"The scientific/romantic appeal of cogged stones in orange County prehistory develops from an amalgam of historic, geographic and aesthetic factors and an enigma surrounding their function"------1998, Henry C. Koerper & Roger D. Mason, "A Red Ochre Cogged Stone From Orange County, Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 1, p. 59.
    "Ethnographic documentation of cactus use in Seri folk culture and the symbolic portrayal of cactus among these northern Mexican people provides a heuristic (learning) model for the interpretation of "cogged stones" and pictographic representations in Southern California."--------2001, Paul Apodaca, "Cactus Stones: Symbolism And Representation In Southern California And Seri Indigenous Folk Art And Artifacts," Journal Of California And Great Basin Anthropology, Vol., 23, No. 2 , p. 215.
    "The indented or corrugated discoidal stones of which I send you representations, were found near my home here (in Pasadena, California) during the past summer (in 1897)."----1898, Horatio N. Rust, "(letters) To The Archaeologist," The American Archaeologist Vo. 2, Part 3, p. 75.
     "Cogstones are usually found at sites near the coast in Orange and Los Angeles Counties although they have been reported from as far inland as the Mojave Desert.  They are normally found in Early Millingstone contexts (6,000-2,000 B.C.)"----2003, David M. Van Horn, Laurie S. White, Lee A. DiGregorio, Susan M. Colby, and Roy A. Salls, "Excavations At The Berger Site (LAN-206): A Prehistoric Millingstone And Intermediate Deposit In The City Of Los Angles," p. 8.
     "The fact is, that we do not know the function of the discoidal and cogged stones, although a purely utilitarian function is difficult to imagine."----1984, Michael J. Moratto, "California Archaeology," p. 150.
   "Slices of cacti can be seen as a model for artistic representations in stone found in Southern California. The classes of cogged stones grouped by Eberhardt can either be matched to different cactus species, to various sections, or treatments of cactus slices, or discs."----2001, Paul Apodaca, "Cactus Stones: Symbolism And Representation In Southern California And Seri Indigenous Folk Art And Artifacts," Journal Of California And Great Basin Anthropology, Vol., 23, No. 2 , p. 225.

 
COGGED STONES
& CACTUS SLICES
7,500 TO 5,000 YEARS AGO
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

     Cogged stones have been described in print for more than 114 years. Their use has always been a topic of mystery. Their purpose has never been obvious. They appear sometime during the Early Milling Stone Horizon approximately 7,500 years ago and continue to be in use for well over 2,000 years. Most of them have been found in a small area of southern California in Los Angles, Orange and Riverside Counties, but isolated finds have been found farther away. They have been referred to as cog stones, cog wheels, cogged stones, corrugated discoidal stones, indented discoidals, indented stones, stellar shaped stones and cactus stones.

     Cogged stones are described as disc shaped stones that have grooves cut around the edge. The grooves were cut into many different shapes from round to pointed and shallow to very deep. The number of notches vary from 1 to 20 with most having between 8 and 13 notches. Most examples have their notches fairly evenly spaced. Some stones that don't have any notches at all but they are still believed to be the same type of artifact. They range in size from 1 to 6 inches in diameter.

     Cogged stones were made of many different types of materials. Some of the materials used were granite, basalt, sandstone, siltstone, limestone, andesite, lava, dacite, pumice, talc and even red ochre. Several of these materials are very soft which would suggest they were never meant to be used for any type of utilitarian purpose such as a club head. In fact, it's been reported that some examples were repaired with asphaltum. Other examples have also been reported to be coated with red ochre that might suggest some type of ritual involvement.

      Over the years, writers have theorized that cogged stones were used for such things as club heads, gaming pieces, oil lamps, rope-making tools and even nut crackers. But since these stones don't have any identifiable use wear, other than simple handling, it seems logical to assume they may be either gaming pieces or some type of ritual artifact. A comparison of the Northern Mexican Seri Indian's, game of comoiilcoj is interesting. Their use of slices of different species of columnar cactus in this game and the fact that they sometimes substitute stones suggests a possible use for cogged stones. Their culture identifies some species of cactus with mythological interpretations that range from supernatural to medicinal and food sources. They regard one type of cactus as having enough power to calm the wind when it's cut into sections and thrown in a fire. The different shapes of the slices of cactus they use, mimic all the known shapes of "cogged stones.

     If the Seri Indians held such a high symbolic regard for cactus plants, it seems plausible that similar ideas might also have been in place by the more ancient people who made cogged stones. Another resemblance to cactus can be observed in the so called fish vertebra type of cogged stones which have, what appears to be, gouges cut out from the edges with a center perforation. In comparison, the Seri Indians will gouge out places on the sides and in the center of cactus to place clam shells or other ceremonial materials. So it would seem that cogged stones and cactus symbolism are curiously related. If cogged stones do represent carved effigies of cactus slices the idea surly must be unique in all of the ancient world.

"REFERENCES"

1898, Horatio N. Rust, "(letters) To The Archaeologist," The American Archaeologist Vo. 2, Part 3, p. 75.
1984, Michael J. Moratto, California Archaeology, p. 150.
1900, Holmes, William Henry, "Anthropological Studies In California," Report Of The U.S. National Museum From The Director Of The Smithsonian Institution, p. 182.
1998, Henry C. Koerper & Roger D. Mason, "A Red Ochre Cogged Stone From Orange County, Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 1, p. 59.
2001, Paul Apodaca, "Cactus Stones: Symbolism And Representation In Southern California And Seri Indigenous Folk Art And Artifacts," Journal Of California And Great Basin Anthropology, Vol., 23, No. 2 , pp. 215 & 225.
2003, David M. Van Horn, Laurie S. White, Lee A. DiGregorio, Susan M. Colby, and Roy A. Salls, "Excavations At The Berger Site (LAN-206): A Prehistoric Millingstone And Intermediate Deposit In The City Of Los Angles," p. 8.

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