The Central California Chronological Sequence Re-Examined

For a number of years the subject of California archaeology has undergone a great deal of discussion. A large measure of this discussion has been concerned with the problem of chronology. Heizer (1949) has postulated a classification of cultural and temporal relationships for central California. His chronology is based primarily on stratigraphic sequences together with intrasite comparisons and geological-chemical soil and bone analysis. This paper is an attempt to examine a part of his sequences using a new method for the chronological ordering of archaeological deposits (Brainerd 1951; Robinson 1951). The material to follow will be divided into three categories: 1) theory and method; 2) a discussion of the sequences resulting from the application of the method used here; and 3) the nature of the conclusions which one may safely draw in the light of 1) and 2) above.