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Abstract
Central California charmstones remain enigmatic after over a century of study, in part because they are rare, imprecisely dated, and not subject to systematic analysis. Investigations at CA-CCO-548 in Contra Costa County recovered 68 examples, including many found in radiocarbon dated burial lots. Here they are analyzed and compared to other collections to refine regional understandings of their age, manufacture, function, and broader cultural implications. Among other findings, this analysis sheds light on their ritual use in connection with a pattern of warfare and competition for resources by Windmiller and Berkeley peoples during the Early Period.