Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 16 - History, Humanities and Arts › Part 3 - Historic Preservation Division › Chapter 12 - Mississippi Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Investigations › Rule 16-3-12.6.7 - Phase III Data Recovery/Mitigation

Current through June 25, 2024
If project plans cannot avoid impact to an NRHP-eligible
				  archaeological site, it may be determined that the resulting Adverse Effect can
				  be addressed through data recovery excavation. Data recovery is intended to
				  remove and record the archaeological information at a site or sites. Because of
				  the unique or nearly unique nature of each archaeological site, requirements
				  for data recovery will be determined through a process of consultation between
				  the appropriate federal agency, the SHPO, federally-recognized Tribes, and
				  supporting state agencies.
Research Design
Phase III data recovery is a full-scale investigation of the
				  portion of the site affected by the project. These investigations are
				  delineated through a research design on the basis of Phase II data. The
				  research design specifies the research questions, expected explanations from
				  comparative research, the associated methods of field and archival
				  investigations and analysis, connecting arguments, and public outreach that is
				  subject to review and approval by MDAH, the appropriate federal
				  agency/agencies, federally-recognized Tribes, and supporting state agencies.
				  These investigations maximize the recovery of significant data available at the
				  site, not the specific research interests of the principal investigator. The
				  research design and public education elements are formally incorporated into a
				  Memorandum of Agreement (see 36 CFR 800.66C ) between the federal
				  agency/agencies, federally-recognized Tribes, supporting state agencies, and,
				  if requested, the Advisory Council, who are signatories, and others with a role
				  in the MOA who participate as concurring parties. Although Phase III focuses
				  investigations through the research design, it incorporates the standard steps
				  of environmental study, research, field investigation, and data analysis into
				  the study.
Phase II work is intended to be sufficiently thorough to
				  determine the quantity and quality of data contained within the affected
				  portion of the site. However, sampling does not always provide an accurate
				  reflection of these elements. As a result, Phase III excavation may not locate
				  the kinds of data necessary to address all the questions posed in the research
				  design, and unanticipated data may provide material for other research
				  questions. When ongoing excavations encounter this situation, the principal
				  investigator should immediately notify MDAH, federal agency,
				  federally-recognized Tribes, and supporting state agencies about necessary
				  modification(s) of the research design.
As noted for previous phases, a principle investigator with
				  36 CFR 61 qualifications in the appropriate areas of specialization for the
				  site under investigation must closely supervise research, field investigations,
				  data analysis, and report preparation. Phase III data recovery often involves
				  consultants with specialized training. List the types of specialists, their
				  training, and their role in the proposal for the Phase III investigations.
Environmental Context
Review the environmental factors relevant to understanding
				  the cultural context(s) associated with the site, its location, and the
				  research questions. If the context has not been adequately addressed in Phase
				  II, finish the necessary investigations. A detailed statement of the
				  environmental context is placed in the Phase III report. The following types of
				  information should generally be included: geology, glacial history, hydrology,
				  physiography/geomorphology, soils, climate, flora, and fauna and the ways in
				  which the ecology of the area has altered through time, focusing on the period
				  of site occupation. Also describe the past and current land use/landscaping
				  patterns and describe the existing cultural landscape/setting, identifying past
				  and recent modifications as they relate to the significance and condition of
				  the site under examination.
Site Specific and Contextual Research
Research depends in part on the research questions addressed
				  by Phase III investigations. The Phase III report includes a concise
				  description of the cultural contexts, relevant site types, and site specific
				  information related to the site under investigation and its setting. Also
				  incorporate data relevant to the subject site gained from Phase I and II
				  reports completed for the project. It is through the comparative and contextual
				  research that data from the site are given broader meaning and through it the
				  site achieves its significance. Thus, this information is critical to the Phase
				  III report.
The current status of research as it applies to the research
				  questions should be summarized in the research design and provided in detail in
				  the Phase III report. Phase III investigations include a comprehensive review
				  of the comparable sites, including published and unpublished reports; in some
				  cases, continued interviews with local landowners, avocational archaeologists,
				  local and regional archaeologists and specialists; and examination of related
				  collections in public and private ownership that enhance the understanding of
				  the subject site and research questions. Manuscript research may add to the
				  understanding of the site type. For example, contemporaries describing early
				  industrial processes and machinery may permit interpretation of an industrial
				  site. Depending on the nature and significance of the site or site complex,
				  Phase III research in or information from out-of-state repositories may be
				  necessary.
During Phase III investigations at historic sites and within
				  a sufficient time frame to benefit data recovery and artifact analysis, conduct
				  research and the analyses of the materials in relevant detailed records, for
				  example newspapers, federal and state censuses, retail store account books and
				  related records, diaries, detailed institutional and company records, wills and
				  estate inventories, and private archives and public manuscript collections, and
				  photographic collections. This detailed research continues to focus on the
				  associated contexts and related site types, comparable sites in the region, a
				  history of the site's development, and the research questions. This research is
				  presented in the Phase III report.
