Secrets of the Past, Archaeology, and the Public

Abstract

Compliance archeology is not an old way of doing things, but you might not know it from the frequency with which tradition is invoked in the design and implementation of archeological projects. This chapter describes the system of cultural resource management (CRM) in the USA, how and why understandings and implementations of the Section 106 process within the National Historic Preservation Act often coalesce around standard pro-forma minimalist approaches that are explained, if explanation is required, by the of-heard phrase “we always”, and why such approaches are in fact not what is specified under the law but does a disservice to clients, archeologists, the cultural resources themselves, and the many publics and populations with interests in those cultural resources. Alternative, creative, and much more satisfying approaches to project design, research, and implementation are then developed with extended case examples.