Archeology in Yosemite National Park: The Wawona Testing Project

The Wawona Testing Project evaluated three potential sewage development locations and examined some other sites to produce general information on Wawona prehistory. Systematic surface collections and/or test excavations were conducted at five sites. Two of these were relatively
large and important prehistoric sites for the Wawona valley. Host of
the material recovered relates to the late prehistoric occupation, the
Mariposa Complex, or protohistoric Miwok. There is also evidence of
occupation during the Crane Flat Complex, probably before A.D. 500.
Analysis of the obsidian tools and debitage revealed that an important
activity at the Wawona sites was the working of obsidian bifaces, probably
obtained by trade from the Great Basin groups across the Sierra to
the east. This was a longstanding tradition in Wawona prehistory, evidenced by the similarity of material at all the sites studied, and from
the latest to the earliest levels. Historic material relating to the
early settlement of Wawona and the development of the Sierran tourist
industry was also analyzed. The intensive analysis of a small amount of
excavated material proved effective in producing new information on
Wawona's past, and in aiding management decisions.