Cultural Resources Practitioners is a certified Small Business dedicated to the management of California’s diverse cultural resources. We employ experts in the profession who provide quality cultural resources management (CRM) services to a variety of clients including private developers, landowners, other CRM firms, and local, state and federal agencies.
Cultural Resources Practitioners, LLC
CRP geoarchaeological services includes:
Fieldwork:
- Excavation to analyze soils, sediments, and stratigraphy;
- Identification and description of ‘buried’ soils (paleosols that were once former surfaces);
- Reconstruction of the paleolandform based on soil-stratigraphic and cultural assemblage analysis;
- Graphical logs, profiles, and section drawings of excavation unit exposures;
- Identification of cultural and natural site formation processes, and;
- Evaluation of archaeological site integrity including identification and characterization of spoils and disturbed sediments.
REcent Geoarchaeology Projects
Estate Vineyard Project - Napa County
CRP provided geoarchaeological supportive services on an arcaheological site during an investigation of a vineyard and winery located in Napa County. Services included subsurface augur cores and visual inspection of a cut bank to help interpret the site’s formation process and paleolandform. The information CRP provided assisted our client in determining the potential of encountering buried cultural resources within the Project area.
CRP offers an array of geoarchaeological services to aid in the analysis of archaeological investigations. Geoarchaeology is the application of concepts and methods used in earth sciences, or geosciences, to interpret or solve archaeological questions. Specifically, geoarchaeology uses methods and techniques that stem from geomorphology, paleoecology, sedimentology, pedology, stratigraphy, and geochronology to investigate sediments, soils, and landforms at archaeological sites to help solve archaeological context problems.
There are three broad approaches used by geoarchaeologists to address questions concerning archaeological contexts including:
1) The temporal context of the archaeological site (stratigraphy and geochronology)
2) The spatial context and preservation of material on site and between sites (natural and cultural site formation processes)
3) The prehistoric landscape context of the site
Fox Hollow Development Project - Santa Rosa, Sonoma County
CRP provided geoarchaeological support for the Fox Hollow Development Project on an approximate 22-acre parcel situated on a known archaeological site. CRPs’ duties included the excavation and auguring of several test units and geoarchaeological investigation of subsurface exposures. The geoarchaeological report included a discussion on paleolandform reconstruction, archaeological site formation and an analysis for potential of the area to contain buried archaeological resources.
Report production:
- Compilation and analysis of technical data;
- Narrative discussion of findings;
- Construction of facies and landscape models using paleogeographic sketches, block diagrams and vertical profile logs, and;
- Field data appendices.
Interstate-5 Project - Stanislaus County
In coordination with the California Department of Transportation, and County of Stanislaus, CRP conducted a geoarchaeological investigation for the Interstate-5 Interchange Project to address requirements of Section 106 of the NHPA under authority delegated to Caltrans, and sections of CEQA.
CRPs' investigations included recording and interpreting the natural and cultural soils and sediments within subsurface exposures of three mechanically excavated trenches and one test unit, and the analysis of local geologic and soils maps. The geoarchaeological report included paleolandform reconstruction, archaeological site formation, and a discussion on the potential for buried archaeological resources.