition. This group lived in a wide area, even as far north as the Santa Barbara Channel.
The La Jolla Complex is known for its simple tools and how long its culture lasted. This was especially true in the San Diego area. There was also a similar group, called the Pauma Complex, who lived more inland.
Ancient Human Remains
In 1976, two ancient human skeletons were found in La Jolla, California. One was a male and the other a female. These remains are at least 9,500 years old. They were discovered by accident during construction work on a house.
For many years, there was a disagreement about who should care for these ancient remains. Finally, in 2016, the University of California decided to return them. They were given back to one of the local Kumeyaay Indian groups, who are the descendants of the original people of that land.
