Anticipating Changing Heritage Values: Reevaluating Priority Cultural Resources Criteria in Pima County, Arizona

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In 2001, as part of the development of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP), the Pima County government created a list of Priority Cultural Resources (PCRs) as a proactive approach to local heritage conservation. This list of PCRs highlights archaeological and historic sites considered integral to the county’s historical and cultural values and demand protection. The underlying PCR inclusion rationale was developed by a team of preservation experts who thoroughly identified and evaluated county sites. The list was intended to be a starting point for a continual process of local cultural heritage evaluation. Recent development pressures in Altar Valley have spurred PCR list updates. Located southwest of Tucson, the rural Altar is underrepresented within PCR sites due to a comparatively low degree of archaeological inventory there, yet recent surveys suggest high site densities. This study documents the reevaluation by the author of criteria for incorporating archaeological sites from the Altar Watershed into the PCR list, and examines the process of integrating a dynamic, stakeholder-influenced assessment of local heritage values into Pima County’s PCR criteria. The results of this updated PCR inclusion framework will contribute towards the future establishment of a Pima County local register of historic places.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33540