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About Us
Statement of Qualifications | Structure, Objectives, and Coordination | Facilities | ASC Capabilities and Specialties | Staff
STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS |
The Anthropological Studies Center (ASC) has been assisting environmental firms, non-profit organizations, private property owners, and government agency clients with cultural resources issues since 1974. ASC offers a proven team with the ability to undertake a wide range of complex cultural resources management tasks.
ASC has completed hundreds of projects for local, state, and federal agencies as well as private developers. As a result, our staff has a detailed understanding of the special challenges and opportunities of Northern California projects.
Read the complete Statement of Qualifications (170 kb PDF)
STRUCTURE, OBJECTIVES, AND COORDINATION |
The Anthropological Studies Center (ASC) is composed of the Cultural Resources Facility (CRF), the David A. Fredrickson Archaeological Collections Facility (ACF), and the Office of Interpretive and Outreach Services (IOS). The functions of these offices include:
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The Cultural Resources Facility works on contract to federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as for private organizations and individuals. It contributes to the cost of operating the David A Fredrickson Archaeological Collections Facility, which houses archaeological materials from northern California as a public service and for scholarly research. The Collections Endowment Fund, set up in 1993 to provide for the long-term support of these artifacts, has already reached over $800,000.
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The Office of Interpretive and Outreach Services interprets archaeology, history, and the ethnography of native peoples of California to the general public by means of events, pamphlets, museum displays, videos, and presentations to school groups.
FACILITIES |
ASC has nearly 10,000 square feet of well-equipped facilities. In addition to administrative and research workspaces, ASC maintains an Archaeological Laboratory for cleaning, sorting, cataloging, and photographing both prehistoric and historic archaeological collections. Our Computer Lab is continually upgraded for word processing, GIS/GPS, Computer Aided Drawing (CAD), graphics production, and data analysis.
The Archaeological Collections Facility is the primary repository for San Francisco Bay Area and northwestern California artifact collections and associated documents. The Facility has completed a multi-year renovation and expansion to increase curation, laboratory, and research space.
ASC CAPABILITIES AND SPECIALTIES |
ASC provides technical cultural resource expertise on:
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Initial studies for CEQA and NEPA projects, including lot splits, minor and major subdivisions, instillation of sewer and utility lines, Caltrans encroachment permits and Local Assistance projects, US Army Corps 404 permits, State Water Resource Control Board permits, and all other local, state, or federally mandated cultural resource work.
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Native American consultation for projects involving California Senate Bill 18 or the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation (NAGPRA).
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EIR/EIS Phase I-IV studies projects of any size, including FERC relicensing projects, major subdivisions and development, land-use conversions, transportation corridor construction, and reservoir construction.
Our deep working knowledge of state and federal regulations coupled with solid scholarly research has earned ASC and its staff numerous awards: the American Society of Civil Engineers Award of Merit (1999), the California Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation (1999), Society for California Archaeology’s Thomas F. King Award in Cultural Resources Management (2003), and, the Society for California Archaeology’s Martin A. Baumhoff Special Achievement in Research Award (2006).
For a partial list of government clients, click here.
Native American Consultation
ASC has long enjoyed a close working relationship with Native American communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, Northwest California Coast, the Clear Lake area, and the central and eastern Sierra, as well as with the Native American Heritage Commission in Sacramento. ASC has partnered with local tribes on many occasions. For many years, ASC’s staff has included a Coordinator of Native American Participation, Michael Jablonowski, who has also taught classes on ethnobotany with David Peri, the late Coast Miwok scholar. Individuals trained in addressing ethnic group concerns with regard to Traditional Cultural Properties are also on staff.
GIS/GPS Capabilities
ASC maintains a suite of Trimble Total Station and resource-grade GPS units, including Trimble 5605 Servo Total Station, Trimble Pro XRS and GeoExplorer III machines. Staff includes GPS/GIS technicians with extensive experience in using this technology on inventory surveys and evaluation excavations of prehistoric and historic period sites throughout California. ASC uses ESRI ArcGIS and ArcView GIS software and can provide clients with site data from GPS and total stations in a range of formats including ESRI GIS shapefiles, and CAD DXF files.