Professor Emerita Lynn Gamble receives lifetime achievement award as a California archaeologist

UC Santa Barbara Professor Emerita Lynn Gamble was recently honored with the David A. Fredrickson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for California (SCA) Archaeology. The award is the society's highest distinction given to a California archaeologist, recognizing cumulative research and service contributions to the state's archaeology over the course of their lifetimes.

"It is a profound privilege to be honored by my peers for a lifetime of work as a California archaeologist," Gamble said. "Many students, colleagues and California Indians supported me throughout my career and deserve this recognition, too. I thank everyone who recognized me in this life endeavor."

Gamble specializes in the emergent sociopolitical complexity among hunter-gatherers in southern California, in particular the Chumash Indians, who for millennia have thrived along the California coast in what are now Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Los Angeles and Kern counties.

The award, named for prominent and well-remembered Sonoma State University archaeologist David A. Fredrickson (1927-2012), honors senior members of the profession for the impacts they have made on their field. His legacy includes the establishment of several standards in the modern management of cultural resources and a shift toward collaborative and respectful relationships with the living descendants of the populations being studied.

"Lynn epitomizes everything that the lifetime achievement award stands for," noted UC Berkeley Professor Emeritus Kent Lightfoot during the awards presentation, including her "superb scholarship" and "exceptional service to the discipline," as well as her mentorship, her collaboration with various stakeholders and outreach to the broader public.

The presentation was held at the SCA's 60^th Annual Meeting in Palm Springs. Mona Olivas Tucker, a Chumash Indian elder and chair of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, received the California Indian Heritage Preservation Award at the same meeting. "It was very special for us both to receive our awards at the same time," said Gamble, who initiated the California Indian Heritage Preservation Award in 2000 when she was president of the SCA.

Gamble received her Ph.D. in anthropology at UCSB in 1991. She then served in several capacities at UCLA and as a professor at San Diego State University before returning to UCSB in 2009 as a curator and supervisor at the campus's archaeological and ethnographic collections, and as a professor in the Department of Anthropology. She was also the coordinator and supervisor of the Central Coast Information Center of the State of California's Office of Historic Preservation. She is the author and co-author of several books and numerous articles, as well as many reports for various government agencies in her capacity as a consultant, and has given a variety of presentations to the public and professional societies throughout her career.

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