Agenda - 11-05-2003-8h - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

15~ Shovel tests will be excavated at 30-meter intervals in areas without surface visibility or in areas where archaeological materials may be deeply buried within the area proposed for facilities construction. Shovel tests will measure approximately 30-cm in diameter and will be excavated to sterile subsoil. All excavated material will be sifted through ~/4-inch hardware mesh. The soil color and texture, as well as notes on the stratigraphic relationship of the artifacts, if recovered, will be recorded for all shovel tests. When archaeological materials are encountered, additional shovel tests will be excavated to ascertain site integrity and artifact density, and to gather preliminary information an cultural affiliation and age of site. These procedures will include the excavation of additional shovel tests at 7.5-m to 15-m intervals and/or intensive surface inspection, depending on site characteristics.. Asketch map of each site will be produced, and the site and its limits will be entered on the project map. The location of each shovel test will be placed on the site sketch map, ar-d notes will be maintained on the sail profiles and artifact content of each shovel .test. Each site will be photographed and general notes will be taken concerning site location and condition. All artifacts recovered will be bagged by site and intra-site provenience. Archaeological sites will be defined as locations that provide physical evidence of a sufficient quantity and association to suggest that information about past human behavior is present. Site testing will be sufficient to determine potential significance and eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Recommendations on the significance of all sites recorded during this survey are based on several criteria. The criteria for evaluating the NRHP eligibility are described in 36 CFR 60.4. Sites, objects, districts, structures, and buildings are determined as worthy of inclusion on the NRHP if "The quality of significance in American history, architecture, engineering and culture is present" in these resources and if they "possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association and a. that are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or b. that are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or c. that embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction that represents the work of a master, ar that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or d. that have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in _ prehistory or history." The majority of archaeological sites that are deemed significant and typically eligible for inclusion on the NRHP fall under the last criterion (d). In order to assess a site's significance that resource's potential for contributing new or collaborative information to the theoretical and substantive knowledge of archaeology must be determined. Consequently, researchers must consider how. each site does or does not help address the questions within the project research design and within the framework of other regional research questions. Research questions that pertain to the North Carolina Piedmont Region are summarized below. __ • Refining the prehistoric and historic cultural sequence. • Identifying prehistoric and historic activities. • Understanding lithic procurement and technology.