Archaeology is the study of humanity itself, and unless that attitude is kept in mind, archaeology will be overwhelmed by impossible theories or a welter of flint chips.
Your Department, CSU, Chico
Archaeological Research Program
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Our Mission
The Archaeological Research Program at California State University, Chico has an educational mission, providing an interdisciplinary approach to archaeological training and problem-oriented research for Anthropology Department graduate and upper division undergraduate students. In meeting this mission, the Program’s professional staff and visiting scholars provide training in non-traditional settings, in the field or in the lab, with hands-on experience in archaeology.
Our Services
Organized as a nonprofit arm of the CSU, Chico Research Foundation, ARP seeks and executes contracts for professional services in the cultural resources field. The ARP professional services include:
- Professional archaeological reconnaissance, testing, and mitigation/data recovery on historic and prehistoric sites
- Historical architecture and documentary research
- Native American consultation and traditional use evaluations
- Critical program review and regulatory compliance consultation (NEPA, CEQA)
- Construction monitoring
- Sensitivity studies using non-invasive techniques
- Significance determinations
- Professional, academic-quality analyses and technical report writing
Our Facilities
Archaeology Lab
The Archaeology Lab is the hub of all activity for the Archaeological
Research Program. Artifacts and samples
recovered from the field are brought to the lab for cleaning, sorting,
cataloging, analyzing, and preparation for long-term storage. About
2,000 square feet of laboratory and work space is dedicated to these
tasks alone. Each semester, university courses are held in the lab,
making it a center for both research and academic learning.
Curation Facility
The Archaeological Curation Facility provides long term curation
and records management with an ongoing effort to meet or exceeding
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines outlined
under 36 CFR 79. It houses over 310 collections including artifacts,
reports of findings, photographs, and field notes from archaeological
investigations located throughout North-central and Northeastern California.
The collections are available to CSUC faculty, staff, and students,
and to qualified off-campus researchers interested in comparative
analysis.
Zooarchaeology Lab
The Zooarchaeology Laboratory, under the
direction of Dr. Frank Bayham, houses over 900 prepared animal skeletons
available for comparative analysis and
species identification. Researchers at the lab focus on the identification
and analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites in order
to reconstruct past environments, the economics of animal exploitation,
and ancient human-environment relationships. The Lab provides hands-on
training to CSUC Anthropology, Biology, and Ecology students as
well as those in other departments.
Dental Increment Lab
The Dental Increment Lab is headed by Adjunct Faculty Dr. Christopher
O’Brien, Forest Archaeologist for the Lassen National Forest.
Dental Increment Analysis is a technique based on the study of annuli,
tree ringlike growth rings found in the teeth of large-bodied animals.
By preparing the tooth specimen and examining it under a microscope,
the annuli reveal both the age of the animal at death and the season
of death (dark annuli represent winter, light annuli spring-summer).
This information can be used to reconstruct the season of use of archaeological
sites, to characterize the properties of game herds exploited by prehistoric
hunters, and even to evaluate predator-prey dynamics expressed in
the relationship between ancient human hunters and the game that they
hunted.
Computer Research and Applications
Program activity has allowed ARP to acquire top-of-the-line computer
stations, scanners, printers, CD R/W, and one large format (48x60”)
and two small format (24x36” and 12x12”) digitizing tablets.
Our software packages include AutoCAD r14 for CAD mapping and PC ArcInfo
and ArcView for GIS with MS Access, dBaseWin, and Paradox databases.
The ARP is also equipped with Terrain Navigator software and digitized
USGS topographic quadrangle maps used in conjunction with field GPS
units. The Lab’s Computer Specialist is ESRI and ACAD certified
and experienced in preparing detailed CAD drawings and in GIS data
entry and analysis, and has trained a number of senior undergraduate
and graduate students in computer specializations. For students seeking
professional careers, computer skills have proven to be very transferable
skills.
SCARCE: Superior California Archaeological Research Cooperative Expeditions
In meeting our educational mission, each semester the Archaeology
Laboratory conducts classes in field and laboratory archaeology. Principal
among these classes is the summer field school, consisting of a multi-week
outdoor program using both lecture and hands-on experience to convey
to enrolled students the skills necessary for a career in professional
archaeology. The summer and semester programs are supported by a variety
of cooperative agreements between the Lab and Federal and State agencies.
The cooperative agreements create important links between CSUC and
the agencies, and between the agencies themselves, who have expressed
an interest in sharing research goals and management practices. The
Archaeology Lab has proposed an umbrella organization entitled “Superior
California Archaeological Research Cooperative Expeditions” (SCARCE)
which embodies the goal of common research and management themes via
these and similar cooperative agreements.
Contact Us
By mail: |
Archaeological Research
Program Department of Anthropology California State University, Chico 400 W. First Street Chico, CA 95929-0401 |
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By
phone: |
(530) 898-4360 | |
By
email: |
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