Archaeology at San Diego State University over the past 4 decades provides instructive examples of how the discipline evolved in southern California. In the 1960s and 1970s, SDSU's local archaeology program was dominated by Paul Ezell, who directed investigations that spanned the transition from "salvage" archaeology to cultural resource management. In 1971, the department established a modest contract program. In the late 1970s, the program changed directorship and became the home of the state clearinghouse. After 1985, the program declined, ending with the removal of the clearinghouse from the Anthropology Department in 1987. Except for work at the San Diego Presidio, SDSU has done little local archaeology until the recent excavations at the Penasquitos adobe.