To preserve
the legacy of the earliest Americans, the National Park
Service asked the Society
for American Archaeology to lead an initiative to nominate
archeological sites as National Historic Landmarks. In 1995, that
effort evolved into a study
called “The Earliest Americans.” Advised by over
30 prominent archeologists—and a broad array of public and
private sector colleagues—we set the study goals shown opposite.
This website highlights historic
contexts related to Early American archeological sites for
regions east of the Mississippi. The contexts—which synthesize
the latest science in ways that can be quickly grasped by nonspecialists—are
consensus statements rigorously reviewed by scholars, avocationalists,
preservationists, and public land managers. NPS and SAA invite
archeologists, avocationalists, and others to use the theme study's
contexts as guides for nominating new landmarks and properties
for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
|