The Center for Applied Archaeological Science (CAAS) is a research and contract archaeology program established in 1986 and housed within the Department of Anthropology at Boise State University. The university, founded in 1932, is a metropolitan university having an enrollment of over 18,000 students. Situated in the state capital, the university offers a wide range of undergraduate majors, masters, and doctoral degrees. CAAS has conducted research throughout Idaho and other western states. Its offices conduct small and large-scale cultural resource surveys and excavations and has the ability to manage multiple projects and tasks simultaneously. Since its inception CAAS has developed a broadly-based physical plant and staff structure that allows rapid-response actions within the greater scope of its programs.

Since its founding CAAS has completed over 300 cultural resource projects that include the development of archaeological research designs, archaeological and historical surveys, testing programs, data recovery protocols, full-scale and multi-year excavations, Section 106 compliance coordination, archival research, National Register Nominations, NAGPRA consultations, the production of scholarly and technical papers and monographs and popular posters and brochures.