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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 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| **Published by the DOI Departmental Consulting Archeologist/NPS Archeology Program, National Park Service, Washington, DC, April           1996.**

**Introduction**

Though the conservation and long-term management of archeological sites           is now generally accepted wisdom, it, wasn't always so. A traditional           bias toward excavation and the keeping of only basic site data has had           effects that linger on today. Historically, and to the detriment of           long-term site care, information has been collected with only fundamental           concerns such as location and interpretation in mind. Excavation was           favored over in-place conservation, under the assumption that the latter           was too complicated and expensive. But the true cost of excavation is           often more than anticipated, and often grows as the curation of objects           is projected into the future. 

What should a resource manager know to compose an effective           long-term plan? It goes far beyond a site's age and location. What are           the environmental dynamics of the setting? What kind of ground cover           grows there? What is the soil type? Is damage being caused by vandals?           Cyclical inundation? Timber harvesting? Off-road vehicles? Jet-skis?           

This brief addresses the care of archeological sites           over time, with accompanying forms to help in planning for a site's           future. 

**Toward Proactive           Management**In the last three decades, the management of           archeological resources has slowly shifted from solving site destruction           problems as they are discovered to actively identifying and managing           resources whether they are being damaged or not. More proactive treatment           of cultural resources does not necessarily signal a policy change on           the part of land managers. Rather, it may indicate that agencies charged           with stewardship are becoming increasingly aware of their mandated responsibilities.           

Soon after the passage of the legislation that has proven           to be the driving force in resource management--the National           Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National           Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and the Archaeological           Resources Protection Act of 1979--numerous federal and state agencies           found that their cultural resource officers were trained neither in           archeology nor any of its allied disciplines. Many managers lacked an           understanding of their legislated responsibilities. Many were without           the professional staff needed to adequately manage archeological properties.           Some simply saw archeological resources as the bane of their existence           and only grudgingly committed funding and manpower to identify and protect           elements of our national heritage. Other managers, to their credit,           worked diligently to protect cultural resources even though they had           little understanding of what they were protecting. Site management was           only as effective as available expertise and funding allowed it to be.           

During the 1970s, when an archeological site was endangered,           the most frequently considered management options were data recovery           or resource avoidance. Active resource conservation was undertaken only           in a few instances, even though it was a preferred mitigation choice           in the legislative and regulatory process. Avoidance was viewed as a           means of protecting a resource against an immediate adverse effect.           While the avoidance approach does constitute a form of conservation           that can address a primary impact, it may not consider secondary impacts.           

There are a number of reasons why data recovery has           traditionally been the preferred option for archeologists:
- Archeologists are generally trained to excavate sites,             not to conserve them. 
- Managers believe that the data contained in the site             is vitally important in answering research questions. 
- Few managers know about the variety of techniques             available to conserve archeological sites. 
- Managers think that conservation, in the long run,             is more expensive than recovery; perhaps the most important consideration             in determining whether a site would be excavated or conserved. 

Traditionally trained archeologists are often unprepared           to provide alternatives for site conservation, which means that resource           managers have been forced to accept the recommendations from professionals           in other fields. As a consequence, most techniques for in-place conservation           have followed traditional engineering design. Such methods are most           effective in dynamic environments such as coastal shorelines, but they           are considerably more expensive than data recovery, particularly when           the cost of long-term maintenance is added. In less volatile environments,           other techniques can conserve a resource over a long period of time,           have a lower initial cost, and require only limited maintenance. Whatever           the case, long-term maintenance must be the cornerstone of a conservation           plan, regardless of the techniques chosen. 

**Cost Considerations**Recent changes in the regulatory process have           introduced new mandates that will require a careful comparison of long-term           conservation costs as opposed to excavation and curation. Budgeting           for excavation, analysis, and report preparation is almost routine,           but this is only part of the total project cost. To be truly accurate,           budgets should figure in the long-term expense of curation as now mandated.           The problem is, the full range of curatorial problems that can arise           from an excavation has not been identified, nor have the respective           costs. If the cost of curating any single class of artifacts under controlled           conditions is not known, no mitigation budget can be complete. 

Stone tools, for example, require little care, but consider           wooden artifacts that have been in wet environments for hundreds or           thousands of years. Once removed, they will deteriorate rapidly unless           kept continually wet. Special treatment can slow and in some cases arrest           deterioration as these artifacts adjust to the curation environment.           But special treatment drives up excavation costs. 

