Pacific Legacy, Inc.

Professional
Services

Pacific Legacy offers our clients a full spectrum of cultural resource services. Our team of professionals has extensive experience in archaeological research and historic preservation. Whether you need an inventory of archaeological resources or help navigating a complicated regulatory compliance procedure, Pacific Legacy has the requisite capabilities to help your project succeed.

Exploring the past, informing the present, enriching the future.

We provide tailored solutions for clients with small and large projects. Our blend of expertise and a collaborative work environment allows us to provide quality services to the most extensive cultural resource management projects while also remaining responsive to smaller projects.

Click each block below to see our scope of services, industries, and recent projects.

Scope of Services

photo of a stone wall at an archaelogical dig site

Precontact Archaeology

Pacific Legacy staff have extensive experience with precontact archaeology in the Western United States, Hawai‘i, and elsewhere in Oceania. The senior staff have developed innovative archaeological approaches to investigating the history of Indigenous societies prior to the arrival of European explorers and settlers. This includes archaeological studies of past lifeways, adaptations to differing environmental conditions, technological innovations, and exchange and interaction networks.

photo of a wall at an archaeological dig site

Historical Archaeology

Pacific Legacy has completed hundreds of projects involving post-contact site contexts, including ranches and homesteads, mining landscapes, industrial sites, transportation corridors, and sites of significance to particular ethnic communities. We have expertise in the full range of management activities for historic period resources, including inventories, HABS/HAER documentation, and resource mitigation. Our staff are well versed in historic period materials analysis and archival methods, and are able to provide expert services in documenting, researching, and managing post-contact archaeological resources.

Geoarchaeology

Geoarchaeological studies are increasingly utilized in California and elsewhere to investigate landscape change throughout the Holocene and identify how such change has impacted archaeological sites. Geoarchaeological studies frequently help identify and avoid archaeological sites, explain patterns in archaeological data, and contribute to archaeological studies. Pacific Legacy provides geoarchaeological services to help understand the geo-environmental context of archaeological sites, including sensitivity modeling, analysis of site formation processes, geomorphic mapping, and paleoenvironmental research.

Starch Grain Analysis

Pacific Legacy offers specialized archaeological services focused on starch grain analysis, which plays a crucial role in understanding ancient dietary practices and plant usage, which supports cultural resource management and conservation efforts. This analysis involves the examination of sediment samples collected from archaeological sites to identify and characterize starch grains from past food sources. By utilizing advanced techniques such as microscopy and molecular analysis, Pacific Legacy provides insights into the types of plants consumed by past populations, their agricultural practices, and the ecological contexts of their environments.

Archival, Ethnographic, and Oral Historical Methods

Pacific Legacy regularly conducts archival and ethnographic research to inform our studies. Our senior staff carry out oral historical interviews and consultation with community members to better characterize the history surrounding a project area, and to identify potential project impacts to traditional cultural practices, resources, and rights. Staff members in our Hawai‘i office specialize in conducting Cultural Impact Assessments and Ka Pa’akai Analyses to help satisfy the state’s obligation to protect Native Hawaiian rights.
Professional Services - Archaeological Labratory Analysis

Laboratory Analysis and Collections Curation Preparation

Pacific Legacy’s laboratories are equipped to identify and analyze a wide range of material types recovered from archaeological contexts. We regularly prepare archaeological collections for curation following federal standards. We work with clients and descendant communities to determine the best long-term curation strategy for archaeological materials recovered from projects, and make arrangements for collections curation by communities or appropriate facilities.

Recent Projects

Pacific Legacy has conducted thousands of cultural resource studies throughout the western United States, Hawaiian Islands, and Oceania. We have recently conducted projects that support hazard mitigation and recovery, telecommunications, transportation, energy, and commercial and residential development, including affordable and workforce housing projects. Our recent projects highlight the range of archaeological services and analytical capabilities we provide.

California

Hawai‘i