Archaeology and Cultural Resources

The Inyo National Forest Heritage Resource Program seeks to promote preservation, knowledge, and appreciation for our nation’s diverse cultural heritage through project review, archeological inventory, site documentation, monitoring, restoration, stabilization, preservation, public interpretation, education and collaboration. Our mission is strengthened by maintaining and developing new active partnerships with individuals, organizations and communities.

The lands of the Inyo National Forest are a rich cultural ecotone, connecting the cultures of the Great Basin with those of central California. Much remains to be learned about the first peoples who utilized and shaped the forest beginning 12,000-13,000 years ago. These early people left no written records, a fact that underscores the importance of protecting archaeological sites that hold the only clues to understanding this ancient past. Tribal indigenous knowledge today continues to be passed down through non-written means from generation to generation - such as practice, teaching, stories, songs, and dance. At the time of the earliest contact with Europeans and the beginning of written records roughly 200 years ago, the forest was home to the Owens Valley and Mono Lake Paiute in the north, Shoshone, Kawaiisu and Tubatulabal in the south, and the Miwuk and Mono to the west and northwest.

Image

(Photo, right: A.A. Forbes photograph, "Nobe" Southern Paiute Winter House or "Novi" Mono Lake Tribe)

The Owens Valley Paiute and their Shoshone neighbors to the south and east practiced similar ways of life—following seasonal rounds to harvest plants, animals, and insects at different elevations and locales as they became available. In the fall, the slopes of the White and Inyo Mountains, the Benton Range and other locales were an important source of pine nuts, the staple food crop of the region. Alkali (Brine) Fly larva (kutsavi) were collected along the shores of Owens and Mono Lakes and Pandora Moth larva (piagi) were collected in the Jeffrey Pine forests. Mule deer were hunted in the forests and rabbit were trapped individually and in communal drives wherever they occurred in large numbers. Animal traps and drives were used for communal hunting of antelope or bighorn sheep.

The Owens Valley Paiute occupied a vast area along the Owens River rich in plant and animal resources, and so they had a more stable and sedentary lifestyle than their neighbors to the south and east. Pottery and baskets were used for cooking and carrying, and water control systems were used to maximize natural resource productivity in the valley. By building dams and digging ditches, the Paiute diverted water to patches of native food crops such as yellow nut grass (tupusi), wild hyacinth (blue dick), and nahavita (spike rush). 

Image

The earliest contact with Euro-Americans in the eastern Sierra and western Great Basin likely occurred in the 1820s as trappers began canvasing the western Great Basin and California in search of beaver. But it was discoveries of gold such as those near Mono Lake in 1852 and Bodie in 1859 that attracted prospectors and settlers to the eastern Sierra in earnest. The bust and boom of gold mining through the turn of century eventually gave way to other themes of development including ranching and grazing, logging, railroads, hydropower, roads, designation and management of parks and forest preserves, and a vast array of recreation. The forest today remains home to the many Paiute, Mono and Shoshone tribes along the Sierra front and a destination for about four million visitors from around the world each year.

Fostering an appreciation and respect for what came before us is one of the central aims of the Heritage Resource Program. Please honor the rich cultural heritage of the Inyo National Forest and help protect sensitive sites. If you find cultural artifacts or features, please leave them. Take a picture and GPS if possible. You can report discoveries or ask a heritage question by contacting: Jacqueline Beidl, Heritage Program Manager, Inyo National Forest, 760-873-2400.

• Mexican Mine: A 3.5 mile loop trail in the ancient bristlecone pine forest that passes by old miner cabins and adits at the Mexican Mine.
• Dechambeau Ranch: This 1893-1940s ranch in the Mono Basin Scenic Area helped support miners and other early settlers in the Mono Basin. The original house, barn, chicken coop, dog house, fence lines, ditches and roads on the 320 acre ranch are preserved and interpreted for public enjoyment.
• Mammoth Consolidated Mine: Rumors of gold lying on the ground and of miners earning $100 a day were the kinds of tales that spurred a stampede of gold-seekers to the Eastern Sierra in the late 1800s. The Mammoth Lakes area experienced a gold rush in1878-1881 with mines such as the Mammoth Consolidated Mine springing up. Take a family-friendly walking tour of the former mining center.
• Mono Mills: The gold rush town of Bodie needed wood for buildings and steam power. The solution for an affordable, reliable wood source was solved when a group of men acquired 12,000 acres of land south of Mono Lake amidst the largest pure stand of Jeffery pines in the world. The Bodie Railway and Lumber Company was formed in 1881 to transport wood from Mono Mills to Bodie

• Mono County Museum  760-932-7004
• Bodie State Historic Park  760-647-6445
• Mono Basin History Museum 760-647-6461
• Mammoth Ski Museum   760-934-6592
• Mammoth Museum Hayden Cabin   760-934-6918
• Laws Railroad Museum   760-873-5950
• Owens Valley Paiute-Shoshone Cultural Center  760-873-8844
• Eastern California Museum and Bookstore   760-878-0364
• Manzanar National Historic Site   760-878-2194 ext. 2710
• Museum of Western Film History   760-876-9909
• Maturango Museum   760-375-6900