Pasadena City College Professors Organize Local Archeological Educational Program

Pasadena City College professors Eloy Zarate and Andrea Murray have organized an archeological educational program known as the San Gabriel Trench Project for Alhambra and San Gabriel school children.

“Our presentations give students an idea of what archeology actually is,” Zarate said, “because when you tell kids about archeology the first thing that comes to their mind is dinosaurs.”

Set across the street from the San Gabriel Mission, the archeological site is considered to be one of the most important in the region and has yielded Spanish coins, animal bones, beads, and even bones. The area is being dug in anticipation of construction of the Alameda Corridor East (ACE) rail project. The archeological excavation began in December 2011. The project is part of ACE’s large-scale railroad improvement project that began in 1998.

“Kids are getting a real hands-on, practical experience to tie to what they are learning in their textbooks,” Zarate said.

The site could also reveal information about the Gabrielino, a branch of the Tongva Tribe that lived on the land before the mission was founded.

For more information, please call (626) 585-3108.