The non-artifactual portion of an excavation can contain           long-term costs as well. The useful life of electronic storage media           seems as yet unknown. Some estimates are as little as five years, which           raises the question of how often records and reports will have to be           replicated. Computers and programs tend to become outdated quickly.           Some data sets could conceivably become inaccessible unless the software           itself is curated. As curation becomes more demanding, the services           of curation facilities will most likely become more expensive. 

A more recent cost that must be figured into any data           recovery program is compliance with the Native American Graves Protection           and Repatriation Act. Projects completed prior to NAGPRA approximated           the cost of compliance. However, compliance costs have not been accurately           documented. As these costs are documented, they will be added to project           budgets, and the cost of mitigation by excavation will rise accordingly.           In situ conservation of archeological remains (when possible and practical)           will eliminate much of the cost associated with mitigation. 

**Inadequacies of           Site Data**As amendments have strengthened cultural resource management           laws, agencies have gained experience in managing their resources. Proactive           treatment has also become more accepted. An increasing number of non-archeologists           are attending archeology management workshops sponsored by the National           Park Service, which discuss in situ conservation as well as excavation           and curation. 

Most land-managing organizations now have either in-house           archeologists or contracts for archeological expertise. But while the           general management picture has changed dramatically over the last three           decades, the collection of baseline archeological data has not met these           agencies' management needs. This is not to imply that archeological           information was or is not available. Rather, it shows how the traditional           purposes for collecting this information are no longer adequate. 

All states (and many federal agencies) maintain site           location files for the properties they manage. But the focus of most           state inventories has been primarily on answering questions as: Where           is the site located? When was it occupied? Is it eligible for the National           Register? Is it being damaged? By what, or by whom? This information           may be more than adequate for site interpretation, but not enough for           resource management. Inventories of federal land holdings have been           mandated, but have not yet been completed. Land managers must still           rely on site location data that was recorded 50 years ago, and data           currently being collected may not be adequate 50 years from now 

At many land managing agencies, archeologists are becoming           increasingly office bound with dwindling knowledge of the resources           in their charge. They must rely on surveys to direct and support their           management efforts. In many cases, to supplement what data do exist,           an archeologist must return to the field to collect information for           a management plan. Ideally, the managing archeologist should be able           to complete that plan with information already in hand. 

Archeological projects guided by a scope of services           usually call for the collecting of management-level information according           to professional guidelines. In many cases, however, the guidelines emphasize           anthropological value over management concerns. 

Archeological sites tend to be dynamic natural settings,           since they would have provided the original inhabitants with access           to the greatest diversity of resources. Increasingly intense contemporary           land use has led to physiographic and topographic alterations that,           in turn, intensify the effects of naturally destructive processes. These           culturally derived forces affect not only the contents of archeological           sites, but their locations as well, and not always in ways that can           be anticipated. 

Flooding of stream valleys is both expected and predictable.           The impact of the 1993 Mississippi flood on archeological resources           has not been fully assessed, but some of the results can be predicted.           Sites in the crevasses of the levee system are likely to be scoured           over their surfaces, with some of their deposits removed. Conversely,           sites in areas covered by slowly moving flood waters may have been covered           with a film of silts. In either case, the depositional environment of           the artifacts would be altered, and the long-term effects on the various           classes of artifacts within the site would be difficult to predict.           

Post-flood data on the effects of hydraulic forces and           standing water can be useful in the future. Pre-flooding site location           data may not be sufficient as the basis for assessing impacts. 

**Improving the Information           Base**Most survey projects are recorded in field notes and           on various forms. But it is the forms rather than the field notes that           usually serve as documentation when devising a management plan for a           threatened site. These forms contain an attenuated version of the information           from the original field notes, but as noted earlier, this information           is usually intended for site location, chronology, and interpretive           use, not for management. Therefore, field archeologists should collect           more information than usual during their surveys. Having to go back           and reassess a site only adds to the cost of management. 

The two sample forms in this brief have been devised           to encourage the collection of basic management data. They are presented           in two formats. While they may not meet all of the needs of every management           agency, they can serve as a model for creating appropriate forms. Managers           may add or delete classes of data according to their needs. 

To abate the protest that will follow the suggestion           for more paperwork, every effort has been made to ensure that the information           in the recommended data set is necessary for the management of an archeological           property. An alternative to the creation of additional forms would be           to incorporate some or all of the suggested data categories into existing           data collection systems. 

Return to: Technical           Briefs | Text  | Sample           form I | Sample           form II            | **introduction**

**toward                 proactive management**

**cost                 considerations**

**inadequacies                 of site data**

**improving                 the information base**

**sample                 form I**

**sample                 form II**

**print                 version  **

**technical briefs                 index**

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