The Archeology of Lake Mead National Recreation Area: An Assessment

Summary

This assessment of the archeology of Lake Mead was written to aid federal planners who are responsible for managing cultural resources on public lands. We hope that it will also serve as a guide for archeologists working in the Lake Mead area and provide information for interested visitors.

The introduction to this report (Chapter 2) gives a brief account of the establishment of the recreation area, a summary of federal regulations that affect the management of cultural resources on public lands, and the background for this study. Chapter 3 provides a description of the natural environment of the area, an appreciation of which is necessary for understanding how people lived there. This is followed, in Chapter 4, by an evaluation of past archeological projects, including a discussion of

their contributions to archeological research and their usefulness

for planning and management purposes. Chapters 5 and 6 contain

the authors' interpretation of what is known about the prehistory and history of Lake Mead. These chapters state our assumptions and biases and form the basis on which we have made recommendations for future research and management.

The research design and management recommendations in the

concluding chapters (7 and 8) are directed towards archeologists and federal planners who work with Lake Mead's archeological resources.

To do their job, federal managers need to know the significance of archeological resources. This is best achieved by viewing archeological remains in light of current research problems for the area:

We have identified four broad research questions for the (1) culture history--who occupied the area and when were they there? (2) site function--what were sites used for? (3) site distribution--are site locations predictable? and (4) how did people adapt to arid lands?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Arizona   •
• WACC documents 1980-1989   •
• Arizona

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1 to 1850

Spatial Coverage

File Information