Society for California Archaeology

02/16/2026

Register today for SCAs Annual Meeting "Reflections: Celebrating 60 Years" https://scahome.org/event-6466208 March 5-8, 2026 in Palm Springs!

02/13/2026

Yesterday, President Anne Raines represented NCSHPO at the ACHP - Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's February Business Meeting in Washington, DC.

Weighing in on two critical agenda items, Raines underscored the meaningful role of State Historic Preservation Offices in Section 106 consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act.

Focus areas:

*the ACHPs review of the current Section 106 regulations and consideration of updates

*discussion on the Army’s recently proposed Program Comment

Notably, the Council voted in favor of the ACHP requesting a 45 day extension so that stakeholders have an opportunity to review the Army's recent revisions to the proposed PC.

Read the full recap at link in comments.

Maryland Historical Trust

02/12/2026

Register today for the SCA Annual Meeting "Reflections: Celebrating 60 Years" https://scahome.org/event-6466208

01/03/2026

SCAs 5th Annual Ethics Bowl in Palm Springs! Students, Tribes, CRM firms, bring your teams or send in your scenarios. Saturday, March 7, 2026. https://scahome.org/event-6451944

12/02/2025

Deadline Extended! Submit your paper or poster by this Sunday! https://scahome.org/SCA-Annual-Meeting-Submission-Guidelines

11/12/2025

SCA Call for Papers, https://scahome.org/SCA-Annual-Meeting-Submission-Guidelines. 10 days left - submit your papers, posters, forums and committee events today!

11/04/2025

SCA'S Call for Papers https://scahome.org/SCA-Annual-Meeting-Submission-Guidelines submit your paper today!

10/18/2025

Happy ! However you celebrate IAD, the AIA thanks you for your participation, support, and continued love of all things archaeology – don't forget to check out the remaining IAD events on our calendar and don’t miss our special, upcoming IAD Archaeology Hour on Zoom with Dr. Justin Leidwanger!

🔍 Explore our calendar: https://buff.ly/J9KLqrr
Register for AAH: https://buff.ly/GMPJTa3

09/30/2025

Celebrate California Archaeology with the Ventura County Archaeological Society

October 14, 2025, at 7pm via Zoom, Dr. David S. Whitley -
The Archaeology of Dreams & the Inland Chumash Past

Chumash archaeology has long emphasized coastal and island studies. The inland/interior area, in contrast, has been widely neglected by researchers, yet was this really just a peripheral region of little real importance to the Chumash past? The archaeology of dreams indicates otherwise. “Dreams” throughout Native California were understood as the source of supernatural power, the primary causative agent in the universe; some degree of power was required for success in any endeavor, religious or mundane; and power was differentially distributed across the landscape and among people. Dreams were not entirely invisible, however, with certain types of religiously-charged ‘big dreams’ recorded and preserved in pictographs. The distribution of pictograph sites then provides a map to the distribution of pre-contact power in the Chumash realm. This was centered on the Carrizo Plain, in eastern SLO county, which has the largest concentration of painted sites in North America. This pictograph tradition ended during the Medieval Climatic Anomaly/Warm Period (circa 1100 – 650 YBP), at which point there was a population collapse with a roughly 90% reduction in the area’s occupants. A similar, but less severe, collapse is evident in inland Ventura County, with an estimated 75% drop in the population of the Thousand Oaks/Simi Valley region. Coastal populations increased at this same time, suggesting the movement of inland peoples to the coast. This period also correlates with the appearance of the coastal chiefdoms, an occurrence that is explained in Chumash oral tradition as resulting from the need to control people moving into coastal villages. The sum of the evidence suggests then that inland peoples played a pivotal role in the pre-contact Chumash past, which can only be fully understood with the inclusion of the inland archaeological record.

Dave Whitley is a semi-retired archaeologist: “semi-” because no one pays him to do it anymore. He lives in a blue oak forest in the Tehachapi Mountains where he has cutting horses and working dogs (though his dogs don’t work very hard). He received the Thomas King Award for Excellence in Cultural Resource Management from the Society for California Archaeology in 2001, and the Society for American Archaeology Award for Excellence in Archaeological Analysis in 2022. His latest book is Cognitive Archaeology: Mind, Ethnography and the Past in South Africa and Beyond (Routledge, 2020), but watch for his next: Coso: Evolution, Culture and the Archaeology of Religion, hopefully appearing soon.
Link to book(s):

https://www.amazon.com/stores/David-S.-Whitley/author/B001H6IZYY?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Link to website:
https://independent.academia.edu/WhitleyDavid
https://www.venturacountyarchaeologicalsociety.com/

Non-members and guests interested in joining our presentation and to be admitted to the meeting. should email [email protected]

09/30/2025

Celebrate California Archaeology Month! October 9, 2025, Pacific Coast Archaeological Society presents Dr. Hector Neff -
Fire, Salt, Ceramics, and Commerce on the Pacific Coast of Southern Mesoamerica

Agricultural people generally require salt supplements in their diets. In coastal areas of prehistoric Mesoamerica, salt production based either on solar evaporation or brine boiling met this need. In this talk I examine two examples of salt production by brine boiling. In southern Chiapas, Mexico, a long history of brine boiling set the stage for discovery of a unique alkaline glaze ceramic technology, that of Plumbate pottery, the quintessential Mesoamerican tradeware. Brine boiling sites have also been found in the Estero Real region of northwestern Nicaragua. In this case, export of salt to the interior can be inferred from strontium isotope ratios in human dental enamel, which deviate from local environmental baselines, likely because of consumption of sea salt.

