_Archaeology_[1] has a number of popular stereotypes usually involving
expeditions to remote parts of the Earth in search of ancient tombs,
lost cities or long-extinct races of Man. The _archaeologist_ is seen
working a “dig” for years, looking for bits of bone or stone of little
importance to anyone but other scientists.
In reality, however, archaeology departs from this picture considerably.
Many modern archaeologists work in their own communities on projects
that include things familiar to most of us. The scope of their studies
may range from 10,000 year old American Indian _sites_ to early
twentieth century farms. Excavations are carried out with the aid of
tools, including small dental instruments, large earth-moving machines,
and electronic computers. Often, archaeologists do not dig at all, but
gather information from maps, photographs, written histories, and living
informants. In fact, more time by far is spent working on _artifacts_ in
a laboratory, and especially in writing reports of excavations, than is
spent in the field. Even more surprising, many archaeologists today work
in cooperation with private and governmental agencies to protect
archaeological remains, as required by state and federal laws. A
specialized field of archaeology, called _public_ or _conservation
archaeology_, has come into existence in the last twenty years to meet
this need.
The archaeological studies in the Richland Creek Reservoir area are a
good example of conservation archaeology in action. This report explains
what the Richland Creek Archaeological Project (RCAP) is, how it works,
and what it has accomplished thus far. Above all, the report tries to
show why conservation of our archaeological heritage is important to us
all, and to future generations.
A series of archaeological studies are planned for the Richland-Chambers
Dam and Reservoir area near Corsicana, Texas (Figure 1). The first phase
of those studies was carried out during 1980-81. The Tarrant County
Water Control and Improvement District Number 1, developer of the
Reservoir, employed Southern Methodist University[2] to conduct
archaeological studies. Like other construction projects requiring state
and federal permits, the Reservoir cannot be completed unless state and
federal laws pertaining to archaeological and historical sites are
adhered to. Since 1906, several federal and state laws have been enacted
to protect important archaeological sites. Particularly during the last
two decades, these laws have defined archaeological remains as an
important cultural resource that should be conserved for future
generations.
In recent decades legislators and the public have come to realize that
the expansion of our urban-industrial society is rapidly destroying the
_archaeological resources_ of the country. In many regions of the United
States this destruction has reached crisis proportions. Experts point
out that within another generation, given current rates of resource
destruction from industry, agriculture, and other land-modification
projects, intact archaeological resources will virtually cease to exist
within large areas of the nation.
Archaeological resources are fragile and nonrenewable. Much of the
scientific value of archaeological resources is lost if they cannot be
studied in an undisturbed _context_. Objects excavated from a site have
little meaning unless they can be related to specific soil layers
(_stratigraphy_) and other evidence of former activities of people, such
as hearths, trash deposits, house remains and other _features_. Any
activity that disturbs the soil may destroy this context.
[Illustration: Fig. 1. Richland-Chambers Dam and Reservoir, Navarro
and Freestone Counties, Texas.]
RICHLAND-CHAMBERS DAM
_Chambers Creek_
_Richland Creek_
_Trinity River_
NAVARRO COUNTY
CORSICANA
NAVARRO
RICHLAND
FREESTONE COUNTY
INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 45
US HIGHWAY 287
US HIGHWAY 75
The primary objective of archaeologists working in _cultural resource
management_ is _archaeological conservation_. As in the case of other
non-renewable natural resources, the emphasis is on resource
preservation. In the case of archaeological sites, that means digging as
a last resort. The first priority of the conservation archaeologist is
to preserve in an intact state a reasonable number of archaeological
sites for future generations of scientists and the public. Sometimes
sites can be preserved by selecting a construction design which avoids
them. In other instances adverse impact is unavoidable—a case in which
excavations are carried out to recover scientific information contained
in the sites prior to their destruction. Recovery of this information is
one way of conserving the resource. Preservation through _data recovery_
will be required in the Reservoir, and will be the focus of work in
years to come.