Publications
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Reports are listed alphabetically by title. Click a letter in the Index above to jump to a description of the publication. Once there, you can either read the title by clicking on it or, in the case of larger documents, jump to a web page with links to individual chapters.
Note: Some links may take you to non-ASC web pages.
Click a report or chapter title to open a PDF*. You will need the free Adobe Reader® to open the file.
*If the file does not open when you click its title, try right-clicking and selecting "Save Target As" (Windows).
(reports are in alphabetical order)
B
Before Warm Springs Dam: A History of the Lake Sonoma Area
The Warm Springs Cultural Resources Study was one of the first large projects conducted under federal historic preservation laws and regulations enacted in the 1960s. From 1974 to 1984, before the filling of Lake Sonoma behind Warm Springs Dam, the area was intensively studied by a team of archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, architectural historians, ethnobotanists, historians, and Native American traditional scholars. Before Warm Springs Dam was the last of many reports produced by that team, synthesizing the material for a general audience.
F
“From
Slavery to Freedom: Archaeology of an African-American Family in Sacramento,
California” (60 kb PDF)
This paper was presented at 1994 Annual Meeting of the Society for Historical
Archaeology. (see also We Were There, Too)
From
Rancho to Reservoir
This is a liberally illustrated 180-page history of the Kellogg Creek
Valley from its days of a Mexican rancho to the construction of the
Los Vaqueros Reservoir in 1998. Native Americans, Basque cattle ranchers,
and Portuguese farmers were among the groups that occupied this portion
of southeastern Contra Costa County, California.
H
HARD Drafts and Final
Mining Sites: A Historical Context and Archaeological Research Design for Mining Properties in California – Final
This links to the Caltrans Website where this guidance document and others may be downloaded.
Town Sites: Historic Context and Archaeological Research Design – 2nd DRAFT (1.3 MB PDF)
Work Camps: Historic Context and Archaeological Research Design – 2nd DRAFT (1.6 MB PDF)
HARD is the acronym for Historical Archaeological Research Design. Caltrans contracted with the Anthropological Studies Center at Sonoma State University to prepare archaeological research designs for mining sites, work camps, and town sites. Foothill Resources, JRP Historical Consultants, and PAR Environmental Services worked as sub consultants on this project. Caltrans employees joined the teams exploring each topic. We call them the “HARD teams” for Historical Archaeological Research Design teams. These three documents have been submitted to Caltrans; they are still considered drafts and will be revised and formatted with illustrations in the future. They continue to be posted here for peer review.
Historical Archaeology of an Overseas Chinese Community in Sacramento, California
In late 1994 archaeologists from Sonoma State University carried out archaeological testing and data recovery on the HI56 Block in Sacramento, California. Prefield documentary research had disclosed that this was the last archaeologically surviving portion of Sacramento’s mid-19th-century Chinese district. The resulting historical and archaeological analyses revealed much information about the everyday lives of these working-class Chinese pioneers as well as how material culture was used by Chinese District Association agents to enhance their community’s relationship to Sacramento’s power brokers. (see also Uncovering Sacramentos's Chinese Pioneers)
J
Jack London's Historic Beauty Ranch: Buildings, Landscapes, Sites (3.5 MB PDF)
This report can be downloaded as one file, see above, or as two files, see links below.
Jack London's Historic Beauty Ranch: Buildings, Landscapes, Sites – Part A (2 MB PDF)
Jack London's Historic Beauty Ranch: Buildings, Landscapes, Sites – Part B (1.6 MB PDF)
In 1987 the Anthropological Studies Center conducted a cultural resources inventory of Jack London State Historic Park in the hills above the Valley of the Moon near Glen Ellen in Sonoma County, California. In 2007, the report was revised to remove sensitive location information with reference to prehistoric sites. This document contains descriptions of the standing structures, landscape, and historic sites located within the Park. The history of each structure, feature, and site is presented along with references made to them in Jack London’s writings.
"Utility and Beauty Should be One" listed below.)
P
PRNS-GGNRA
Overview
As a part of the Archaeological Overview and Assessment
for the Point Reyes National Seashore and the Golden Gate National Recreation
Area, under a cooperative agreement between Sonoma State University
and the National Park Service, the ASC has produced several overviews
of research issues—or general archaeological research designs—to
aid in management of archaeological resources in the PRNS-GGNRA parklands.
Putting
the "There" There: Historical Archaeologies of West Oakland
The I-880 Cypress Freeway Replacement, a project of the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 4, involved
the reconstruction of a 3.1-mile section of freeway in Oakland and Emeryville,
California. As part of its plan to comply with Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act, Caltrans contracted with the Anthropological
Studies Center at Sonoma State University (ASC) to examine the area
of potential effects (APE).
S
SF-80 Bayshore Viaduct Seismic Retrofit
Projects Report on Construction Monitoring, Geoarchaeology, and Technical
and Interpretive Studies for Historical Archaeology
The SF-80 Bayshore Viaduct Seismic Retrofit Projects
(SF-80 Bayshore Project), an undertaking of District 4 of the California
Department of Transportation (Caltrans), involved the retrofit of columns
and footings supporting the elevated structure of Interstate 80 on 10
city blocks in the city of San Francisco.
T
Tales
of the Vasco
This is an illustrated, 38-page pamphlet consisting of five narratives,
each based on archaeological discoveries and historic documents uncovered
as part of ASC's Los Vaqueros Reservoir study. An example of archaeological
storytelling, it is written for a general audience.
U
Uncovering Sacramento’s Chinese Pioneers (3.8 MB PDF)
This pamphlet was written by ASC to complement an historical exhibit in the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse lobby. The exhibit and booklet describe archaeological investigations at the Courthouse site that uncovered a portion of I Street’s mid-19th-century Chinese district. ASC carried out this work for the US General Services Administration. The exhibit was designed by Phil Choy, in cooperation with ASC. The booklet was designed by Rick Helf of RightSide Imaging. (for more information see Historical Archaeology of an Overseas Chinese Community in Sacramento, California)
"Utility and Beauty Should
Be One:" The Landscape of
Jack London’s Ranch of Good
Intentions (1 MB PDF)
Jack London—popular author, avid traveler, and vocal
socialist—left two legacies to the world: his writings and
his Beauty Ranch. This [1989] paper examines the common
principles influencing London’s self-expression in writing
"Jack London’s Historic Beauty Ranch" listed above.)
W
We Were
There, Too: Archaeology of an African-American Family in Sacramento,
California
Thomas Cook and his wife escaped slavery by taking the Underground Railroad
to Canada prior to the Civil War. In the early 1870s, the family pursued
visions of a better life to California, eventually settling in Sacramento.
In 1901 the Cook family lived on the alley at 1418-1/2 J Street; Thomas
Cook and one son worked as barbers; a daughter worked as a dressmaker.
Ninety years later, prior to the construction of an addition to the
City's Community/Convention Center, the ASC excavated a privy filled
with artifacts associated with the Cooks. This monograph presents all
of the historical, archaeological, artifactual, and contextual information
connected with this site, which is one of the first urban African-American
sites excavated in California, if not in the western states generally. (see also “from Slavery to Freedom”)