Our Cultural Resources Team assists clients in preserving the prehistoric and historic cultural heritages of regions undergoing development. Our Archaeologists and Paleontologists conduct preconstruction site assessments through literature and archival record searches, field surveys and, if necessary, subsequent testing and recovery programs. We conduct paleontological assessments of properties to determine the potential for significant fossil remains. We determine the types of sediments, their potential for containing fossils and the approximate depth of the deposits, and makes recommendations for further work ranging from field surveys for surface finds, paleontologic monitoring programs, and fossil salvage plans. Mitigation monitoring of earth-moving construction activities ensures significant fossils and artifacts encountered will be appropriately recorded, collected, curated, and documented in accordance with Federal and State regulations, professional guidelines, and Local Government requirements and recommendations.

MBA also provides evaluation of cultural resource sites for inclusion on national, California, and local registers. Our evaluations for historic resources typically include archival research, in-field evaluation, and comprehensive reporting detail of findings and offer recommendations for site mitigation, if required. For prehistoric resources, our evaluations include consultation with the Native American Heritage Commission and local, concerned, Native American tribal representatives. Following our field surveys, our team determines the best course of action to procet sensitive prehistoric resources including burial sites, religious sites, artifacts, and traditionally valued plants and animals.