On Tuesday morning February 2, Joe Hopkins from the Anza Borrego State Park telephoned the Bureau of Land Management Palm Springs Field Office Archaeologist George Kline to report an archaeological discovery. The previous Saturday, Jonathon Cooper, Technical Director In Geology, informed the folks at the Salton Sea Recreation Area of an incidental find that he happened across while exploring the Mecca Hills area along the San Andreas Fault. He reported an intact ceramic pot and an accompaniment of pot shards in a small cave. They, in turn, relayed the information to the Anza Borrego State Park archaeologists — along with GPS coordinates.
Mr. Hopkins realized that the coordinates were on public lands managed by the BLM Palm Springs – South Coast Field Office, so he referred the information to the BLM. Mr. Kline quickly assembled a small response team and notified the Torrez-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Tribal Resources Manager, Matthew Krystall of the situation.
(Note – This happened while Jonathon was on the Structure Class field trip to Painted Canyon near the Salton Sea in California.)R