CONSERVATION ARCHAEOLOGY: THE PERSPECTIVE OF HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN CONNECTICU

Historic preservation legislation has radically altered the funding and research orientation of American archaeology. In particular, the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 has stimulated an unparalleled expansion of archaeological survey efforts within Connecticut during the past decade. This new "public" archaeology advocates a conservation ethic with regards to the professional management and protection of the nation's archaeological heritage. The preferred conservation alternative has become the in situ preservation of archaeological sites rather than the heretofore traditional approach of salvage excavation.;Much debate has recently surfaced, both within and outside of the discipline, concerning whether meaningful implementation of historic preservation laws has yet to be realized for the protection of archaeological resources. The more than 175 conservation archaeological studies which have been undertaken since 1975 in Connecticut provide an excellent opportunity to examine the over-all productivity of such surveys in terms of sites inventoried, management data obtained, and the extent of successful compliance with the spirit and intent of relevant historic preservation legislation. In particular, historic archaeology represents a manageable subset of archaeological inquiry within Connecticut's conservation archaeological surveys.;Several inter-related research areas were investigated. These included defining the research paradigms of historical archaeology in Connecticut, establishing the chronology and regulatory intent of federal historic preservation legislation, and identifying the state of the art for conservation archaeology at the national level. Analysis of Connecticut's conservation archaeological surveys revealed areas of professional practice which require substantial improvement. In contrast, Connecticut state historic preservation office-administered survey and planning efforts are noteworthy for their theoretical and methodological sophistication. Administrative guidelines, entitled Environmental Review Primer for Connecticut's Archaeological Resources, are offered as a mechanism for evaluating future conservation archaeological inquiries.