Virtual Museum and Newsletter Archive

	A Letter From The Ocean Hotel, A Victorian Lady Traveler's Adventures in San Diego, 1888	Originally on exhibit at the Diego International Airport, Terminal 2, April 5, 2006 through September 27, 2006, as part of the San Diego Airport Authority’s Cultural Exhibit Program, this award-winning exhibit is now on display at the Center.  The exhibit narrator is a fictional character, Gemma Penthorpe, an adventurous English lady who came to San Diego as part of her season abroad. She lodged at the Ocean House Hotel, which operated at the corner of Seventh and K Streets. On exhibit are glassware, dishes, bottles and personal items and items dating from the late 1880s. In 2002, Carlsbad-based ASM Affiliates excavated a block in San Diego’s East Village. The excavation revealed an archaeological record of the people, businesses and lifestyles during the 1880s. San Diego in 1888 was at the end of a frenzied although fragile period of growth. A rail ticket from Chicago dropped from $175 to just $1 in 1886. The population had grown to 40,000 and people speculated heavily on land. By 1890 the balloon busted, the population dropped to 16,000 and the land was relatively worthless. ASM Affiliates is a regional cultural resource management firm offering archaeological and historical studies for compliance with local, state, and federal environmental requirements throughout the greater Southwest.  View this exhibit in pdf format (1.1mb).   Also, click here for an interesting lesson in creating a Victorian calling card, an important social custom of the Victorian Period.
	Pottery and Place	Pottery-making was an important technology for the pre-contact inhabitants of San Diego County. Pottery vessels were durable, fireproof, and waterproof and helped people cope with environmental challenges. Pottery jars stored water in the desert and protected important food stores from rodents in the mountains.  This exhibit is on display at the Serra Mesa - Kearny Mesa Branch Library, 9005 Aero Dr., San Diego, during the month of April, 2007.   In 2006, University of California, San Diego intern Jamaica Grace-Bishop under the direction of Dr. Margie Burton, Center Research Director began a research project to investigate shapes and sizes of pre-contact pottery from two different physiographic zones: the mountains of the Cleveland National Forest and the desert of Anza-Borrego. Two collections of pottery sherds curated at the Center were used for her study. The results are presented in the Center's new research-based exhibit Pottery and Place. View this exhibit in PDF format (.5mb)
	Moments in Time	This exhibit recounts some of the most significant events in American history as lived by San Diegans and recorded by the artifacts they left behind.  The historic events featured in this exhibit were selected because we are living many similar experiences today.  Political divisiveness, hazardous medications on the market, dangerous disease, lifestyle transformations, economic uncertainty, war and social inequality are current issues. What will we leave behind for future archaeologists to find that will tell of our experiences today?  View exhibit in pdf format (1 mb).
	Del Mar, Spanning Time and Place	Artifacts from dozens of Del Mar Mesa archaeological sites will be on exhibit at the Del Mar Branch Library from April through May. Through a generous grant from the Pardee Corporation’s Environmental Conservation Foundation, the San Diego Archaeological Center brought together collections stored all over the county for continued research and public exhibition.    Radiocarbon dates indicate that people lived in the Del Mar area 8,600 years ago up until the Spanish arrived.  Stone tools, pottery, shell, animal bone, soil samples and charcoal provide evidence of past settlement and survival strategies related to coastal wetlands environments in the County.  This exhibit provides examples of long-term patterns of human/environment interaction prior to European contact and 20th century urbanization.     View exhibit in pdf format (1.3 mb).
	The View From Otay Mesa: Cultural Landscapes Through Time	Otay Mesa is located in the southernmost part of San Diego County, touching the international border. These 50 square miles are a microcosm of the greater San Diego Area, representing its past, present and future.  In this exhibit, we look at artifacts from five different archaeological sites from the Otay Mesa Management Plan Area to explore the environment, lifestyle, trade and technology of each cultural landscape represented. You will be surprised at some of the differences and commonalities that emerge over 10,000 years of history.  View exhibit in pdf format (0.8 mb).
	The Harris Site, San Diego's Place In The Past	This exhibit showcases the C. W. Harris Site Archaeological District, a local site and one of the most important archaeological sites in the United States. Almost 70 years of study at this site has yielded crucial information about the prehistory of the Far West, and pushed back the dates of occupation in California thousands of years.   View exhibit in pdf format (2 mb).
	Potrero, A Mountain Meadow	In July of 1979 an archaeological investigation was conducted on the Chacksfield property, which is located 1.2 miles north of Tecate Peak, 3 miles south of Potrero Peak and 1.4 miles north of the U.S./Mexico boarder. The Potrero Valley was first settled by non-natives in 1868 by sea captain Charles McAlmond. Since that time the thick forests which once covered the area have been exploited by the early settlers in many different ways including cash crops of cordwood, bark for tanning leather and smoking meat, medicinal teas, and the making of ink. Click here to see the text of this exhibit (in Word format).
	Rose Canyon, A Walk Through San Diego History	A walk through Rose Canyon is also a walk through history from the beginnings of human habitation in the region, Spanish exploration, Californio rancheros, and early American entrepreneurial ventures to modern-day commerce. This exhibit explores the history of Rose Canyon, and you’re invited to visit this fascinating cultural landscape for yourself. Rose Canyon runs from Mission Bay to Mira Mesa.  View this exhibit in pdf format (1.7mb).
	Archaeology 101	Archaeology is a multidisciplinary field, drawing on geography, medicine, geology, biology, art, math and engineering. Archaeologists are often working at a disadvantage, because only portion of history is preserved in the archaeological record.  For example, only hard or non-corruptible objects can remain in the archaeological record over time. Fragile wood and plant materials are rarely recovered. So, archaeologists must try to reconstruct the past with only a fraction of what existed before.  Because of the fragility of the archaeological record, it is essential that all artifacts remain until explored by professional archaeologists.  An artifact put in your pocket is lost history. Click here to find out more about archaeology.   Also, see So You Want To Be An Archaeologist?
	Research Issues In San Diego Pre-history	This is a revised version of "Research Issues in San Diego Archaeology," which was published by the San Diego County Archaeological Society in 1992-1993.