Upcoming Events
In the Spotlight
SCAS Field Trip to Monterey’s Old Whaling Station and the Whaler’s Cabin at Pt. Lobos
Please join members of the Santa Cruz Archaeological Society (SCAS) for a guided field trip in Monterey CA on Sunday, September 23rd. We will be visiting two beautiful local landmarks of archaeological and historic significance. Come learn about the historic, architectural restoration of the Old Whaling Station, and the shore-whaling efforts and processes in the 1800s at Point Lobos. Continue reading
Beth Mabie: “Place of the Spirit Woman Spring Site”
Santa Teresa Springs in South San Jose was once the convergence of oak woodlands and marsh as well as home to Ohlone Thámien-speaking tribal groups. Construction activities in the early 1970s uncovered skeletal remains and artifacts that were recovered by West Valley College, San Jose State University, and local high school volunteers. The collection (CA-SCL-125) sat for decades before being dusted off and analyzed. Come and learn about ’Arma ’Ayttakiš Rúmmey-tak (“Place of the Spirit Woman Spring Site”).
Georgie DeAntoni: “Post-Contact Paleoethnobotany in California: Studying Indigenous Landscape Management Practices Along the Central Coast”
Within California archaeology, paleoethnobotany—the study of plant remains—has most commonly been applied to pre-colonial contexts. However, much can be learned by using paleoethnobotany to study the post-contact period, particularly in examining questions of landscape change and Indigenous resilience. Continue reading
Lee Panich: “The Archaeology of Native American Persistence at Mission San José”
Archaeological investigations at Mission San José in Fremont, California, have revealed large areas of the mission landscape. Of particular importance are several projects conducted in the mission’s Native American neighborhood, where archaeologists have documented the remnants of two adobe dwellings and other features. Continue reading
Sarah Peelo: “Public Uses of Household Spaces: Archaeological Data Recovery of Room 102 Rancho San Andres Castro Adobe”
California State Parks, in collaboration with Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, is currently restoring the Rancho San Andrés Castro Adobe, Watsonville, California. Because preservation in place was not feasible as mitigation for the impacts to this significant historical resource, Albion Environmental, Inc. designed and executed a plan for data recovery. These recent excavations suggest that the Castro Adobe represents Mexican Period rancho architecture, with cobble foundations, adobe walls, and a prepared adobe floor. In particular, the assemblage included artifacts likely related to indigenous practices, providing a lens into understanding the often undocumented experiences of indigenous rancho laborers. This research highlights that the Castro Adobe was used by the diverse community living and working at Rancho San Andrés, illustrating the very public nature of adobe structures during the Mexican Rancho Period.
Margaret Purser: “Mapping Cultural Landscapes in a 19th Century Pacific Island Port of Call: Community Mapping for the World Heritage List Nomination of Levuka, Fiji”
The Levuka Cultural Landscape Project was designed to support the Fiji National Trust’s efforts to nominate the colonial capitol site of Levuka to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. It ran from 2002 to 2010, with the nomination succeeding in 2013. Designed as a community-based participatory geographic information systems (GIS) project, this collaborative project recorded a wide variety of sites, structures, and places important to local residents. Conventional archaeological sites formed only one component of this larger cultural landscape. Continue reading
John Pryor: “We Travel Together: A New Archeology that Blends Western Science and Native American Heart”
Dr. Pryor will discuss a new type of archeology that he has been developing over the last several years through insights from CSU-Fresno’s Archaeological Field School at the Grandad site in the central Sierra Nevada. In 2016, the insight was that the archaeology he had practiced for 45 years was no longer working for him, and that it was time to create a whole new archaeology that blended the best of Western Science with Native American perspectives and traditions. Continue reading
Mark Hylkema: “Perils of a Leeward Shore: Franklin Point Historic Shipwreck Cemetery, Año Nuevo State Park”
Three consecutive shipwrecks occurring along the rocky coast of Año Nuevo State Park between 1865 and 1867 resulted in the loss of many passengers and sailors as their sailing ships miscalculated their positions and “struck the rocks.” Many of the victims were buried in a small area of sand dunes at Franklin Point that has since been designated as archaeological site SMA-307/H. In response to these maritime tragedies, Pigeon Point Lighthouse was built in 1871. This presentation focuses on the histories of the wrecks, the archaeological investigations and findings from the analytical studies, and the methods used to stabilize the cemetery. Continue reading
Jesse Phillips: “A New Perspective on Native American Bone Tools from Northern California – What We Might Be Missing” — Moved to Nov. 9
All too often in cultural resource management, we follow the old methodology – sometimes for no better reason than to do what everyone has done before us. While this sets good standards, sometimes we forget our main goal as archaeologists – to tell the story of what the past evidence has left us. Sometimes, in order to tell this story thoroughly, we need to look at the material in new and creative ways. Have you ever wondered if that faunal element you were holding was food? Or maybe part of something bigger? This talk explores the idea that some of our common finds, especially bone tools, are more than they appear. Continue reading
