Rainbow
Basin Trip, March 2000
Calico Early Man Site and Pisgah Cinder Cone
Calico Early Man Site
We then headed east, first along the 15 to the Calico Early Man Site. I didn't take pictures there...
I'm not sure if I believe Dr. Leakey's findings about the tools and the dates assigned to the alluvial fan in which they are imbedded, and we didn't want to make waves as an outspoken skeptics on the group guided tour, so Dad and I did the self-guided tour of the place. The visitors' center does have some very well-done replicas of the tools, and it was neat to see that workmanship, whether or not I believe that their existence indicates the presence of Homo Erectus or Homo Neadertalensis in North America 200,000 (plus or minus 20,000) years ago. Some did fit eerily well into my hand, though.
I had done some research on the site during my GeoChem undergrad days, and had a paper describing how an analysis was done of the "possible fire ring". Interestingly enough, the two pamphlets available for the self-guided tour mention that the ring of stones is still under investigation, even though the research paper I had was at least ten years old and fairly conclusive in its findings. Here is more information about the controversy:
- Early Man Site: Artifacts retrieved frm Calico Early Man Site force archaeologists to re-evaluate their beliefs about early man in North America, 2, 3 - from HighDesert.Com's travel archive
- Early dates of human occupation in the Western Hemisphere using the Calico archaeological site in southern California as an example - graduate seminar online bibliography by Kristine Bryan
- (Simpson, Ruth D.; "Updating the Early Man Calico Site, California," Anthropological Journal of Canada, 20:8, no. 2, 1982.)
- Calico Early Man Archaeological Site - California Online Highways
- Friends of the Calico Early Man Site
- ASA Online - Dating Early Man in the Americas
- SAA/BLM partnership - Calico Hills Archeaological District
Pisgah Cinder Cone
We drove south to the 66 and the 40 to see Pisgah Cinder Cone. It's on mining company land, but you can drive up and park at their entrance. There seems to be a trail off to the left of the entrace from the parking area which may or may not lead to the cone itself, and a big NO TRESPASSING sign glaring you in the face, but Dad finally got the opportunity to walk on an identifiable lava flow.
We returned to Owl Canyon campground Saturday night, and an hour after retiring, we were glad to have kept the tent set up, as it started to rain.
Back to Scenic Drive | On to Owl Canyon Hike
Back to Rainbow Basin Trip Page
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