Emeryville Shellmound, Archaeological site in Emeryville, California, United States.

Emeryville Shellmound is a burial and settlement site built up from shells discarded by residents over centuries. The layers reveal how people lived, what they ate, and where they laid their dead to rest.

Ohlone people lived at this spot from 800 BCE, and the site was occupied from at least 2800 years ago to 400 years ago. The mound, originally over 60 feet high and some 350 feet in diameter, was the largest of more than 425 shellmounds around San Francisco Bay. From the 1870s to 1924 an amusement park with a racetrack and dance halls stood on the site, one pavilion atop the mound itself. A large industrial plant occupied it from 1924 to 1999, when demolition revealed intact portions of the mound.

This place held deep meaning for the Ohlone people, who gathered here to bury their dead and leave ceremonial objects for their ancestors. The practice shaped how the mound grew layer by layer over many generations.

The original mound no longer stands above ground, but markers and exhibits help you understand where it was located. Visit during quieter times if you want to read the information without crowds.

This was the largest shell mound of its kind in the San Francisco Bay region, built by countless generations stacking their daily discards. The sheer size hints at how long people called this place home.