MORTAR & PESTLE, MESCALITAN ISLAND, GOLETA, CALIFORNIA

Mortar

Height:  5 ½”

Rim Diameter:  7 ¾”

Grind Hole:  2”

Weight:  12 lbs  13.9 oz

Pestle

Length:  6”

Width:  3”

Weight:  2 lbs  13.1 oz

Mescalitan was a natural island in the middle of the Goleta Slough in Goleta, California. Once home to a major historic Chumash village named He'lo. Rather astonishingly,  the landform was largely leveled during World War II to provide fill dirt for the nearby airport. Today, only a small remnant hill remains, occupied by a wastewater treatment facility. :(

Now, I have no issue with modern wastewater disposal.  Every city has a site to do so.  But on the remains of one of the largest Chumash village on the west coast!  True, the Army began the systematic breakdown of this ancient settlement site, and later, the Goleta city needed a place to treat their population’s growing waste—so from their reasoning, the leveled island area was practical. 

Unfortunately, no consideration was given to the many burial/minor occupation sites scattered along the remaining soil of the island as later archeological excavations found.  And of course NO consideration was given to honor the people who lived there for over 10,000 years.  In their minds, as in the Army’s point of view, this was an insignificant factor in using the island as airport runway dirt!!

Along the southeastern quadrant of the former island this mortar and pestle was accidentally found by a “beach comber” sometime after WW II.

The mortar was carved from nearby mountain sandstone and was the associated pestle.

(Note:  given the ancient, vast population of the indigenous people living at or nearby the “inland-island” the region is still strewn with stone artifacts that were quite useful to the Chumash.)

Efforts were taken by the descendants of the mortar “finder” to keep the artifacts in a humidity-free environment, as the salty ocean air, over the years,  has taken a toll on the mortar’s overall condition.

Any buyer of this assemblage would be wise to simply display this gorgeous mortar and leave it alone—no continual handling to ensure the stability of the prehistoric sandstone.

This mortar and heavy pestle probably were used to crush fish, their bones, and other ocean material, like kelp, mussels and clams—a common activity among coastal communities—to make large amounts of “fish stew”—a high protein dish that simmered all day.  Rim chinks and dings suggest long-term use.

Ancient chinks, dings on mortar’s rim.