Agenda - 02-16-1999 - 8e - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 Background Research Background research shall constitute the bulk of this study, conducted with the aim of achieving four primary goals. • Determine the extent to which the current road location deviates from its historic location(s) and provide an explanation of any deviations noted. • Provide detailed maps of former locations of the road, historic structures, and landscape alterations associated with those historic locations and indicate the potential each holds for the recovery of significant archaeological information. • Reconstruct the prehistoric (Palen-Indian -post-contact) and historic (17~' - 20~' century) landscapes along the corridor and explain the differences within the context of a regional history. • Develop a proposal for additional archaeological research that specifies the nature and extent of archival research and field work designed to gather more information about the prehistoric and historic sites that are, or may be, within the St. Mary's Road Corridor. A variety of resources will be reviewed in the process of gathering background information, including archival records, historic deeds and maps, architectural surveys, primary and secondary documentary evidence of environmental conditions such as soils, topographic, geologic and hydrologic maps, and published archaeological data (see the attached bibliography for a partial list of sources). This information will be used to create a model of settlement and land use in the corridor throughout the prehistoric and historic periods. The central theme of this study focuses on the changing relationship between environment and land use throughout the time that people have occupied the rural Hillsborough landscape. The primary purpose for gathering this background information is to provide the context within which all subsequent archaeological research in the corridor may be interpreted. Field Reconnaissance The limited archaeological field testing to be conducted for this project consists of three components, (1) those concerned with identifying any historically documented locations of the St. Mary's Road not in its current location or historic structures no longer standing, (2) the preliminary evaluation of the archaeological significance of such historic structures, landscapes, or associated deposits within the corridor and, (3) an assessment of the potential for the recovery of archaeological information concerning historic and prehistoric sites within the corridor. The first of these tasks has as its goal the investigation of any historically recorded road locations, structures or features of the landscape which may have been altered or superseded over the years. This part of the field work might be considered "ground truthing" the results of the historical research. The historically recorded location of entities on any given map or plat may 2