The National Register and NHL Programs: Shaping Archeological Significance at National, State, and Local Levels

Summary

The National Register of Historic Places (NR) and the National Historic Landmarks (NHL) Programs create and maintain two of the few federal lists of important archeological places. While these programs are housed within the National Park Service’s preservation programs, the National Register and NHL Criteria for listing/designation are established by federal law and regulation and are tied to Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Therefore, these Criteria are applied far beyond the actual listing or designation of sites in the NR or as NHLs. They are applied to nearly every potentially threatened site on Federal, much state land, and on private lands as well. These evaluations help federal, state, and local groups determine why their archeological sites are important so that they can establish means to protect and interpret them. In this paper I will discuss how the NR and NHL Programs establish guidance on evaluating the significance of archeological sites across the nation, help develop contexts for regional studies, provide a means for a more holistic understanding of archeological significance and promote cooperation amongst local, state, national, and international partners in the interest of site preservation and protection.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Preservation, Protection, and Outreach Programs in National Park Service Archaeology

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