Exploring a Scientific Research Station from a Bygone Era: Historical Archaeology at Orr’s Camp, Santa Rosa Island (Wimaɬ), Alta California

ABSTRACT

The northwest coast of Wimaɬ (Santa Rosa Island) has long been a focus of archaeological research, including former Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History archaeologist, geologist, and paleontologist Phil Orr's work from the 1940s–1960s. Orr pioneered the use of radiocarbon dating on the California Channel Islands, built extensive archaeological collections, and constructed a detailed cultural sequence. Here, we discuss the history and status of Orr's island research camp, archaeological site CA-SRI-766H, describing monitoring and erosion of the site during the past several decades. Two radiocarbon dates obtained from adjacent CA-SRI-7 (Orr's Camp shell midden) document Island Chumash occupation of the site between ∼2820–1160 cal BP, helping place the area into broader regional context. Revisiting the historical documents and physical remains of past research can help understand the evolution of archaeological practice, evaluate outdated procedures of conducting research without tribal consultation and consent, and promote a more inclusive future of the discipline.

RESUMEN

La costa noroeste de la isla Santa Rosa (Wimaɬ) ha sido durante mucho tiempo un foco de investigación arqueológica, incluido en este es el trabajo del anterior paleontólogo y arqueólogo del Museo de Historia Natural de Santa Bárbara, Phil Orr, desde la década de 1940 hasta la década de 1960. La investigación de Orr y varios proyectos más recientes han producido algunos de los conjuntos de datos arqueológicos más grandes de las Islas del Canal, incluida una secuencia arqueológica desde el Pleistoceno terminal hasta el período histórico. El área también contiene los restos del campo de investigación de Phil Orr, ahora un sitio arqueológico registrado (CA-SRI-766H). Al sur de su campamento se encuentra Orr's Camp Shell Midden (CA-SRI-7), un sitio excavado por Orr, pero nunca datado por radiocarbono. Aquí, discutimos la historia y el estado del campamento de investigación de Orr, describiendo el monitoreo arqueológico y la erosión del sitio durante las últimas décadas. También presentamos dos fechas de radiocarbono de CA-SRI-7, documentando la ocupación del sitio por los de isla Chumash entre aproximadamente 2,820-1,160 cal BP. Nuestra investigación ilustra el valor de revisar los documentos históricos y los restos físicos de investigaciones arqueológicas y paleontológicas pasadas para ayudar a comprender la evolución de la práctica arqueológica, evaluar los procedimientos problemáticos y obsoletos de realizar investigaciones sin consulta y consentimiento tribal, y promover un futuro más inclusivo en la disciplina.

KEYWORDS:

• Historical archaeology
• Late Pleistocene
• Orr’s Camp
• Channel Islands
• Santa Rosa Island (Wimaɬ)
• history of archaeology
• ethics
• paleontology

Acknowledgments

We thank Ann Huston, Laura Kirn, Kelly Minas, and Don Morris for their support of our research on the Channel Islands, including at Orr’s Camp and CA-SRI-7. Fieldwork for this project was supported by Channel Islands National Park and our home institutions. We thank John Johnson, Dewey Livingston, and Don Morris for providing information about the history of Santa Rosa Island and Orr’s Camp. Sherri Andrews accompanied Kristin Hoppa and helped with site photos and interpretations in 2023. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers and Kathleen Hull for comments that greatly improved this article.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Several different forms of Wimaɬ (e.g., Wi’ma and Wimal) and other words for Santa Rosa Island used by other Chumash speakers exist, especially from information provided by Chumash tribal members Juan Estevan Pico and Fernando Librado (see Johnson 1982; 1999). Matthew Vestuto (Ventureño/Barbareño Band of Mission Indians) has been working with the Channel Islands NPS, especially Kristin Hoppa, to identify and map Chumash placenames. We use the form of Wimaɬ that follows this recent work. We capitalize the word in convention with the English capitalization of placenames though Chumash placenames are not generally capitalized.