First San Bruno homes discovered

With the city’s permission, they received the delay needed from the Alpha Land Co. which was moving in now to build its apartment complex on Cherry Avenue and Sneath Lane. These apartments’ construction would destroy forever any evidence of San Bruno’s oldest neighborhood. Alpha, however, not only cooperated with the archeologists, the firm even provided a grant to help complete the work.

The group of scientists along with donated help from enthusiastic high school student Emile Hons uncovered various artifacts that enabled them to uncover and put together a picture of life of these early San Brunans.

The archeologists named their small village SMa-100, although old data indicated that the site could have been either one of two villages called “Tule-me” and “Ure-bure.” This name became changed by Americans to Buri-Buri and its name exists only in a store complex in South San Francisco by the corner of El Camino Real and Westborough Boulevard that covers a former creek. They called themselves the Ohlones, and vestiges of their civilization are found throughout the Peninsula to San Jose. However, there was only a minimum of contact with each group that numbered at least 10,000 from San Francisco to Monterey.

The Indians left no evidence of a written language, use of the wheel or iron and, unlike other families in the area, they practiced communal cooking. That proved they had the use of fire and understood it was necessary for cooking and warmth. Their food fare was limited to birds (ducks were plentiful), fish, oysters, as well as bears, deer, whales occasionally where found on the beach, as well as products made from the plentiful acorns found in the area. The acorns were collected and carried to their village in woven baskets and other containers they invented. Successful hunts were accomplished by use of the bow and arrow. Fish were caught in fish nets or by hand as they were plentiful in creeks during the mating and migration season.

Two house foundations were found along the San Bruno Creek that passes under Interstate 280 now. They used hard-packed mud and clay which produced a smooth, hard surface four inches thick which lasted over the centuries. Archeologists believe that the house consisted of a shallow pit with a compacted floor and was fashioned with small poles found along the creeks, and these were covered by reeds and brush in a “tepee” fashion. Each year, they had to be remade as the reeds rotted fast during the rainy season.

Scientists deduced all of this and more from rather unimpressive artifacts of shards, broken pottery, fragments of pestles, mortars, hammer stones, charmstones and primitive utensils. This is hard, back-breaking, monotonous work day in and day out, and all of the artifacts are taken back to the lab and sorted out and classified and studied. It’s no Raiders of the Lost Ark fantasy world. It’s pure drudgery. From bones, the Ohlones carved awls, pins and needles, as well as whistles made from a bird’s leg bone. Abalones, olivella and clam shells were fashioned into pendants, beads and other decorations traded and worn to distinguish their stature in the community.

A burial ground was later found along the creek that flows down from the land to the west of the City Park on Crystal Springs Avenue. It appears that the burial area was large and occupied along Crystal Springs Road from St. Roberts Church, west to where the Senior Center complex is located. Dozens of bodies were found then reburied to preserve the findings that will have to be excavated at a later date.

Schenk reports that research on these early-day Peninsula residents had only begun, and that he expects to have fuller reports with more information in the near future. He only hopes that archeologists will be able to preserve some record of our first Peninsula residents from encroaching suburbia.

Rediscovering the Peninsula by Darold Fredricks appears in the Monday edition of the Daily Journal.