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Pacific Archaeological Sciences Team (PAST) conducted an archaeological investigation on a hilltop in the City of Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, California. This archaeological study was deemed necessary because cultural resources are known to exist in the surrounding area, and because the proposed development of the subject property could have a direct impact on resources located there or an indirect impact on resources located nearby. On August 31, 1998, Mr. Gibson inspected the subject area and discovered an archaeological site (referred to as the “Lombardo Site” named after the proposed street name in the area of the site) characterized as a “low density flake concentration” within the boundaries of the property. During the archaeological investigation, conducted in September 1998, the 45± acre housing tract was re-examined for the presence of cultural resources on the property. A total of 19 specimens were recovered during the archaeological investigation. Of these 19 pieces, 16 specimens were recovered during the surface collection, while 3 flakes were recovered from two of the seven 50 centimeter diameter Subsurface Exploratory Excavation Units (SEEUs) that were excavated in the site area. Overall, the subject property was found to be relatively disturbed by prior use of the land and discing operation to cut down the wild annuals on the upper and lower elevations of the property. Based on the artifact assemblage from the site appears to be a small male oriented work area. The village or habitation area of the men who used this area is probably located nearby. The types of tools recovered and the heavily weathered condition of some of the specimens indicate that the site may have been used during the Early Period (c. 9000 BC to c. 500 BC). Additionally, the location of the site on top of a hill adds to the supposition of the site being used during the Early Period. This testing program was followed up by an archaeological monitoring program conducted by PAST, which yielded similar results. |
