ebook img

Federal Archeological Programs and Activities: The Secretary of the Interior's Report to Congress PDF

128 Pages·1993·6.7 MB·English
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview Federal Archeological Programs and Activities: The Secretary of the Interior's Report to Congress

j_ M.itiftR ay/s»il ARCHEOLOGICAL PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES TheSecretaryof the Interior's Report to Congress PUBLIC documents DEPUSJTOKY item APR 25 1994 CLFMSON LifiEARX • Departmental ConsultingArcheologist Archeological Assistance Program National Park Service Department ofthe Interior Washington, DC 1993 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation http://www.archive.org/details/federalarcheologOOmcma FEDERAL ARCHEOLOGICAL PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES Compiled by FrancisP. McManamon The Secretary of the Interior's Patricia C. Knoll Rntbann Knudson Report to Congress GeorgeS. Smith andRichard C. Waldhaner Departmental ConsultingArcheologist ArcheologicalAssistance Program 1993 National ParkService DepartmentoftheInterior Washington, DC COVER: Rock art at Pony Hill Site, NM ,/. Mi,Idle /; nnessee StateUniversity u Summary Executive In 1989SecretaryoftheInteriorManuelLujan,Jr. senttoCongressareportonFederal archeological activities that incorporated information from all Federal agencies that have archeological responsibilities. The content and scope of the 1989 report sub- stantially expanded the archeological activities and results taken into account. As a result, the reports, ofwhich this is the second, have increased substantially in con- tent. This more comprehensive level of reporting, data collection, synthesis, and evaluation hasrequiredaconsiderablylongertimetopreparethereportsthan inpre- vious years when only a portion ofNational Park Service (NPS) activities were cov- ered. Measures are being taken to reduce the time needed to collect the data and producefuairereports. The recommendations made in the 1989 report were used by Secretary Lujan to de- vise anational strategyforFederal archeologythathasbeenformulated (Lujan 1991). The strategy calis for greater attention as part of Federal archeology programs and projectsin: • Providing for public education and participation; • Using the paleoenvironmentai record from archeological sites to better understand present-day changing environments; • Preserving in situ archeological remains; • Improving the communication ofarcheological information; • Improving archeological resource inventories; and • Improving the curation ofarcheological collections. These categories provide anoutline that organizedthe chapters ofthe presentreport to Congress. Thisreportrecordsprogress in certain areas relatedto the national strat- egy. Anumber ofimportant improvements have strengthened efforts to protect and preservearcheological resources. Amendmentsto theArchaeological Resources Pro- tectionAct(ARPA)enhancedthestatute by: (1)making iteasierto obtainconvictions under ARPA by lowering the financial threshold for artifact value or site damage re- quiredforafelonyviolation; (2) makingtheattempted lootingofa site a crime; (3)re- quiring Federal programs to increase the public's awareness ofand appreciation for the significance of archeological resources located on public and Indian lands and theneedtoprotectsuch resources; (4) developing methodsofreporting violationsof the Act and establishing procedures for document completion by agency personnel; and (5) determiningthe natureandextentofarcheological resourceson Federal land through increasedarcheologicalsurvey. ui TheSecretaryoftheInterior'sReportto Congress Important advances also have occurred in the means of exchanging information about Federal archeology. Not the least of those advances was the production and distribution ofthe earlier Secretary's report to Congress on Federal archeology (Keel et al. 1989). In addition, to assist in regular information exchange, the National Park Service'sArcheologicalAssistance Programdevelopedaseriesofpublications. These publicationsinclude: FederalArcheologyReport, a quarterlynewsletterbegun inApril 1988, which pro- vides information on current archeological activities by Federal and other public agencies. Topics covered include training opportunities, published sources for tech- nical guidance, interagencypeer reviewsto improve Federal projecteffectiveness, as well as anti-looting and vandalism, public awareness, and education initiatives. This newsletterisdistributedtoover5,000individualsandorganizations. Technicalpublications, which began appearing inJune 1988, that provide specific guidance on topics important for improvements in public agency archeology pro- gramsandarcheological preservation. There have been advances in public education. For example, die interagency Public AwarenessWorking Group (PAWG) began a number ofprograms in 1987 including theproduction anddistributionofaseriesofarcheological resource protectionbook- marks and a 28-minute videotape {Assault on Time) promoting archeological re- source protection. The bookmarks and video were produced and distributed cooperativelybyseveral agenciesincludingthe National ParkService, Fish andWild- life Service, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, the Department of the Treasury, andtheDepartmentoftheArmy. The coming decade and the next century pose new challenges along with the ones that have confronted those concerned about archeological preservation during the last 20 years. The areas currently addressed