For more information https://www.pcas.org/meetings.html
Lecture meetings are held at 7:30 pm on the second Thursday of each month. Meetings are free and open to the public.

Dr. Hector Neff is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at California State University, Long Beach. His research interests include the application of geochemical characterization to artifact provenance, archaeology of southern Mesoamerica, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. He has carried out fieldwork in Chiapas, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and most recently in the lakes basin and on the Pacific coast of northwestern Nicaragua. He is the author of Fire and Salt: Human Niche Construction and Holocene Landscape Evolution on the Pacific Coast of Southern Mesoamerica (University of New Mexico Press, 2024).

The Island ChumashBehavioral Ecology and the Transition to AgricultureTaking the High Ground: The archaeology of Rapa, a fortified island in remote East Polynesia

09/29/2025

📣 The Society for California Archaeology Needs You!

We’re looking for candidates to run for the following SCA Board positions:
✨ President
✨ Northern California Vice President
✨ Secretary

If you’ve ever thought about giving back to the SCA community, now is the perfect time! Serving on the Board is a great way to shape the future of our organization and support California archaeology.

👉 Statements of interest and nominations are due in the next few weeks!
You can nominate yourself, or (wink wink) a colleague you think would be a great fit.

📩 Reach out to Michelle St. Clair at [email protected] to submit your statement of interest or nomination.

Let’s keep the SCA strong and thriving—consider running or nominating today!

09/22/2025

Celebrate California Archaeology Month! October 4: "Old Courthouse: 150 Years, 150 Stories" Exhibit Opening and Community Celebration

Merced County Courthouse Museum will open the “Old Courthouse: 150 Years, 150 Stories” exhibit on Saturday, October 4, at 10 a.m. This year marks the sesquicentennial of Merced’s oldest courthouse, and the exhibit will be the culmination of our yearlong celebration. Since its dedication on May 5, 1875, our Old Courthouse has evolved from the cornerstone of justice to a center of learning. Through uncovering interesting facts, studying important legal cases, and collecting heartwarming personal stories, the Museum has presented an engaging exhibit that highlights our Old Courthouse as a beacon of democracy, a repository of history, and a hub of community.

So please join us at the exhibit opening on October 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be lots of fun and free activities in Courthouse Park in addition to the opening reception. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the newly renovated Old Courthouse begins at 11 a.m., featuring speakers Congressman Adam Gray, Supervisor Josh Pedrozo, Hon. Judge Brian McCabe, Merced Mayor Matt Serratto, and Historical Society President Joyce Mattos.

The Merced College Band and Cuivre! Horn Choir will warm up the celebration shortly after 10 a.m., and entertainment such as Baile Folklorico, Hmong Blossom Dancers, Ballico Taiko, Merced Boots & Slippers square dance, the UC Merced lion dance, and Hacienda dancing horses will follow the official ceremonies. Free games and food will be provided with antique car and tractor shows and museum tours throughout the day.

For more information about the exhibit, please contact the Museum office at (209) 723-2401.

October 4: "Old Courthouse: 150 Years, 150 Stories" Exhibit Opening and Community Celebration

Merced County Courthouse Museum will open the “Old Courthouse: 150 Years, 150 Stories” exhibit on Saturday, October 4, at 10 a.m. This year marks the sesquicentennial of Merced’s oldest courthouse, and the exhibit will be the culmination of our yearlong celebration. Since its dedication on May 5, 1875, our Old Courthouse has evolved from the cornerstone of justice to a center of learning. Through uncovering interesting facts, studying important legal cases, and collecting heartwarming personal stories, the Museum has presented an engaging exhibit that highlights our Old Courthouse as a beacon of democracy, a repository of history, and a hub of community.

So please join us at the exhibit opening on October 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be lots of fun and free activities in Courthouse Park in addition to the opening reception. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the newly renovated Old Courthouse begins at 11 a.m., featuring speakers Congressman Adam Gray, Supervisor Josh Pedrozo, Hon. Judge Brian McCabe, Merced Mayor Matt Serratto, and Historical Society President Joyce Mattos.

The Merced College Band and Cuivre! Horn Choir will warm up the celebration shortly after 10 a.m., and entertainment such as Baile Folklorico, Hmong Blossom Dancers, Ballico Taiko, Merced Boots & Slippers square dance, the UC Merced lion dance, and Hacienda dancing horses will follow the official ceremonies. Free games and food will be provided with antique car and tractor shows and museum tours throughout the day.

For more information about the exhibit, please contact the Museum office at (209) 723-2401.