“The Temporal Dating and Analysis of the Archaeological Assemblage Recovered from a Portion of Prehistoric Site, Satos Rini Rumaytak (At the Hill Above the River Site) CA-SCR-12,” with Gerald Starek, M.A., San Jose State University, 2013.

In 1986, The Department of Anthropology at San Jose State University conducted an archaeological field school excavation project on a portion of prehistoric site CA-SCR-12. This project was initiated by the cultural resource management firm, Archaeological Consulting and Research Services (ACRS) of Santa Cruz, CA., as a mitigation alternative for offsetting the potential impact to CA-SCR-12, by a proposed residential development project. A total of 15,100 cultural elements were recovered from the site by the SJSU field school team and an additional 1292 elements were recovered by ACRS. All materials were later accessioned into the San Jose State University Department of Anthropology Repository. This presentation details the inventorying and analysis of the SJSU CA-SCR-12 assemblage. In addition, Starek frames some very basic research questions about the nature of the site, and he turns to AMS dating, XRF sourcing, and obsidian hydration studies in order to obtain data which may aid in answering those questions.

Gerald Starek is a native of San Jose, California and he received his B.A. in Anthropology and his Master’s Degree in Applied Anthropology from San Jose State University. Prior to entering the archaeological arena, he utilized his degree in Semiconductor Physics to work in the semiconductor sector of the Silicon Valley for about 15 years. Starek has worked for a number of Silicon Valley technology firms, including SVGI, ASML, and Novellus. He is now an archaeologist and is currently working for the CRM firm Holman & Associates, of San Francisco, on a number of archaeological projects in Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Joaquin Counties.