Other Questions That Count: Introductory Comments on Assessing Significance in Historical Archaeology

• Published in: Historical archaeology Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 10 - 13
• Main Authors: Lees, William B., Noble, Vergil E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethlehem, Pa Society for Historical Archaeology 01-01-1990
• Subjects: Academic conferences; Archaeological conservation; Archaeological sites; Archaeology; Cultural preservation; Culture historical archaeology; Historic preservation; Historic properties; Historical archaeology; Methodological Approaches to Assessing the Archaeological Significance of Historic Sites: Symposium, 1987 Meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology Savannah, Georgia; National parks
• ISSN: 0440-9213; 2328-1103
• DOI: 10.1007/BF03374124

It may be observed that the treatment of historic sites in federally-mandated historic preservation programs does not do justice to those resources. Indeed, the review and compliance procedure is inconsistent and at times capricious in dealing with archaeological sites of the Historic period. Accordingly, so that the intent and purpose of historic preservation legislation can be fully realized, affirmative steps must be taken to correct present deficiencies in the system. Toward that end, a symposium was held at the 1987 Society for Historical Archaeology meetings in order to identify some of the problems inherent in the historic preservation process and seek their resolution. This paper discusses some of the issues that were articulated in the day-long symposium and introduces four papers selected from among the 13 formal contributions; commentary by Douglas Scott follows presentation of the papers.