VAFB-1976-01: Evaluation of Archaeological Sites On Vandenberg Air Force Base Santa Barbara County, California: Final Report

Summary

This document is a Section 106 report that discusses a project that was designed to collect planning information for location of the Space Transportation System (STS) facilities on VAFB. This study was to include a survey or inventory of archaeological resources within the project area defined as a twenty-one mile long, 3,000' wide, coastal corridor extending from just north of the Santa Ynez River to a point south of Point Arguello. In addition, selected sites were to be tested, mapped, and evaluated.

A major problem impacting this endeavor, from the initial planning stages to report preparation was a lack of adequate precendents to guide this research. The evaluation of significance of archaeological sites in terms of criteria specified in Federal mandates is a recent obligatory activity that is still being refined. Archaeologists have not previously used the term "significance" in a legalistic fashion, nor have they used this as guidance for the prediction of salvage excavation costs, thus this report may set several precedents. Limited lead time (<1 month) for planning and preparation led to a degree of disorganization and misdirected effort and rigor for certain data types.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Department of the Air Force Cultural Resources Archive   •
• Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) - Cultural Resource Report   •
• National Archeological Database (NADB)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Vandenberg Air Force Base; Roscoe Loetzerich

Record Identifiers

NADB document id number(s): 1040601

NADB citation id number(s): 000000012999

Notes

General Note: Submitted to: NPS, Interagency Archaeological Services, San Francisco, CA

General Note: Contract number: CX800040020

General Note: Sent from: Anthropology Department, Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara

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