Assessing Site Significance : A Guide for Archaeologists and Historians

by Hardesty, Donald L.; Little, Barbara J.; Fowler, Don

• ISBN13: 9780742503168
• ISBN10: 074250316X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc

Summary

Of the many properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places, only 7% are archaeological sites. With the Register designed to primarily assess the historical significance of standing sites, archaeologists have had difficulty translating eligibility criteria to sites known primarily from archaeological work. Hardesty and Little provide practical guidance for archaeologists and others on how to examine these properties for their historical significance, both for academic reasons and for proposal to the Register. This useful guide will be helpful for anyone working in a cultural resource management context with recent archaeological sites.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Approaches to Assessing Significance
Introduction	p. 3
What Is the Modern World?	p. 4
Modern World Archaeological Remains	p. 4
The Value of Modern World Sites	p. 5
The Legal Context of Significance	p. 7
Determining National Register Eligibility	p. 11
Categorize the Property	p. 12
Determine Which Historic Context(s) the Property Represents and How Property Types Relate to the Archaeological Resources	p. 13
Evaluate Significance under National Register Criteria A-D	p. 30
Apply Criteria Considerations	p. 43
Determine If Property Retains Sufficient Integrity to Convey Its Significance	p. 44
Nominating Properties to the National Register	p. 49
Scientific and Scholarly Significance	p. 53
What Is Archaeological Information?	p. 53
What Are the Sources of Archaeological Information?	p. 54
Assessing the Information Content of Sites	p. 60
What Makes Archaeological Information Important?	p. 62
Dealing with Redundancy	p. 66
Case Study: Examining World Systems	p. 72
Case Study: Power and the Plantation	p. 73
What's Next?	p. 75
Case Studies
Linear Sites	p. 79
Building Context: Defining Sociotechnical Systems	p. 80
Assessing the Information Value of Historic Trails	p. 81
Case Study: Portage Trails in Minnesota	p. 84
Case Study: Assessing Water Conveyance Systems	p. 86
Case Study: Railroad Logging in Arizona	p. 87
Case Study: The Henness Pass Road	p. 92
Industrial Sites and Monuments	p. 97
Defining Industrial Property Types	p. 98
Linking Archaeological Resources to Property Types	p. 99
Assessing the Historical Value of Industrial Sites	p. 100
Evaluating Industrial Technology Sites	p. 102
Industrial Social Formations	p. 104
Industrial Landscapes	p. 109
Case Study: The Iron and Steel Resources of Pennsylvania 1716-1945	p. 112
Case Study: Wood's Gristmill	p. 117
Domestic Sites and Farmsteads	p. 119
Case Study: Rural Resources of Leon County, Florida	p. 122
Case Study: Rural Villages at Fort Drum, New York	p. 123
Case Study: Homesteads	p. 127
Case Study: Ozark and Ouachita Rural Households	p. 128
Large-Scale Sites	p. 133
Plantations and Ranches	p. 134
Mining Districts	p. 137
Engineering Projects	p. 141
Townsites	p. 142
Military Properties	p. 146
Summary	p. 153
Archaeology Is Important to the Recent Past	p. 153
Historical Archaeology Is Still Archaeology	p. 154
The Recent Past Also Needs Good Research Designs	p. 155
There Are Many Pathways to the Recent Past	p. 156
Information Needs Focus	p. 157
Abundant Sites Are Significant	p. 157
Recent Sites Are Not Isolated	p. 158
Glossary	p. 161
References	p. 165
Index	p. 179
About the Authors	p. 183
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