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Guidelines for Conducting Archaeology in Vermont

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Guidelines for Conducting Archaeology in Vermont GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCTING ARCHAEOLOGY IN VERMONT 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Amending the Guidelines for Conducting Archaeology in Vermont (Guidelines) was a team effort, headed by State Archaeologist, Jess Robinson, under the direction of State Historic Preservation Officer, Laura V. Trieschmann, with insight and assistance from Vermont Division for Historic Preservation (VDHP) archaeologists Scott Dillon and Yvonne Benney Basque. These Guidelines update and supersede the previous version developed by the previous State Archaeologist, Giovanna Peebles, and Scott Dillon. An advisory committee consisting of State government, academic and non-profit archaeologists discussed many ideas and topics leading to the development of a preliminary list of priority research questions important to understanding the precontact and post-contact history of Vermont. The advisory committee also commented on an earlier draft of the Guidelines. VDHP would like to thank all of the Vermont archaeologists whose excavations, publications, and knowledge contributed to the reasoning behind these guidelines. Advisory Committee Yvonne Benney Basque John Crock, PhD Jacob Clay R. Scott Dillon Brennan Gauthier Dave Lacy Jeannine Russell John Vetter, PhD Tim Watkins ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 RELEVANT STATUTORY AUTHORITIES ............................................................................... 2 CRITERIA FOR QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL ARCHAEOLOGISTS .................................... 3 SUBMITTAL PROCESS ............................................................................................................... 4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS: DOCUMENTATION PLAN ................................. 5 Research Design: All Phases ...................................................................................................... 5 Background Research ................................................................................................................. 6 Area of Potential Effects ......................................................................................................... 7 Consulting the Community and Knowledgeable Individuals ................................................. 8 Tools for Research Design .......................................................................................................... 8 Online Resource Center .......................................................................................................... 8 ORC Map Tool ....................................................................................................................... 8 Predictive Models for Precontact Sites: .................................................................................. 9 ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT ................................................................. 11 Field Inspection or Site Visit .................................................................................................... 12 Winter Limitations (ARA, SOW, and all Phases) ................................................................ 13 Defining Previous “Significant” Ground Disturbance .......................................................... 13 Map Documentation .................................................................................................................. 13 Photographic Documentation.................................................................................................... 14 ARA Report .............................................................................................................................. 14 SCOPE OF WORK ....................................................................................................................... 16 Preparing a Scope of Work ....................................................................................................... 16 VDHP Review of Scopes of Work ........................................................................................... 17 Collections Care and Management Issues in Scopes of Work ................................................. 17 Other Considerations ................................................................................................................ 18 Permits .................................................................................................................................. 18 Redaction (ARA, SOW, and all Phases). .............................................................................. 18 PHASE IA INVESTIGATION: RECONNAISSANCE ............................................................... 20 iii Developing Alternative Predictive Models ............................................................................... 20 PHASE I INVESTIGATION: IDENTIFICATION Survey ......................................................... 22 Phase I Field Investigations ...................................................................................................... 22 Surface Survey .......................................................................................................................... 22 Recording measurements (all Phases). ................................................................................. 23 Ground Sensing Methods for Historic and Precontact Period Sites. .................................... 23 Treating Isolated, or Limited, Surface Artifacts. .................................................................. 23 Sub-Surface Testing .................................................................................................................. 24 Shovel test pit methodology.................................................................................................. 24 Test units ............................................................................................................................... 25 Deep testing .......................................................................................................................... 25 Treating Isolated, or Limited, Sub-Surface Artifacts ............................................................ 26 Precontact Feature Excavation Protocols .................................................................................. 26 Discovery and Treatment of Human Remains (All Phases) ..................................................... 26 Historic Site Discovery and Investigation ................................................................................ 27 Identifying important research questions and necessary data sets for Historic-era Sites ..... 27 Quality of site evidence ........................................................................................................ 27 Summary of Information Needed by VDHP to Determine if Historic Site Assessment Process Should Continue ...................................................................................................... 27 Site Numbers and Acquiring Site Numbers for Newly Identified Archaeological Sites .......... 28 Data Generation and Analysis Guidance .................................................................................. 28 Reporting Identification Results ............................................................................................... 29 Phase I “End-of-Field” Letter ............................................................................................... 29 EOF Report ............................................................................................................................... 30 Vermont Archaeological Inventory (VAI) Form ...................................................................... 32 Phase I Investigation Report ..................................................................................................... 32 Additional Documentation ........................................................................................................ 33 Shapefiles (all phases)........................................................................................................... 33 Archival Photographs (all phases) ........................................................................................ 33 Collections Care and Management ........................................................................................... 34 PHASE II INVESTIGATION: EVALUATION STUDY ............................................................ 35 Research Design Requirements for Phase II Investigations ..................................................... 35 Field Investigations and Data Analyses .................................................................................... 35 Field Investigation for Historic-era Archaeological Sites .................................................... 36 Documenting results ................................................................................................................. 36 iv Special Considerations for Phase II End-of-Field Letter ...................................................... 36 Phase II Investigation
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