Draft:Cogged stones

Cogged/Cactus Stones

Cogged/Cactus Stone, from the Pomona Historical Society

Overview

The Cogged stone, or Cactus stone, is a discoidal-shaped stone with indentations spaced around the side of its perimeter. However, its form is extremely variable. The artifact belongs to a cultural group that could be largely defined by its relation to Uto-Aztecan language boundaries. They are found primarily in what is now Orange County California, specifically in the lower Santa Ana River drainage. However, the stones can be found as far south as San Diego, north to the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, east into San Bernardino County, and far west as Riverside County. These areas intersect and include many different Californian tribal groups.

Arguments about the use of the Cogged stone have been contentious and inconclusive. Some scholars argue that the stones are beyond ethnographic study. Even the nomenclature of Cogged stone itself is indicative of an anthropological perspective. Cogged implies a utilitarian use, while Cactus implies a cultural function. While there is much debate around the specific use of the stone, the wider discussion tends to focus on a cultural or utilitarian use case.

There are many different claims regarding Cogged stones' possible function. Some have proposed that they may have been used as weights, tilling weights, grinding tools, or even weapons. One anthropological study likened the shape of the Cogged stones to Cactus, in relation to the Seri tribes use in game and ritual. This theory was strengthened by ecological evidence relating to the extinction of the Cactus used in games and ritual, during the time in which Cactus stones were created. Furthermore, the discover of the sea star type Cactus stones relates directly to the cactus shapes common to the area of this study. Over a hundred differing uses have been theorized, but no contemporary, historical or archaeological evidence has proven it's use definitively. The evidence so far for its use as a tool is inconclusive, as there is little evidence of use wear or repair. Cogged/Cactus stones are sometimes made of materials unsuitable for tool use or of materials often used to shape tools. The argument for the Cactus Stone definition is based on this finding and the fact that the stones rarely show signs of repair, or wear. However, the stones are not exlusively found in cultural contexts, such as burial or ceremonial, enough to succinctly assure their cultural function. Additionally, there is not a clear historical or contemporary comparative context for the artifact.

Cogged stones share many similarities with certain kinds of discoidals found in the archeological record. These discoidals are assumed to have some relation to Cogged lithic based on their size, shape, and materials. Discoidals and Cogged stones have also been documented appearing together in certain caches.

Material

Cogged stones are made of many materials, with about (⅓) being made of Igneous rocks such as Basalt, Rhyolite, and Granite. Igneous and metamorphic rocks seem to be the preferred medium for creating Cogged/Cactus stones, as they are sturdier and easier to make into specific shapes compared to sedimentary rocks. However, there are examples of Cogged stones made from many other materials, notably, a single Cogged stone made of red ocher.

Distribution

Cogged stones have been identified around the Western coast of the United States, in Southern California, most notably in Orange County at the Santa Ana River drainage. A 2021 study that analyzed the origin of the material used to make Cogged stones in Orange County suggests that the stones were likely made utilizing nearby quarries of basaltic scoria. This might further indicate a centralized location from which the cultural phenomena spread.

Sites of Cogged/Cactus Stones

Counties

• Venture, California
• Los Angeles, California
• Riverside, California
• San Bernadino, California
• San Diego, California
• Chandler, Arizona

*single example from Chandler, Arizona

Cities

• Topanga Canyon
• Redondo Beach
• Loyola
• Baldwin Hills
• Calabasas
• Encino
• Glendora
• Whittier
• Pomona
• Cajon Pass
• Colton
• Alta Loma
• Yucaipa
• Twenty-nine Palms
• San Luis Rey
• Los Cerritos

Typology

Due to the contentious nature of the debate over the use of the Cogged/Cactus stones, there are currently two differing descriptions (Typologies)

Eberhart Typology

Land and Groove:

Usually not perforated, groves do not break the large wide discoidal surface, groves are thin and fairly shallow, will often have an indentation or bulged center, more substantial overall as far as mass. The Land-and-Groove type is rarely perforated, but it is not uncommon to find an indentation in the center of the large flat side of the stone. Land-and-Groove Cogged stones have grooves set around the edge of the discoidal at relatively equal depths and distances from each other, and unlike the Fish-Vertebrae type can be seen when viewing the artifact from the top looking down at the large flat circular surface.

Fish Vertebrae:

Less substantial in mass, biconical grooves which do break the surface of the flat discoidal surface, are perforated. The Fish-Vertebrae type is perforated more often than not, and the grooves that run along the side of the discoidal stone which give the stones their Cogged appearance do not break the surface so that when viewed from the top, the cogs are not apparent. The cuts that define the Cogged stone are biconical instead of the straight narrow grooves seen in the Land-and-Groove type. Lastly, the Fish-Vertebrae type tends to be smaller in diameter.

Intermediate:

Shares qualities with both types, but often has the exaggerated grooves of the Fish Vertebrae type which break the top of the discoidal surface, but is less likely to be perforated. Intermediate Stones have the defining features of both Fish-Vertebrae and Land-and-Groove types. Namely, the biconical grooves of the Fish-Vertebrae and the grooves that cut through the surface from the top view of the stone, or the measured thin lines of the Land-and-Groove which do not cut into the surface from the top view.

Other:

Is of the same typology but outside definition, often the results of repair, rare by definition.

Underbrink and Koerper Typology

Right Circular:

Includes all circular Cogged stones, where the perforations from the Cogged lines do not break the surface, but makes no distinction between perforated and non-perforated stones.

Oblique Circular:

Consists of a beveled design that appears circular from a top-down view. Beveled in this case is referring to the slope of the top larger area side of the disk. Sometimes the cog width expands from the smaller to the larger surface. Oblique circular cogs also have distinct indentations on the upper and/or lower surfaces.

Right Non-Circular:

Lacks a beveled design and does not appear clearly circular from a top-down view. Currently, there is no unique distinction for “oblique non-circular” as there are no known examples.

Clover Type:

Noted for its certain oddities such as its low number of cogs and its resemblance to a clover.

Sea Star Type:

Named for its resemblance to a sea star.