Using obsidian hydration and diagnostic projectile points, researchers have concluded the village was occupied by Coso Shoshone on and off from roughly 3,000 to 800 years ago. The site lies near Sugarloaf Mountain, an important obsidian quarry. The large quantities of manufacturing debris indicate the obsidian was brought to the site, where projectile points and knives were fashioned.
Western Regional Field Representative Linsie Lafayette visited the site in 2023 with Dr. Alan Garfinkel, President of the California Rock Art Foundation. They examined the impressive rock art panel and Dr. Garfinkel identified a figure at the top of the panel with hands held out. He noted that it could be a “master of the animals figure”. He defined the large figure at the upper left as a “mountain lion”, saw a “tortoise” below the mountain lion, noted three “big horns”, and that on the bottom right is a figure with fringe (an indication of a female figure). He also stated that because there is no superimposition, it was done in a single period, and based on the characters, it likely falls into the Newberry Period (2000 B.C.-A.D.1). The reddish image in the slider below shows the petroglyph in DStretch, a method used to highlight designs and patterns that have faded away.
Dr. Garfinkel discussed the Portuguese Bench petroglyph panel during the following virtual lecture in September 2024.
