Routledge Dam Projects and the Growth of American Archaeology: The River Basin Surveys and the Interagency Archeological Salvage Program

The Smithsonian Institution’s River Basin Surveys and the Interagency Archeological Salvage Program were the most ambitious archaeological projects ever undertaken in the United States. Administered by the National Park Service from 1945–1969, the programs had profound effects―methodological, theoretical, and historical―on American archaeology, many of which are still being felt today. They stimulated the public’s interest in heritage preservation, led to the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act, served as the model for rescue archaeology in other countries, and helped launch the “New Archaeology.” This book examines the impacts of these two programs on the development of American archaeology. Review This volume deals with efforts to mitigate the impact on historic resources by the Flood Control Act of 1944, which resulted in the construction of more than 500 dams and reservoir areas in 43 states, and hundreds of miles of levees. Salvage archaeology was conducted to secure minimal information from historic resources destroyed during the project; the National Park Service supervised the Interagency Archaeological and Paleontological Salvage Program (1945-75). That program transferred survey and salvage funds to the Smithsonian Institution, which oversaw the River Basin Surveys (1945-69). The federal agencies were ultimately assisted by 77 organizations, with more than 2,600 published and unpublished reports resulting. This work is seen as ancestral to today's cultural resource management programs. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students/faculty/professionals. --CHOICE Magazine About the Author Kimball M. Banks earned his Ph.D. from Southern Methodist University. He has spent most of his career in Federal service, first with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and then the Bureau of Reclamation. He has conducted fieldwork in the American Southwest, Southeast, Northern Plains, Texas, California and in Egypt. While with the Bureau of Reclamation, he administered investigations at the Angostura Site, the McKean site and other sites that the River Basin Surveys and Interagency Archeological Survey Program investigated, which stimulated his interest in the history of the River Basin Surveys. He currently manages the Regional Office of Metcalf Archaeological Consultants, Inc. in Bismarck, North Dakota. Jon Czaplicki has been an archaeologist in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Phoenix Area Office for 24 years. Prior to coming to Reclamation he was a Project Director at the Arizona State Museum’s Cultural Resource Management Division for 12 years. He received his BA with Honors (1970) and MA (1971) from the University of Arizona. He’s active in the Society for American Archaeology serving on the Public Education Committee from 1995 to 2001, during which time he was Chair for the Subcommittee for Native American Education. He was on the SAA Board from 2001-2003 and chaired Media Relations Committee from 2006-2013.