must continue to be addressed. For the most part, Federal program managers and archeologists cannot afford to shift pre- cious resources away from these activities to meet additional challenges, although someshifting maybenecessary. Neweffortsarerequiredto improvepubliceducation andparticipation, thepreserva- tion ofthe in situ record, information availability, resource inventories, and the cura- tion of collections and records. Progress in all of these areas has the potential for substantialbenefits iftheycanbeaddressedeffectively. To continue to improve the system ofarcheological resource management that has developed in the United States during the past 25 years, the Administration, Federal and other public agencies, Congress, archeologists from each of the major areas of employment including public agencies, academic departments, private firms, and id historicpreservationistsmustworkcooperatively. Thereismuchtodo, butitisnecessary ifthe nation'sarcheological heritageisto haveauseful future. iv Acknowledgements Interagency cooperation provided the foundations upon which this reportwas writ- ten. We acknowledge those departments/agencies that contributed data. Without their dedication and contributions the content, scope, and quality ofdata contained in this report would not have been possible. A special note of appreciation is ex- tended to all those individuals who collected and compiled the data used in this re- port. We would also like to thank the Interagency Archeological Task Force for its assistance in revisingan earlierquestionnaireto meetthe needsofdata collection for this report. Especially helpful in this revision were: Richard Brook (Bureau of Land Management), Evan DeBloois (Forest Service), Jim Hand (Corps ofEngineers), and Kevin Kilcullen (Fish and Wildlife Service). Their comments greatly assisted in the qualityofdatareceived. The staffofthe National Park Service, Archeological Assistance Divisionwas respon- sible for compiling and evaluating the data provided by 43 departments and agen- cies. Because the data were analyzed at a much finer level than was possible in previousyears, ittook considerablestaffcooperation andtime to prepare this report. Their collective experience, dedication, persistence, ability to work well with their colleagues in various departments/agencies, and their pleasant attitudes made the writing and completion ofthis report possible. Various drafts and sections ofthis re- port were prepared by Patricia C. Knoll, Francis P. McManamon, George S. Smith, and Richard C. Waldbauer. The final version of the text was edited by Francis P. McManamon, Departmental Consulting Archeologist. A special note ofappreciation goestoVeletta Canouts, Robin K. Coates, andRuthann Knudsonfortheirvaluable in- putandassistance in producingthisreportandtoJean C. Alexander, DavidAndrews, and Roger S. Friedman for copyediting, design, and publication ofit. Wewould like to thank Bennie C. Keel, whose coordination ofFederal archeological activities dur- ing his tenure as Departmental Consulting Archeologist from 1979to 1989 promoted cooperation among agencies. Jerry Rogers, Associate Director, Cultural Resources, National Park Service, also has promoted coordination and cooperative action with otherFederal agenciesanddepartmentsvigorously. The recognition and understanding of natural and cultural processes builds upon past knowledge. This collective knowledge changes as new ideas or new ways of looking at old ideas come into being. It is with much appreciation that we acknow- ledge those who preceded us. They provided the basis for today's Federal archeo- logical activities. Contents ExecutiveSummary Hi Acknowledgements v ListofTables ix ListofFigures x CHAPTER 1 Reporting on Current Federal Archeological Activities 1 Introduction 1 CollectingData andAnalyzingFederal ArcheologicalActivities 3 Conclusion 9 CHAPTER 2 Federal Archeological Investigations and Studies 13 Introduction 13 FunctionalCategoriesforAgencies 13 UnderrepresentedActivities andCosts 14 ArcheologicalPermitActivities 14 Identification andEvaluationActivities 20 Data RecoveryActivities 24 UnanticipatedDiscoveryActivities 28 Summary 31 CHAPTER 3 Archeological Resources on Federal Land 33 Introduction 33 KnownArcheologicalResources andInventoryActivity 33 Summary 38 vii TheSecretaryoftheInterior'sReportto Congress CHAPTER 4 Archeological Information Exchange 41 Introduction 41 Interagency Cooperation 41 TheNationalArcheologicalDatabase 44 Summary 45 CHAPTER 5 Archeological Looting, Law Enforcement, and Site Protection 47 Introduction 47 ReportedLooting and Vandalism 48 Methods Usedto ImproveArcheologicalSiteProtection 50 Interagency Cooperation in FightingArcheologicalLooting 55 ArcheologicalSiteProtectionMethods 57 ArcheologicalLooting Clearinghouse 60 Discussion 60 CHAPTER 6 Public Education and Federal Archeology 65 Introduction 65 ViePublicAwareness Working Group 65 Listing ofEducation inArcheologicalPrograms 66 ProfessionalReviews ofArcheological TechnicalReports from FederalAgencies 67 ProfessionalandPrivate Cooperation 67 Summary 69 CHAPTER 7 American Public Archeology: Current Management and Recommendations for the Future 71 Introduction 71 ImportantProgress Since 1987 71 The CurrentManagement ofArcheologicalResources in the UnitedStates 75 ImprovingAmericanArcheologicalResourceManagement 82 Summary 86 References Cited 88 AppendixA. Letters TransmittingReport to Congress 93 AppendixB. Questionnaire Usedto CollectFY1987Data 99 vui

See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.