Past Fieldwork

Fieldwork in northwestern California began in January, 2003. In the winter and spring of 2003, groups of dedicated undergraduate and graduate student volunteers sacrificed long weekends and their spring break for the opportunity to do work in beautiful northwestern California.

Tolowa and RNSP representatives and UC Davis students, January 2003

Auger testing, survey and mapping was conducted at several sites in Del Norte County. The purpose of this work was to delineate site boundaries, record the depth of midden deposits, map sites, and get a handle on artifact assemblages. Much of this was done in preparation for summer field school so we could develop appropriate field methods and unit locations.

Auger Testing

Working hard and having fun!

A Crew of UC Davis Students doing Fieldwork in February 2003

(Winter is a much wetter season in northwestern California than the summer!)

Fieldwork in northwestern California continued during the 2003 and 2004 UC Davis Archaeological Field School. Excavations at a prehistoric and contact period village site located approximately 7 miles from the coast in Redwood National and State Park (RNSP) confirmed the presence of several semi-subterranean structures, provided evidence of coastal contact, and revealed very high obsidian counts. Additionally, three sites were located and recorded within RNSP boundaries.

Laboratory work is currently being undertaken during the 2004-2005 academic year to process artifacts discovered during the 2004 Archaeological Field School. If you are interested in learning laboratory techniques, including artifact identification, processing, flotation techniques and other analyses for UC credit, please contact Shannon Tushingham at stushingham@ucdavis.edu.