PCARG Inc.

What PCARG Inc. does

PCARG Inc. (Pre-Columbian Archaeological Research Group, Inc.) is a non-profit archaeological research organization founded in 1998 by Dr. Mary Glowacki and Mike Lavender. It investigates early societies of the Americas through two complementary programs: long-duration terrestrial excavation in the Huaro Valley of Peru focused on Wari and earlier Andean cultures, and cultural resource management surveys in Florida and the broader southeastern United States. PCARG publishes peer-reviewed findings on Pre-Columbian Andean societies and maintains a public presence through its website and PayPal-supported donation channel.

The organization's work is split across two service lines. PCARG Core delivers terrestrial archaeological research, Phase I/II/III cultural resource assessments, and field publications. PCARG Marine Research delivers submerged cultural resource surveys using an EG&G Geometrics 881 Cesium vapor marine magnetometer, Klein 3900 dual-frequency side-scan sonar, Trimble DGPS satellite positioning, and HyPack software integrated with Surfer, Sonar Pro, and ArcGIS; three dedicated vessels support work from shallow tidal creeks into offshore survey corridors.

PCARG's revenue is composed of three streams: federal grant funding (notably a 2022 National Park Service grant tied to the Hurricane Michael Project in the Florida panhandle), individual donations via PayPal, and contracted marine archaeological services delivered to coastal development and re-nourishment programs (Dauphin Island, Alabama in 2023 and 2024; Cape San Blas, Florida). Customer segments are federal and state cultural-resource agencies, county-level coastal engineering programs, and individual research donors; the leadership footprint remains centered on the two founders with contracted technical labor as needed.

Name

PCARG Inc.

Legal name

Pre-Columbian Archaeological Research Group, Inc.

Website

https://pcarg.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Short description

PCARG Inc. is a non-profit archaeological research organization that conducts terrestrial and submerged cultural resource studies of early societies of the Americas, serving federal and state agencies, coastal re-nourishment programs, and donors across the US and Peru.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Primary revenue stream through government grants such as the National Park Service (NPS) grant funding for specific research projects like the Hurricane Michael Project (2022)
2. Donations: Accepts charitable donations via PayPal from supporters to enable recording of archaeological sites and artifacts
3. Marine Archaeological Services: Provides underwater cultural resource surveys and compliance services for clients including beach re-nourishment projects

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

PCARG Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides terrestrial and submerged archaeological research and cultural resource management focused on early societies of the Americas. Through its core program and its PCARG Marine Research division, it delivers end-to-end services — preliminary research, fieldwork and data collection, analysis, interpretation, and final report preparation — for terrestrial sites in Peru and the southeastern U.S. and for submerged cultural resources along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Product overview

PCARG Inc. operates as a non-profit archaeological research organization offering two primary service lines: (1) PCARG Core Services, providing terrestrial archaeological research on early American societies with a focus on Wari empire sites in Peru and Florida/Southeast US archaeology; and (2) PCARG Marine Research, the underwater branch offering submerged cultural resource surveys using specialized marine equipment (magnetometers, side-scan sonar, GPS systems) and producing comprehensive reports and publications including downloadable PDFs on various archaeological studies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PCARG Marine Research: The underwater/submerged cultural resource archaeology division of PCARG, providing preliminary research, fieldwork, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and final report preparation for submerged archaeological projects.

Products and services

• PCARG Pre-Columbian Archaeological Research Services Core terrestrial archaeological research services focused on early societies of the Americas, including long-running excavation of Wari-influenced sites in the Huaro Valley of southern Peru and expanding archaeology of Florida and the southeastern United States. Delivered to federal/state agencies and academic collaborators.
• PCARG Marine Research — Submerged Cultural Resource Survey Services Underwater/submerged cultural resource survey services for government and coastal development clients, including magnetic detection (cesium vapor magnetometer), acoustic detection (dual-frequency side-scan sonar), survey-grade DGPS positioning, real-time HyPack data integration, and GIS analysis, delivered from preliminary research through final report publication to satisfy cultural resource compliance requirements.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AECOM (Cultural Resources): Multinational infrastructure firm with a cultural and archaeological resources practice that bids on large federal/state CRM contracts — competes with PCARG for the same compliance work at higher scale.
• TRC Companies (Cultural Resources): Large engineering and environmental consulting firm with a dedicated cultural resources practice offering archaeological services — competes with PCARG for the same government contract pool but at greater scale.
• Stantec (Cultural Resources): Global engineering consultancy with a cultural resources practice providing archaeological and heritage services — competes for larger coastal infrastructure CRM contracts that PCARG targets.

Direct peers

• Commonwealth Heritage Group: National CRM and historic preservation consulting firm offering terrestrial and underwater archaeological services to government agencies — competes with PCARG in the same CRM compliance niche.
• PaleoWest Archaeology: Cultural resource management firm providing archaeological survey, excavation, and reporting services across the U.S. — directly comparable in service line and client base to PCARG.
• Gray & Pape: Heritage management and CRM firm offering archaeological surveys, historic preservation, and compliance services — comparable in scope to PCARG's terrestrial and underwater work.
• R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates: Cultural resource management firm with a national footprint providing archaeological, architectural, and historic preservation services — overlaps with PCARG's compliance-driven work for government clients.
• Panamerican Consultants: Cultural resource management firm specializing in archaeological investigations in the southeastern U.S. — direct peer for PCARG's Florida and Gulf Coast terrestrial work.
• SEARCH Inc. Southeastern U.S.-based cultural resource management firm providing archaeological survey and compliance services to federal, state, and private clients — directly comparable to PCARG Marine Research's government CRM work.

Emerging players

• Florida Public Archaeology Network: State-supported public archaeology organization coordinating heritage research and public engagement in Florida — adjacent to PCARG's Florida/southeastern U.S. mission rather than a CRM competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PCARG Inc.