This volume contains two working papers on the prehistory of the California Desert. The first paper entitled "Background to Prehistory of the El Paso/Red Mountain Desert Region" by Matthew C. Hall and James P. Barker et. al. is a reprint of the 1975 edition. It is the direct result of work undertaken as the result of an environmental analysis report prepared by the Bureau of Land Management for the leasing of geothermal resources in the Red Mountain vicinity. The detailed discussion of the prehistory of the area is extremely important to general prehistory of the Upper Mojave Desert.
The second paper "An Archaeological Protection and Stabilization Plan for the Squaw Spring Well Archaeological District near Red Mountain, California" is authored by Russell 1. Kaldenberg and Jan Townsend following recommendations made in the Red Mountain Geothermal Environmental AnalysiS Report which was greatly influenced by the Hall and Barker report cited above. This report is a logical sequence to the first and is a step by step method by which cultural resource specialists may affect the protection of cultural resources. Gary Stumpf (Salem District Office) and Butch and Ginger Hancock
(A.R.T. maps) are to be thanked for their outstanding assistance in the Squaw Spring Project as are Gail Givens (former Area Manager for the Barstow Resource Area), William Olsen, Gerry Hillier, Bruce Ottenfeld, Ron Keller, Bary Freet, Tracy Cortez, and Clara Stapp who as usual, did the fantastic rock art illustrations throughout the volume. All rock art illustrations are from Steam Well and Squaw Spring.