Overview

Desert Archaeology is committed to serving client interests at every step of the way. Our team of CRM professionals helps you navigate archaeological and historical compliance requirements to efficiently bring your project to completion.

Cultural resources management is, at its most basic, a process of exploration and discovery, followed by documentation and analysis, that is conducted in an environment of planning and development. Each step of the process has reporting requirements that communicate plans and results to regulatory agencies and other project stakeholders.

Desert Archaeology uses a team-based approach to accomplish projects once they are defined. Personnel with the expertise best suited to a project are assigned to the project team. Members of that team stay with the project from start to finish, providing continuity and consistency throughout.

A project might include some or all of the steps described on this page, depending on the cultural resources present and the planned impacts of the project. Excavation projects are followed by a phase of specialized analyses, during which the objects and samples recovered during fieldwork are examined. These analyses are the source of some of the most profound insights about the past.

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Records Review

Survey

Field surveys identify and document evidence of past cultural activity on a property by examining the modern ground surface.

Any cultural materials encountered are described, photographed, and mapped, and any archaeological sites or standing historical structures are evaluated for significance and integrity. Standing historic structures are further assessed using historic records to document the architectural styles and use histories of the properties. Survey results in one of two determinations: (1) no significant cultural resources are present and the project may proceed; or (2) surface evidence and/or archival research indicate the presence of significant cultural resources that meet National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility criteria. If the proposed project will have adverse effects on NRHP-eligible properties, we prepare a mitigation plan that outlines specific measures that will offset these impacts and bring the project into compliance with federal and state historic preservation statutes.

Construction Monitoring

For some projects, monitoring during construction is the most appropriate way to address cultural resources requirements. This applies when ground disturbance is limited or located in heavily developed settings, or as a precautionary measure due to nearby cultural resources. We work closely with contractors to minimize disruption to construction activities.

A qualified monitor is present during ground-disturbing activities, observing excavations and closely examining backdirt for cultural materials. If the excavation encounters a cultural feature, work is briefly paused for the monitor to examine and quickly record it using a tablet app. If substantial subsurface cultural deposits are encountered, work may be halted for a larger team of archaeologists to excavate and record them.

Excavation

If significant cultural resources are found in the project area, excavations may be required. Excavation phases are guided by project-specific plans that describe the project goals, research issues, and field methods. With 30+ years of experience in the Southwest, we construct solid, efficient research designs that anticipate and avoid complications and delays, allowing us to focus on the key issues involved in your project.

Plans are always reviewed and approved by the client and relevant compliance agencies.

Testing/Phase I Data Recovery

Preliminary excavation phases are exploratory and are intended to determine the nature and distribution of subsurface features in the project area and if the resources meet the significance and integrity requirements for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Results provide the necessary information to plan and budget next steps, if necessary. Possible next steps include more detailed excavation or avoidance, if your project has flexibility. Preserving cultural resources through avoidance can result in significant cost savings for many projects.

Data Recovery/Phase II Data Recovery

When significant cultural resources cannot be avoided by development, mitigation strategies are developed. Archaeological excavation, documentary research, and a variety of specialized services are used to recover information, so that the past history of a place is unearthed before construction begins. Our long experience in the region, in conjunction with the results from prior phases of the project, means we can develop targeted plans of work that maximize the scientific impact of the project and that minimize costs.

Preservation Planning

Some types of projects are amenable to preservation planning. This is a strategy that can work well on long-term projects when actual impacts in some portion of the project area may be deferred for decades. Preservation planning projects document cultural resources, consider and mediate the effects of interim impacts, and develop strategies for best uses going forward. Some of our past preservation projects have resulted in construction of interpretative parks in excess rights-of-way, placement of soccer fields on engineered fill, or the creation of easements. In the future, when the construction has more immediacy, the data recovery process will resume.

Reporting Results

Desert Archaeology’s professionally edited and produced reports communicate the results of our work in a way that meets archaeological standards and satisfies our clients’ compliance requirements.

Because every project has different needs based on project size, complexity, and audience, we produce a range of volumes, including project reports, technical reports, anthropological papers, and occasional special publications.

Public Outreach

People love learning about the archaeology of their neighborhood or city. Publicizing project results can generate goodwill for the client and can enhance the value of archaeological discoveries.

Outreach products such as signs, posters, brochures, and booklets are effective ways to communicate interesting discoveries from your project and can enhance your prestige among a public that is enthusiastic about the archaeology and history underlying their familiar places.

Well-timed press releases, public talks, and site tours for interested groups direct positive attention toward the overall project. Interpretive exhibits can be installed in common spaces within a residential or commercial development project or in local museums.

Desert Archaeology has helped develop several public exhibits and interpretive signs that combine elements of historical research, graphic design, interpretive writing, and physical display creation and installation. We have teamed with museum professionals to develop temporary exhibits based on Desert Archaeology projects at the Arizona Historical Society, the Museum of Northern Arizona, and the Amerind Foundation.

Current exhibits and interpretive signs created by Desert Archaeology can be found at the U.S. District Courthouse in Tucson, the Vista del Rio Cultural Resource Park in Tucson, the Julian Wash Archaeological Park in Tucson, selected SunLink light rail stations in Tucson, the Loop connecting Pima County river parks, the Graham County Historical Society, and the Benson Public Library.

Our creative team collaborated with the City of Phoenix to produce a public-interest neighborhood history booklet that was distributed to residents of an area that hosted extensive excavations. Desert Archaeology staff have also helped develop teaching materials for local school districts.

We will work with you to create public outreach materials that are tailored to your audience and your needs. See our Graphics, Mapping, and Cartography page to learn how our visual communication products can enhance your project. Contact us for details and consultation.

Gallery (click to enlarge)

Interpretive sign designed by Desert Archaeology highlighting excavations at the Desert Vista Campus of Pima Community College, accompanying a reconstructed pithouse foundation.

This sign, created for the Paseo de las Iglesias trail, incorporates text written by Mike Lindman alongside Catherine Gilman’s maps, Henry Wallace’s aerial photos, and an illustration by Rob Ciaccio.

A visitor to the Honey Bee Village Archaeological Preserve enjoys a Desert Archaeology interpretive sign by Rob Ciaccio and Catherine Gilman that was funded by Pima County and Mattamy Homes.

Desert Archaeology’s Homer Thiel and Trish Castalia teamed with outside consultants to produce several signs highlighting Tucson history for Sun Link streetcar stops throughout downtown, 4th Avenue, and the University district. This one can be found at the Cushing/Avenida de Convento stop west of downtown.

This popular booklet, funded by the Community Noise Reduction Program and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, was a collaborative effort among Desert Archaeology staff and neighborhood associations. It can be downloaded as a free PDF.

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