The Fire Areas of Santa Rosa Island: An Interpretation

Abstract

The fire areas—or hearths—of the California Channel Islands, especially Santa Rosa Island, may be the oldest evidence of man in the Americas. The brick-red fire areas, dated at more than 40,000 years to 10,000 years ago, often contain charred mammoth bone and, rarely, possible stone tools. Though some of the fire areas may be hearths, recent research indicates that natural fires produce similar fire areas. Burned tree stumps and roots can redden the adjacent soil and resemble hearths. It is likely that most of the Pleistocene fire areas were caused by burned vegetation.

Evidence of Repeated Wildfires Prior to Human Occupation on San Nicolas Island, California

“…Wendorf (1982) reached the same conclusion shortly after Don conducted his research. A carefully conducted recent study that combined detailed stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, paleobotany, and clay mineralogy reached the same conclusions about the fire areas on Santa Rosa Island (Rick et al 2012).…”

Flightless ducks, giant mice and pygmy mammoths: Late Quaternary extinctions on California's Channel Islands

“…The Americas are now thought to have been colonized during the last *15,000 years and careful scrutiny of some of these questionable associations suggests that most or all of the fire areas or 'mammoth roasting pits' were natural burn features or the result of groundwater processes (Cushing et al 1986;Wendorf 1982). There is currently no direct evidence that Paleoindians hunted Columbian or pygmy mammoths on the Channel Islands.…”

From forest fires to fisheries management: Anthropology, conservation biology, and historical ecology

“…Phil Orr argued that ancient peoples hunted mammoths, then cooked and processed them in mammoth fire‐roasting pits, some of which may have been 40,000 or more years old . These roasting pits or “fire areas” left reddish soil stains, some containing animal bones and other materials, which were later determined to be the result of either natural wildfires that burned through an area, or less likely staining from groundwater processes . Although the anthropogenic origins of the fire areas did not stand the test of time, more recent studies suggest that human‐induced burning may have increased during the Late Holocene, particularly after about 4,000 years ago on the Channel Islands .…”