Nightfire Island facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Archeological Site 4-SK-4
Location of Nightfire Island on a private property adjacent to Otey Ridge in the background
Nearest city	Tulelake, California
Area	2.5 acres (1.0 ha)
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Archeological Site 4-SK-4 is an ancient village site in Tulelake, California. It was once home to hunter-gatherers living near the Lower Klamath Lake. This special place is located in the middle of the Klamath Basin wetlands, west of Indian Tom Lake.

The site is also known as Nightfire Island and Sheepy Island. The Modoc people, who live there today, call the island Shapasheni. This name means "where the sun and moon live" or "home of the sun and the moon."

Long ago, this site was a village camp built on a man-made mound in the wetlands. It was also a place for important ceremonies. Scientists have found proof that people lived here as far back as 7,000 years ago! Archeologists have even found three different villages built one on top of the other over many centuries. They often find obsidian arrowheads here. These include different types like Northern Sided Notched and Gunther points.

Digging and collecting samples at the site began in 1966. This work was started by Carrol Howe, an educator from the Klamath area. Later, Garth Sampson wrote about the site in a book published by the University of Oregon in 1985.

History of Nightfire Island

People may have started living in the Klamath Basin area around 6000 BCE (Before Common Era). The Modoc people likely began settling near Sheepy Creek about 4000 years BCE. We know this because a layer of volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Mazama is found just below the oldest village layer.

The land here was very soft because of the shallow marsh water and clay soil. This made it hard to build a strong village. To fix this, the villagers carried in many rocks to make the ground stronger. After hundreds of years of doing this, they had built an island that was about 2.5 acres in size!

Being surrounded by marshlands was good for the villagers. They could easily fish and hunt waterfowl (birds like ducks and geese). There were also warm springs nearby, which made life more comfortable. When the water levels went down during dry months, the island became a safe place for hunting. Scientists have found charcoal from cooking fires and burial sites on the island. Bones found show that ducks were a very common food early on, and later, people ate a wider variety of animals.

Sometimes, the site was left empty for hundreds of years. This might have happened because the water levels of Indian Tom Lake rose, or because of climate changes. When the water levels went down again, people would return. We know this because new layers of black charcoal from cooking and cremation fires appear in the soil.

Archeological Discoveries

Digging at Archeological Site 4-SK-4 has uncovered many interesting things. These include large collections of bird, mammal, and fish bones. There are also many tools made from obsidian, especially Elko points. Other finds include bone tools, mortar and pestles, and other stone objects. All these items show how people lived there. These layers of old village "trash" go down up to 3 meters deep! The lowest layer is made of silt from the original lake floor. Above that, there are layers of silt and soil.

The villagers cooked small animals by boiling them in baskets. Larger animals were cooked in rock ovens made mostly of big basalt rocks. Along with oven rocks, other rocks found include broken pieces of mortars and pestles. There are also banded stones that were used as weights. These banded rocks were found inside houses and cooking pits. This suggests they might have been used for more than just tying down canoes. The banded rocks also show signs of being burned, mixed with charcoal from cooking fires. Some stones were heated and then placed into tightly woven, water-filled baskets to boil food.

The discovery of buffalo hide at Nightfire Island suggests that hunters used obsidian tools and spear-throwers. The most common type of arrow point found is the Cascade-type. Archeologists also found tools made of bone and antler. These were used for shaping stone into points, especially before people started using bows and arrows. Stone anvils found at the site have worn-out pits. These pits were used for knapping obsidian, which means breaking off pieces to make tools. The large number of anvils suggests they were also used for other things, like cracking bones.

While other Modoc groups used crescent-shaped stone tools, these have not been clearly found at Nightfire Island. However, smaller, different-shaped tools have been found. Around 2,500 years BCE, there was an increase in small, stemmed, and corner-notched arrowheads. This matches a time when more dabbling ducks were eaten, and when the bow and arrow became more common.

Ancient Culture and Life

Excavations have revealed structures that look like sweat lodges on Nightfire Island. These structures are about 1,500 years old, making them some of the oldest sweat lodge remains ever found.

The people of Nightfire Island were excellent waterfowl hunters. Even though rainfall wasn't always steady, the marshy areas provided a rich home for many local and traveling birds. In the fall, pintails and mallards arrived first along the Pacific Flyway. Later in the season, baldpates and canvasbacks would come. Coots and common mergansers were common birds that stayed through the winter. From the north, white snow geese arrived first, followed by white fronted geese. While no eggshells were found, the villagers likely used the bird-nesting season to help support their lives.

What They Ate: Bird Bones

Scientists have studied the bones found at Nightfire Island to learn what the people ate. They found that the residents ate a wide variety of birds. These included different types of grebes, swans, geese, and many kinds of ducks. Bones of eagles, owls, and ravens were also found among the kitchen waste. As the marshy lake got deeper over time, there were even more waterfowl available for hunting.

The types of birds found at Nightfire Island changed over time. For example, the number of Western grebe bones increased a lot from 2020 BC to 1400 AD. This shows how the environment or hunting practices might have changed.

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