SWCA provides a comprehensive suite of archaeological services to meet any compliance need, from planning and identification to recovery and monitoring during construction.
Our nationwide capacity and top professionals in the field mean we can handle projects of any size and complexity anywhere in the United States. We are experts in compliance with federal and state regulations pertaining to archaeology and focus on finding solutions for our clients that balance project goals with preservation.
We produce results that advance projects and meet scientific and regulatory standards through comprehensive studies, surveys, full-scale excavations, and sound analysis of artifacts, sites, and other remains. SWCA provides efficient, accurate, and cost-effective data collection using state-of-the-art electronic field equipment, remote sensing vehicles, and data processing systems. Our full-service archaeological program offers robust modeling applications and geoarchaeological techniques that rapidly and reliably help scope projects and identify cultural resources.
Relevant Services
- Archaeological Surveys, Excavation, Testing, and Data Recovery
- Geoarchaeology, Geomorphology, Probability Monitoring
Resources and Examples
Story Map
From Mammoths to Mercers: A History of the Nowood River Watershed, Wyoming
The Wyoming Water Development Office is developing a reservoir on Alkali Creek to reduce late-season irrigation shortages among farmers in the Bighorn Basin and to provide recreational opportunities. This story map celebrates the heritage and use of the Nowood River Watershed, beginning with the watershed’s rich prehistory and Native American inhabitants and carrying into the Historic period through the present, focusing on the development of the Mercer Homestead and the Mercer family’s adaptation of the land to meet their homesteading needs, which has allowed the family to endure there into the 21st century.
Staff Spotlight
Dream Job? Balancing Field Archaeology with Motherhood
SWCA archaeological experts help paint a picture of those who came before us, passionately studying and preserving their cultures and histories. Laci Paul, staff archaeologist out of our Bismarck office digs into her career passions, becoming a parent during the pandemic, and work-life harmony.
The Wire
The Lost Barn: SWCA Helps Preserve History at Emily Dickinson Museum
Emily Dickinson's home, built in the early 1800s, is preserved and open to the public as part of the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. Interested in building a historic replica of a backyard barn, the museum needed to know its exact location so as not to run utility lines through the original foundation or unintentionally destroy any artifacts during an upcoming maintenance renovation.
“We dig a lot of holes, so it’s fun when we actually dig some things up,” said Chris Donta, Project Manager and Cultural Resources team lead.
Downloadable Resource
Projectile Points of Arizona Typology Poster
Check out this downloadable quick reference.
The Wire
Following Their Footsteps: Routine Archaeological Investigations Reveal Glimpses of Ancient Lifeways
One summer, nearly 3,000 years ago, monsoon rains caused Rillito Creek in Tucson, Ariz., to overflow its banks and swamp a family’s fields at the confluence of the creek and the Santa Cruz River. As the water receded, a layer of sand was deposited, burying the footprints left by nine adults, two children, and a dog.
For native tribes in the area, the footprints were a missing piece to a puzzle that had been handed down by elders for generations. When members of the Tohono O’odham Nation visited the exposed trackways, several commented that this was the missing proof of all that they had been told – that their people have lived and farmed this basin for thousands of years.
Meet the Experts
