NEWPORT BEACH : Artifacts Dating to 9000 BC Found

Addressing a capacity crowd at a meeting of the Newport Conservancy this week, archeologists described vast amounts of historically rich artifacts buried around Newport Bay, including some dating back to 9000 BC.

The speakers, archeologists and college anthropology teachers, told of research conducted during the mid-1970s determining that pottery pieces, human burial remains and other artifacts dating from 4000 to 9000 BC can be found in the Newport area.

One “particular site is a truckload of significance,” said Christopher Drover, who teaches at Golden West College. “It’s certainly one of the earliest archeological sites in Orange County.”

The talk was the first in a series of meetings to be sponsored by the conservancy in a bid to educate the public about the value of open space around the bay. The group is trying to raise support and money to buy two parcels of land from the Irvine Co. that have been scheduled for development.

Drover and Henry Koerper, who teaches at Cypress College, told of a research crew’s find of the remains of a hunter-gatherer group that apparently lived off marine life from the bay and used the area for burials.

The scientists also offered slides of tools made from animal bones, sharp-edged stones that were probably used for spears and heavy rocks--with grooves caused by a ropelike cord--that were used to weight fishing nets.

Other slides showed tiny, handmade colored beads and dyed bones that were perhaps strung together as jewelry, and seashells with holes punched in them that may have been used for jewelry or decorations, as well as crystal chips and stone figures that could have been used for magical or religious rituals or ceremonies.

Archeologists would not detail precisely where the ancient excavation site is situated, citing state and federal regulations designed to prevent looters from destroying the site. They would say only that it is near open space on the east side of the bay.

Another speaker, Philip de Barros, director of resources for the Santa Ana-based Chambers Group, spoke of the importance of protecting such sites, either through complete preservation or with managed development that allows researchers to excavate an area before it is razed for other uses.

He added that an area such as the east side of Newport Bay, which has acres of untouched land, could offer many more significant finds.

“Less than one-half of 1% has been excavated,” de Barros said. “Certainly, you can’t exhaust the research potential of a site like that. . . . This is probably the most important archeological site in Orange County.”

In January, the city commissioned a survey to determine whether residents favor an extra tax to buy open space. Though most respondents said they would like to preserve land from development, less than half were willing to pay for it.