The Cuyamaca complex is a

precolumbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, t ...

complex, dating from the late

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

, with archaeological sites in

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

. This complex is related to the Kumeyaay peoples."A Glossary of Proper Names in California Prehistory."
''Society for California Archaeology.'' (retrieved 12 Aug 2011) This archaeological pattern was defined by Delbert L. True in the 1960s, on the basis of late prehistoric evidence from the territory of the

Kumeyaay The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...

people, primarily in

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park Cuyamaca Rancho State Park is a state park in Southern California, United States, located east of San Diego in the Cuyamaca and Laguna Mountains of the Peninsular Ranges. The park's feature pine, fir, and oak forests, with meadows and streams ...

. Hual-Cu-Cuish (SDI-860) is another Cuyamaca complex site. This complex is in part synonymous with the Yuman III pattern proposed by Malcolm J. Rogers and the

Patayan Patayan is a group of prehistoric and historic Native American cultures in parts of modern-day Arizona, west to Lake Cahuilla in California, and in Baja California, from AD 700 to 1550. This included areas along the Gila River, Colorado Riv ...

Complex that is primarily associated with the

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado D ...

to the east.Gamble, Lynn. 2004. "New Perspectives on the Cuyamaca Complex: Archaeological Investigations at Camp Hual-Cu-Cuish, CA-SDI-945". ''Proceedings of the Society for California Archaeology'' 14:93–106Gross, G. Timothy, and Michael Sampson. 1990. "Archaeological Studies of Late Prehistoric Sites in the Cuyamaca Mountains, San Diego County, California". ''Proceedings of the Society for California Archaeology'' 3:135–148.Guerrero, Monica. 2004. "A Possible Cuyamaca Complex Site at CA-SDI-945, Camp Hual-Cu-Cuish, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, California". ''Proceedings of the Society for California Archaeology'' 14:107–113.True, D. L. 1966. ''Archaeological Differentiation of Shoshonean and yuman Speaking Groups in Southern California''. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles. The interpretation of the Cuyamaca Complex was elaborated primarily in contrast with the San Luis Rey Complex, which existed contemporaneously in the

Palomar Mountain Palomar Mountain ( ; es, Monte Palomar ) is a mountain ridge in the Peninsular Ranges in northern San Diego County. It is famous as the location of the Palomar Observatory and Hale Telescope, and known for the Palomar Mountain State Park. His ...

area of northern San Diego County, within

Luiseño The Luiseño or Payómkawichum are an indigenous people of California who, at the time of the first contacts with the Spanish in the 16th century, inhabited the coastal area of southern California, ranging from the present-day southern part of ...

territory. Elements that set the Cuyamaca Complex apart from the San Luis Rey Complex, according to True, include: * defined cemetery areas apart from living areas * use of grave markers * cremated human remains placed in urns * use of specially made mortuary offerings such as miniature vessels, miniature arrow-shaft straighteners, and elaborate projectile points * preference for side-notched Desert and Cottonwood projectile points * substantial numbers of scraping tools * emphasis on use of Tizon and Lower Colorado ceramics * steatite industry * substantially higher frequency of milling stone tools * clay-lined hearthsTrue (1970:53–54)

Notes

References

* True, D. L. 1970. ''Investigations of a Late Prehistoric Complex in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, San Diego County, California''. Archaeological Survey Monograph. University of California, Los Angeles.

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