Caltrans Archaeology

The Cultural Studies Office provides technical assistance on a wide range of cultural resources management studies for both prehistoric and historical archaeological resources. In addition, our office provides advice and guidance on issues related to the management and preservation of archaeological resources with special emphasis on review of complex studies and compliance documents in the area of prehistoric archaeology including evaluations, data recovery plans, and contract management.

Caltrans Archaeological Projects

• Nearly Neighbors: High Street Seismic Retrofit Project in Oakland, California
• Woolen Mills Chinatown, San Jose
• Black Creek and Skyrocket Site, Calaveras County (PDF) 
• South of Market: Historical Archaeology of 3 San Francisco Neighborhoods-Volume I
• South of Market: Historical Archaeology of 3 San Francisco Neighborhoods-Volume II
• SF-80 Bayshore Viaduct Seismic Retrofit Projects Report
• People of the Tules: Archaeology and Prehistory of California's Great Central Valley (PDF)

• 19th Century Los Angeles: A Century of Innovation and Change on Aliso Street - by Mariam Dahdul

Historic Artifact Identification Sheets

The Cultural Studies Office complied a set of four historic-era artifact identification sheets for bottles, ceramics, cans, and miscellaneous materials. Useful for field identification on historical archaeological sites, the identification sheets are designed to be a tool for Caltrans archaeologists and our consulting partners.

Historic Artifact Identification Guidance (PDF) | ADA compliant version (PDF)

Cultural Guidance

Cultural Resources studies at Caltrans follow the Standard Environmental Reference, Volume 2.