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DocuSign Envelope ID: 16F7E188 -42F5- 4144- AF1B- 934E4ACOFE59 <br />2. Map of project area boundaries showing recent aerial imagery at a scale of <br />1:24,000 or less; <br />3. Types of current and historic land use within the project area, including <br />estimates of the acreage within each current land use type; <br />4. Climate, topography, geology, and hydrology of the project area as relevant <br />to the archaeological investigations; <br />5. Distribution of soils, including slope percentages, as mapped by the NRCS, <br />including estimates of the acreage within each soil category; <br />6. Flora and fauna of the project area as relevant to the archaeological <br />investigations; and <br />7. Other environmental factors as deemed relevant. <br />d. Archaeological and Cultural Background <br />This section should consider the subject project area within the context of previous <br />archaeological investigations and the broader cultural history of the region. This <br />information provides the basis for identifying site types likely to occur in the project <br />area, evaluating the NRHP - eligibility of archaeological sites, and creating research <br />designs for data recovery at eligible sites. While this should be a technical presentation, <br />this section also gives the project sponsor an understanding of the prehistory and <br />history of the area. A research design that includes predictions of site locations and site <br />types expected to be present in the project area based on environmental factors and the <br />results of earlier research should conclude this section. <br />The length of this section will vary according to the project size and requirements. The <br />geographic area covered by background research at OSA should extend for a minimum <br />of one mile from the edge of the project area boundary. If no previous archaeological <br />investigations have been conducted in this area, prehistoric and historic contexts should <br />still be presented using a regional perspective. If a proposed project includes alternative <br />locations or alignments, information about the archaeological potential of each <br />alternative should be included to assist in deciding the preferred alternative. The culture <br />history background and review of previous archaeological investigations may be <br />combined into a single synthetic narrative or kept separate. <br />When conducting research, a two- phased approach may be useful. The first phase of <br />the background research should gather information about the history of local American <br />Indian communities, periods of European colonization and migration, major industries, <br />and prominent families or persons who lived in the vicinity of the project area. The <br />second phase begins after field work is completed. The objective of this second phase is <br />to collect information for assessing the significance of individual prehistoric and historic <br />period archaeological sites found during field work using the National Register criteria. <br />This research may increase the interpretive value of an archaeological site, or show that <br />a site is connected with important persons or events. See Significance Evaluations and <br />Recommendations section below for more information on making recommendations of <br />NRHP eligibility. <br />The archaeological and cultural background should include: <br />1. Previous archaeological investigations and results; <br />North Carolina Oce of State Archaeology — Archaeological Investigation Standard and Guidelines December 2017) Page 23 <br />