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The identification, evaluation, and treatment of archeological sites are essential activities for effective cultural resource management. Archeologists cannot make appropriate decisions regarding resource treatment without knowing about their locations and significance. Site management involves many steps such as developing a research design, preservation, stabilization, and public education and site interpretation, which are discussed below. How do archeologists know where to look for sites? The discovery and examination of archeological resources are two basic activities undertaken by archeologists. Archeological surveys seek to identify all or a sample of the archeological resources in a given study area. Site testing or evaluation focuses on extracting information about the size, contents, and structure of an archeological site, a portion of a site, a number of related sites, or, perhaps, the spatial distribution of archeological remains within an area, such as a portion of a river valley or a battlefield. Choosing appropriate techniques for an archeological investigation depends on many factors. First, one must consider the purpose of the investigation. Is the target one kind of site-for example, a prehistoric mound or a site of a particular time period? Or is the goal to find the full range of site types within a given area, as is the typical case for historic preservation and environmental impact-related studies? If a particular type of site is the target, one can focus on a technique that detects the specific characteristics of that particular site type. If a wide range of sites is the target, one will want to choose a technique or techniques that will detect the characteristic(s) most commonly shared by all the expected site types. The choice of techniques is a vital part of any archeologist's research design.
Based on knowledge gained from previous research about a culture being studied, an archeologist can narrow down the location of potential sites that might add new information about that culture. This information as well as an outline of proposed methods forms the basis of a research design. This is a document in which the objectives of the investigation are described and briefly justified. It states questions that the research will address. It describes the rationale for the selection of particular archeological method(s) and technique(s) and the level of effort necessary to accomplish these objectives. The research design fully considers natural environmental conditions and expected archeological site characteristics. It also addresses the expected types of material remains that will be collected and identifies the analytical methods that will be used to study them. Strategies for curating and storing the collections are also addressed. Research designs should consider the historic contexts available in State preservation plans or other relevant documents. Contexts provide the basis to design expectations about site type, distribution, condition and characteristics such as size, depth and nature of resources. Contexts also provide the basis to evaluate resources through comparison with other properties. Terms should be clearly defined so that it is clear, for example, what constitutes a site. Within the research design, expectations should be fully described and justified. The intensity of a survey depends upon the amount and nature of the information discovered through archival research and informant interviews, past and present land use, past ecological settings, geomorphology, the kinds and density of ground cover, the expected presence and distribution of sites, existing museum collections and the expected number of site types as well as the specific needs of the project. All of the following sections may be components of a project that should be justified in the research design.
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