The Journal of San Diego History
Summer 1983, Volume 29, Number 3
Contents of This Issue

Book Review
Raymond Starr, Book Review Editor

Approaches to Historical Archaeology: The Case of the Royal Presidio of San Diego. Edited by Stephen A. Colston. San Diego: San Diego History Research

Center, 1982. Illustrations. Bibliography. Maps. 15 Pages. $1.95 Paper.

The Spanish Presidio at San Diego was the first established in the present state of California. It has long since fallen into disuse, crumbled into ruins and finally been covered with dirt in order to preserve the archaeological remains. In recent years excavation of the site has been begun. In 1981 the San Diego History Research Center sponsored a conference to showcase the findings to date about the presidio. This publication includes synopses of the papers (which dealt with history of the excavations, ceramics, faunal remains, but-tons, and plaster samples), and a partial transcript of a question/answer session. It also has an excellent bibliography covering manuscripts, artifacts, audiotapes and published historical and archaeological accounts. Together this material tells us much of what is now known about the Presidio, and also illustrates magnificently the interdisciplinary nature of historical archaeology. The publication can be obtained from: San Diego History Research Center, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182.