Archeological Research on Santa Cruz Island, California

The research proposed is a survey of Santa Cruz Island intended to provide a substantial and unbiased archeological foundation for a study of the evolution of culture in the Santa Barbara channel region. The research is designed as the first phase of an extensive program. Two years will be devoted to the following field and laboratory activities: 1) A systematic surface survey of the Island with intensive coverage of about 50% of the 94 square miles of surface. Survey areas will be selected to give proportionate representation to the several types of environments, and surface observations will be supplemented by subsurface testing based on an explicit sampling design. 2) Limited test excavations on known stratified sites to provide preliminary chronological control and to develop special excavation techniques particularly suited to the detailed quantitative analysis planned. 3) Codification and analysis of existing data on the archeology, ethnohistory, and biological and physical environments of the Island and adjacent regions. 4) Integration and analysis of the data produced to construct a preliminary typology of the aboriginal communities on the Island in terms of the interrelationship of environmental, technological, and other variables. This topology will, in turn, serve as a matrix for formulating theories of cultural process and the generation of new hypotheses to guide future research.