Excavating the Past for the Future: A Synthesis of Marin County Prehistoric Archaeology

Purpose of Study:\ud The goal of this thesis is to lay a strong foundation on which future research can build. To accomplish this goal I will create a synthesis of the Marin County archaeological data (excluding Point Reyes National Seashore), primarily using information generated by cultural resources management excavation reports. Specifically, I will examine data pertaining to prehistoric research themes such as cultural chronology, settlement and subsistence patterns, technology, and economic and social organization. Most of the data needed to conduct this work are managed and stored by the California Historical Resources Information System; however, this synthesis would be incomplete if it did not include data generated through other means such as thesis and dissertation work.\ud These data will be used to build a framework that 1) reflects the current state of research in prehistoric archaeology in Marin County, 2) identifies research 'dead zones', and 3) identifies research areas that would benefit from further study.\ud It is my goal that this thesis will help enhance the work cultural resource managers do by using their data to create a synthesis of Marin County prehistoric archaeology.\ud Procedure:\ud All cultural resources management (CRM) excavation reports, theses, and dissertations on sites within Marin County (excluding sites within Point Reyes National Seashore) were examined for this study. Data contributing to the archaeological research themes of settlement patterns, site structure, cultural chronology, subsistence, social organization, technological changes, and contact period were extracted from these reports.\ud Findings:\ud Of the 54 site investigations, only 23 reports provided sufficient archaeological data to contribute to this study. The archaeological information gathered from the 23 excavation reports was synthesized. However, deficiencies were found in several reports.\ud IV\ud Conclusions:\ud Analysis of the reported data show research areas that need further work. Recommendations for filling these 'gaps' were made along with recommendations for improving archaeological analysis and CRM report writing. By highlighting these deficiencies I hope to help improve the field of CRM