Emeryville Shellmound Memorial, located in Emeryville, California, was a highly significant historic and cultural site established by the Ohlone Indians over centuries of use from 500 B.C. to approximately 1700 A.D. The site consisted of a sixty-foot high mound with a diameter of about 350 feet, making it the largest of nearly 400 mounds surrounding the San Francisco Bay. The mound, known as a shellmound or shell midden, was comprised of abalone, mussels, and clamshells, along with sediment, ash, and rocks, and served as a mortuary for long-term burials. Unfortunately, the site was partly destroyed in the 1800s and later razed in 1924 for industrial development, resulting in the loss of its cultural and sacred significance.
Despite its alteration over time, the Emeryville Shellmound remains of central importance to the Ohlone descendants. The site was discovered to still contain nearly 8 feet of the mound, filled with hundreds of Ohlone burials, during the preparation for a shopping center. However, due to the toxic nature of the site from previous industrial use, many of the burials had to be incinerated at a toxic waste cleanup facility. The remaining parts of the site are considered so toxic that the soil must be shipped to Texas for disposal. The Emeryville Shellmound Memorial serves as a reminder of the cultural heritage and history of the Ohlone tribe, despite its unfortunate loss and damage.
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