ASC, Adrian and Mary Praetzellis Receive Daniel G. Roberts Award for Excellence in Public Historical Archaeology
The Anthropological Studies Center together with archaeologists Adrian and Mary Praetzellis, has received the Daniel G. Roberts Award for Excellence in Public Historical Archaeology, recognizing their enduring leadership in public interpretation, community collaboration, and ethical cultural resource management.
For more than 50 years, ASC has advanced historical archaeology by ensuring that archaeological knowledge reaches well beyond academic and regulatory audiences. Through community-based research, documentary film, interpretive exhibits, and sustained partnerships with descendant communities, ASC has transformed archaeological data into accessible narratives about resilience, identity, and place.
“ASC exemplifies what public historical archaeology can achieve when scholarship, storytelling, and community accountability are treated as inseparable,” said Bonnie J. Clark, one of the award nominators. “Their work demonstrates that archaeology is not just about recovering the past, but about restoring visibility, dignity, and meaning to histories that have too often been marginalized.”
The award also recognizes the profound impact of Mary and Adrian Praetzellis, who directed ASC for 25 years and helped redefine standards for cultural resource management in California. They consistently insisted that compliance archaeology include public-facing outcomes and rigorous scholarly publication. Their edited volume, Archaeologists as Storytellers (1998), is widely regarded as a foundational text in public archaeology.
The award nomination describes Adrian and Mary’s contribution to the field, noting, “Mary and Adrian pushed the field to ask harder questions about who archaeology is for and how it should be practiced. They demonstrated that contract archaeology could—and should—produce work that is intellectually rigorous, visually compelling, and deeply engaged with living communities.”
Two projects exemplify ASC’s legacy. In the 1990s, Putting the There There, a community archaeology initiative in West Oakland following the Loma Prieta earthquake, uncovered the lives of 19th-century working-class families—African American, Chinese, Irish, Portuguese, and other immigrant households—whose neighborhoods had been erased by redevelopment. The accompanying documentary, Privy to the Past, brought these discoveries to national audiences and became a landmark example of archaeology as public storytelling.
More recently, ASC led archaeological and oral history work for the San Francisco Chinatown Muni Station during construction of the Central Subway. Excavations revealed rare material evidence of the Chinese American garment industry, including 19th-century sewing machines sealed after the 1906 earthquake. In collaboration with the Chinese Historical Society of America, ASC helped create a permanent bilingual exhibit within the station, integrating artifacts, oral histories, and historic imagery into a daily public space.
ASC’s influence also extends through education and mentorship. Closely linked to Sonoma State University’s Cultural Resource Heritage Management graduate program, the center has trained generations of archaeologists who now serve in leadership roles across public agencies, Tribal governments, cultural institutions, and consulting firms.
“The continued vitality of ASC is a testament to a model of archaeology that values collaboration, accountability, and care,” Clark added. “This award honors not just a history of innovation, but a living tradition that continues to shape the field.”