THE SAN GABRIEL MISSION

ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE

SAFETY AT THE SITE

� DO NOT wear Red or Green - these are signals to the train.

� DO wear sturdy shoes.

� DO cover your ears when a train is coming.

� DO stay inside the cones.

� DO follow the path to the viewing platform.

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS

Artifacts vs.

Fossils

“The

Uncharted

Adventure”

Buried

Treasure and

Mystery

� Archeology is the systematic study of

the human past through the analysis of

material remains.

Treasure Hunter

Palentologists

Only Digs Tombs

ARCHEOLOGY IN SAN GABRIEL

PRE-

HISTORIC

Tongva

MISSION

Mission

EARLY

SETTLER

Anglo

CITY

FOUNDING

� Archeologists from SWCA

� Team led by John Deiter

This site is where we can see evidence of the Gabrielino-Tongva people, the

Spanish, the early settlers, and the beginnings of the City of San Gabriel.

THIS IS THE SITE THAT YOU WILL VISIT

WHAT WORK IS BEING DONE?

Research for

this

excavation

began

several years

ago and

coincided

with the

creation of a

Historic

Structures

Report that is

on file with

the State

Office of

Historic

Preservation

� Formulate Research Questions.

� When was this site first occupied? Is there evidence of the Tongva village of Shevaanga?

� Which artifacts belong only to the Tongva? Which artifacts are a mix of the Tongva and Spanish?

� Aside from gardening…what other activities took place here?

� Do the design, building materials, and basic measurements of architectural features at the SG Mission reflect Spanish, Anglo-American, or Native American architectural traditions, or some mixture of these?

WHAT WORK IS BEING DONE?

Field work is

going to

explore a site

first hand to

search for

artifacts.

� Field Work

Survey and Map the Site

Use of Ground Penetrating

Radar (GPR) identified more

than 200 potential artifacts.

30 test pits confirmed the

material significance of the site.

Excavate the Site

In progress. Thus far more than

1000 artifacts have been

Found.

WHAT WORK IS BEING DONE?

Small amounts of soil are excavated at a time.

Work is done carefully with shovels and brushes.

When an artifact is found, digging stops and recording starts.

WHAT WORK IS BEING DONE?

There are

various

interested

parties in the

artifacts from

this site.

� Lab Work

�Most of the work is being done off site.

For every 1 hour in the field, 5 are done

in the lab.

� Curation

� Fowler Museum at UCLA.

� Union Pacific Museum

� San Gabriel Mission

� SG Historical Assoc.

One last thing to look for…The Layers

of Time (Strata)

� Strata are layers of soil that have

built up over time. The deeper you dig

the older things are.PRESENT

PAST

All soil at the site is

sifted to catch any

relevant material and

to clearly understand

each strata at the site.

WHAT FOLLOWS?

The excavation of this site is only going to

last a few weeks. Once the artifacts are

moved to a lab, work will begin to lower the

train tracks.

As the trenching for the train

begins, SWCA and Tongva

monitors will remain involved in

case significant artifacts are found.

However, the formal excavation is

taking place now.