Early archaeological studies showed that prehistoric technologies and lifeways changed over time. Archaeologists use these changes to define cultural "periods."
ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE DELTA
By the time of the first archaeological studies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region in the 1920s and 1930s, the landscape had changed significantly from its prehistoric state, mostly because levee construction and other flood-control projects had drained off the seasonal wetlands and turned them into agricultural fields. Even so, many of the large mound sites in the Delta and along the Sacramento River were still mostly undisturbed, and these early explorations provided clues to a rich and complex prehistory.
Faculty and students from Sacramento Junior (now City) College began the first extensive program of archaeological survey and excavation in the greater Sacramento area. The results of some of this work were published in 1939 as An Introduction to the Archaeology of Central California (see Suggestions for Further Reading). The main goal of most of these early excavations was to find human burials and the grave offerings that went with them; it was several decades before archaeologists realized that we could learn as much - or more - about prehistoric peoples by studying the places where they had lived, not just where they were buried.
Only in the last several years have archaeologists come to better understand the sacredness of these burials to the living populations of Native Americans, and the importance of leaving the graves undisturbed whenever possible. Today, for the most part, human remains are removed only when they are in danger of destruction from projects (for example, highway widening or building construction) or natural forces like flooding or erosion. This removal is done in consultation with members of the local Native American community, who also help choose an appropriate location for reburial.
The early work by Sacramento Junior College helped archaeologists start piecing together the puzzle of Central California prehistory - but it was only a start. Probably the most valuable thing to come out of this work, and the studies that came soon after, was the evidence that prehistoric societies here had not stayed the same over time, but had gone through a series of changes. Some of these changes were reflected in the objects people made, and the way they made them; other changes showed in the different ways people buried their dead. From this information, archaeologists were able to draw a very rough outline of the prehistory of this region, an outline that we are still trying to fill in some 50 years later.
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