Field Investigations
The field methods and kind of data sought for data recovery
				  are detailed in the research design. Depending on the site type and the
				  research questions, these investigations sample the range of significant
				  occupations. Investigation goals in Phase III include confirming and carefully
				  documenting site structure vertically and horizontally to understand the
				  interrelationship of the features, strata, and artifacts of each component and
				  determining their temporal and contextual relationship as well as addressing
				  the research questions.
Excavation in Phase III investigations typically covers a
				  more extensive area. If used for mapping, Phase II maps are field checked.
				  Again the approach to excavation is dictated by the questions, type of
				  occupation, and data being recovered. However, block excavation and trenching
				  are the most common approaches to investigations. Levels are removed by
				  troweling or shovel skimming in 5 to 10 cm intervals within soil strata. Store
				  artifacts by these increments and cross-referenced by provenience. Depending on
				  the size of the artifacts being excavated, screen dirt through one-eighth to
				  one-quarter inch hardware cloth. Some features may require the piece-plotting
				  of artifacts. The mechanical removal of soils is limited to the removal of
				  recent fill and overburden identified as sterile during previous testing. Where
				  environmental circumstances permit and when intensive excavation has
				  sufficiently sampled the site, mechanical stripping of plowzone may expose
				  additional features within the area of impact, permitting a more extensive
				  investigation. Areas of the site extending beyond the project should be
				  protected from stripping, mapped, and set aside as a protected area. Depending
				  on site content and research design, Phase III likely involves the collection
				  of soil samples for flotation and analysis of botanical and faunal remains, the
				  examination of soil chemistry, and the collection of radiocarbon samples.
As in Phase II investigations of historical archaeological
				  sites, vertical control is usually by strata and 10 cm levels within the
				  strata. Depending on the nature of the artifact deposition, for example
				  artifact-rich middens vs. stratified sheet middens, and the nature of the
				  strata, recovery by strata may be sufficient. At the other end of the spectrum,
				  piece plotting of significant finds may be necessary for other deposits.
				  Include from earlier phases and expand the data documenting
associated
standing buildings and structures, their
				  visible remains, and associated landscape features. Phase III includes an
				  interior inspection of the building with measured sketches of the floor plan,
				  delineating room size, window and door placement, chimney locations, storage
				  areas, stairs, and other features significant to the study. Room function
				  contemporary with the period under investigation is important to the study, but
				  difficult to address. Areas of the building or structure that have undergone
				  relatively recent modification and hold little information for analysis do not
				  require similar detail. Also photograph representative areas. An architectural
				  historian versed in regional vernacular forms should provide guidance in this
				  area. The analysis of spaces represented in floor plans and site plans
				  documenting landscaping features should be integrated with the belowground
				  data.
Data Analysis
Analysis should examine and integrate the different forms of
				  data collected during data recovery and those of earlier phases that relate to
				  the site under investigation as well as those gained through comparative
				  analysis with parallel sites within the region and other contextual
				  information. The focus of the qualitative and quantitative analyses required to
				  understand the artifact assemblage within its physical context will vary
				  depending on the research questions being addressed, the site type, and the
				  cultural context(s) to which it relates. The analysis typically includes, but
				  is not limited to, the correlation of soil stratigraphy with the horizontal and
				  vertical distribution of artifacts, features, and structural remains within and
				  among the site's components; the dating of strata through radiometric and other
				  methods; the study of the soil composition and an understanding of the past
				  environmental contexts of the site and the significance of these variables;
				  detailed lithic and ceramic analyses; low and high magnification use-wear
				  analysis; detailed botanical and faunal analyses; detailed analyses of specific
				  artifact types often involving the examination of other sources including other
				  related site collections; comparative document and artifact research examining
				  the technological production of classes of artifacts; and the interpretation of
				  building remains through the examination of functionally and structurally
				  comparable building forms as well as the associated archaeological evidence.
				  Although the research design specifies how the analysis proceeds, unanticipated
				  data should also receive consideration and some anticipated data may not be
				  recovered. Again, changes in analytical strategy are confirmed with the federal
				  agency, the SHPO, federally-recognized Tribes, and supporting state agencies
				  and explained in the report in the statement of method.
All recovered artifacts are catalogued. Because of the large
				  number of artifacts associated with some types of Native American and many
				  historic sites, the principal investigator in conference with the federal
				  agency, the SHPO, federally-recognized Tribes, and supporting state agencies
				  may need to address which portions of the assemblage are retained. Retention
				  includes collection sufficient to permit its reanalysis to examine the research
				  questions of the data recovery project from a different perspective and pursue
				  other questions and types analyses at a later date. The method of and reasons
				  for the artifact selection and the discussions about it are documented in the
				  Phase III report.