Exploring the Complexities of Managing Cultural Landscapes and Associated Data through the Lens of the Greater Chaco Landscape

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Refining Archaeological Data Collection and Management to Achieve Greater Scientific, Traditional, and Educational Values" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

There may be no more vexing heritage resource issue facing public land agencies today than the management of culturally significant landscapes. The challenges begin with identification. They continue through the definition of critical values and appropriate conservation measures and are exacerbated by issues of data use and sharing among critical landscape constituencies. The foremost constituents are associated descendant populations, but cultural heritage management specialists, the archaeological research community, historic preservation interests, and the public also depend on these landscapes to meet their needs and interests. Resolving these issues becomes critical when seemingly stable landscapes are proposed for development. The current focus on the Greater Chaco Landscape provides an opportunity to explore management models for cultural landscapes, our understanding of the distinct data needs of constituent communities, and how the core idea of a culturally significant landscape can help to meet and enhance shared interests. Here I describe existing models for documenting cultural landscapes, identify some data gaps and processual shortcomings, and propose a framework for identifying critical values and monitoring landscape integrity.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Refining Archaeological Data Collection and Management to Achieve Greater Scientific, Traditional, and Educational Values

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32787