Tuchayune (San Francisco, California) | archaeological site, prehistoric, fishing village

 archaeological site, prehistoric, fishing village, historical layer / disappeared object

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Anecdotes from the mid-19th century report ruins of a native village that was visible on the surface. William "Barnacle Bill" Barnard was the first to mention a village as well as burial and cremation pits in 1849. The site was studied as part of the 2002–2004 Bay Bridge East Span Project. Dates of occupation begin around 3,400 B.P. and end around 470 B.P. Objects found include worked bone and stone objects, tools, polished stone, and beads. Several burials from the early Late Holocene were also found.

Yerba Buena Island would have been attractive for permanent or semi-permanent settlement. It offered at least one freshwater spring, plentiful firewood, and access to fish and shellfish. Ethnohistorical inquiry suggests that Yerba Buena Island may have been used by the East Bay Ohlone Huchiun tribelet.

Native burials on the island include cremation pits in the east cove area, described by Barnacle Bill in 1849, and skeletal remains found ca. 1890 during the construction of the Naval Training Center. These remains were described as belonging to very tall individuals, between 6 feet and 6'6" tall. They were found in a sitting position, with the legs drawn up to the chest and the arms hugging the legs. More remains were found during the 1933 Bay Bridge construction.

www.sf-planning.org/ftp/files/MEA/2007.0903E_TI_DEIR_10...
sftreasureisland.org/sites/sftreasureisland.org/files/m...
www.sfgenealogy.com/sf/history/hbybi.htm