NPS Archeology Program: Archeology for Interpreters

How do archeologists know where to look for sites?

Archival Research

(image) Drawing showing the burning of Samuel mumma's farm during the battle of Antietam.

Archeologists used this 1862 drawing of Confederates burning Samuel Mumma's farm during the Battle of Antietam to help locate the buildings' sites. (National Capital Region, Regional Archeology Program, NPS)

Archival research often is very productive for investigations aimed at discovering and evaluating prehistoric and historic archeological sites. In areas where the archeological record is well recorded, the kinds and locations of known sites often help archeologists predict the likely locations of unreported sites. Archeologists conducting archival research will use documentary sources to build an historical framework based on previous research and archeological investigations as well as new research questions and strategies.

Historical archeologists use a variety of documentary sources found in historical societies, libraries, government agencies, private collections and other repositories. Maps, official records, photographs, journals, tax records, diaries, private and official correspondence, and newspapers are among the many archival resources available to historical archeologists. Prehistoric archeologists and historical archeologists alike consult site reports, existing artifacts, and topographic maps to identify sites.

Archeologists must use archival data carefully, however. Archival resources may be biased, incomplete, or nonexistent. To confirm whether an archeological site exists in a location, fieldwork should be organized to test the predicted pattern and to improve the efficiency of the investigation.

CASE STUDIES

The Excavation of HMS Fowey

This web site describes how archeologists conducted archival research to identify a shipwreck found in the waters of Biscayne National Park. (4/30/01)

Charles Pinckney Plantation: Using Archeology to Solve the Mystery

This web site tells the story of how archeologists conducted an extensive archeological investigation to find the lost remains of the eighteenth-century Pinckney house. (4/30/01)

Battlefield Images, Computer Visualization, and the Study of Cultural Landscapes Archeology at Antietam: The Effect of Battle on an Agrarian Landscape

This web site shows how archeologists applied computer visualization technologies to the historical and archeological study of cultural landscapes at Antietam National Battlefield. (4/30/01)

Oral Histories

Oral history is historical tradition, such as genealogical information, which is passed by word of mouth. Oral histories may consist of a person's memories about his or her past experiences or knowledge or traditions passed from one generation to the next. Oral histories are the basis of cultural identity and knowledge for many groups and are a key element in understanding that group's experiences, perspectives, and culture.

Oral histories can be an important resource for archeologists. People who have personal or traditional experience with a site may offer unique information about the site's use and meaning. However, because memories may be biased and fallible, oral histories should be used cautiously and in conjunction with other documentary or ethnographic research.

The importance of a site may change over time. Thus, oral histories must be compared closely with ethnographies. Ethnographies tend to concentrate more on the knowledge people have of a site or object in the present, or how they look back on a historical or archeological site from the present. Many sites, objects, or natural resources that had a subsistence use in the past, for example, may be important to certain groups or peoples today because of their educational value about the past.

CASE STUDIES

In Those Days: African-American Life Near the Savannah River Oral History Project

This web site features an illustrated oral history of African Americans living near the Savannah River in the central Piedmont of South Carolina and Georgia. Highly recommended. (4/30/01)

The archaeology of Castle Rock Pueblo

This web site features an electronic field trip to learn about the archeology of a 13th-century village in southwestern Colorado and the oral history that aids its interpretation. Highly recommended. (8/12/02)

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