Ancient Stone Bear Could Become Official State Artifact

A 7,500-year-old, tiny stone bear discovered by a group of archeology students from Cypress College could become the state’s first official artifact.

A bill introduced by state Sen. Ralph C. Dills (D-Gardena) would make the designation official and honor the contributions of native peoples.

It has passed the Legislature and will become law if the governor signs it.

The chipped-stone bear was discovered six years ago near Carlsbad in northern San Diego County by a student of archeology professor Henry Koerper of Orange.

“It was chipped out of stone, out of volcanic rock, and it was at the very bottom of the deposit, at the very oldest levels,” Koerper said Saturday.

About 2 1/2 inches long, the relic was chipped from gray rock in the same method as an arrowhead, but with a clearly shaped head, legs, curved back and stubby tail. The shape resembles that of the grizzly bear on California’s state seal and flag. The California grizzly is extinct but is the official state animal.

Koerper said the stone bear was found by Richard Cerrito, a former Cypress student now seeking his doctorate in archeology at UC Riverside.

The tribe’s name and language are unknown. Scholars classify them as a San Dieguito-La Jollan people.

Paul Apodaca, curator of Native American Art at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana and a supporter of the bill, said the Legislature’s action honors the state’s American Indians.

“This is a piece of representational art almost 8,000 years old and found right here in Southern California,” he said. “We’re encouraged and hope that other states take a look at their Indian past and find greater ways of acknowledging that past.”

While a dozen states have official fossils, no other state has an official artifact made by prehistoric people, Apodaca said. Because California is the state with the greatest number of Indian tribes and 114 reservations, “it’s very proper” to take this action, he said.

The bear’s sculptor belonged to a coastal tribe that hunted deer, rabbit, birds and other small game, used nets to fish, gathered crabs and ground seeds with millstones, he said.

“We have no idea,” Koerper said, “what language they spoke and no idea of what tribe they were. This occurred too long ago. But on the basis of other artifacts we have found, we can recognize similarities between the geographic areas.”

Koerper said the bear was probably a symbol of physical and spiritual power.

But Apodaca disagreed, calling it an example of “representational art.”

“It’s interesting to all of us Native Americans, because Native American art is usually not credited with being representational but more spiritual,” Apodaca said.

“The bear was important,” said Larry Myers, the commission’s executive secretary. “I think it was important in the sense that it was a positive thing, but I think there also was a bear doctor, which could have been an evil individual.”