Lay of the Land

Rethinking CRM Archaeology

cultural Resource Management (CRM) primarily refers to the field of American archaeology that mitigates sites that are to be impacted by development, private or governmental. Highways, pipelines, water projects, and subdivisions are some of the most common projects that require archaeologists to mitigate the effects of construction. CRM archaeologists are the most active excavators in America today, producing tons of artifacts and reams of data. In this issue of American Archaeology we report on a CRM highway project in Texas. (See “The Road To Prehistory,” page 19.)

In this case, three small Caddo sites in the path of a highway expansion were discovered, two of which were excavated. Human graves and other elements of the past were found. Similar projects are going on all over the country, and these projects are the largest employers of archaeologists. Often CRM firms advocate for a mixture of data recovery and resource preservation. Highways and pipelines can be moved a few feet to avoid sites and preserve the information in situ. But this does not happen nearly as often as it should. Funds could be set aside from multi-million-dollar projects to purchase and preserve similar sites. This policy is well established for wildlife habitat, but for archaeological resources it is still relatively rare.

These are difficult issues, and CRM archaeologists and government officials are struggling to find the proper balance between data recovery and preservation. Diverting more funds to preservation and avoidance would both save money and be a better solution in many cases. Regulators and policy makers should be more creative in structuring alternatives, and the archaeological community must lead the way to improving the current system.

Mark Michel, President