Early Holocene Basketry and Cordage from Daisy Cave San Miguel Island, California

Abstract

Early Holocene archaeological deposits from a San Miguel Island cave have produced sea grass artifacts that include two basketry fragments and hundreds of pieces of cordage. The twined basketry pieces, dating to about 8,600 years ago, may be sandal fragments. Pieces of cordage have been found in strata dated as early as 9,900 years ago. The woven artifacts from Daisy Cave roughly double the antiquity of such objects from the Pacific Coast of North America and add significantly to our knowledge of early Holocene technologies along the California coast.