GSA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA - 2018

Paper No. 78-2
Presentation Time: 8:20 AM

URBAN ARCHAEOLOGY: NEXUS OF GEOARCHAEOLOGY AND CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT


SCHER, Naomi, KAIJANKOSKI, Philip and MEYER, Jack A., Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc., 2727 Del Rio Place, Suite A, Davis, CA 95618

Large portions of the archaeological record in central California have been submerged by sea-level rise, and/or buried by alluvial and sand dune deposition, complicating site discovery efforts. This problem is compounded in dense urban areas where historic-era and modern activities such as artificial cutting and filling and stream channelization have been extensive. Successful site identification in these urban contexts requires a robust knowledge of environmental and landscape change over time, applied predictive modeling, and appropriate identification methods. Using case studies, we illustrate how cumulative findings from over a decade of cultural resources management studies are used to successfully identify buried archaeological sites and reconstruct latest Pleistocene and Holocene landscape evolution throughout the highly urbanized San Francisco Bay Area.