A System for Ranking the Research Potential of 19th- and 20th- Century Farmstead Sites

Abstract

There is a need to establish a systematic and objective process for evaluating the research potential of farmstead sites so that intelligent choices can be made in deciding which sites should be investigated and managed and which should not. We propose the use of a checklist of traits that measures a site's research potential. Each of the traits in the checklist is assigned a score based on its value in providing important data for analyzing a site. The proposed checklist is a tool for organizing our observations and permitting comparisons from one site to the next as well as one project to the next. Applying the proposed ranking system involves documentary research and some archaeological fieldwork. This checklist approach is put forward in the hopes of generating discussion and suggestions on how best to deal with these types of sites in terms of the immediate needs of compliance with federal and state historic preservation laws and regulations. II existe un besoin d' etablir un procede systematique et objectif pour I' evaluation du potentiel de recherche en ce qui concerne les sites de fermes afin que des choix intelligents puissent etre faits lorsque vient le temps de decider quels sites devraient etre investigues et quels sites ne devraient pas I'etre. Nous proposons !'utilisation d'un aide-memoire comprenant une liste des traits permettant de mesurer le potentiel de recherche d'un site. Chacun des traits presents dans I'aide-memoire se verra assigner un pointage fonde sur le potentiel d'un site a fournir les donnees importantes necessaires ii son analyse. L' aide-memoire propose est un outil pour d' organiser nos observations et permettant des comparaisons entre deux sites ou entre deux projets. L' application de ce systeme de classement implique de Ia recherche documentaire et un peu de travail archeologique sur le terrain. Cette approche de type aide-memoire est mise de I' avant dans l'espoir qu'elle genere des discussions et des suggestions sur Ia meilleure far;on d' aborder ces sites en fonction de leur besoin immediat de conformite aux lois et aux regles federales en matiere de preservation historique.

J. C. Harrington Medal in Historical Archaeology

“…George and Meta were noted for their spirited discussions concerning pottery in its many forms. George and Terry collaborated on the important article: "A System for Ranking the Research Potential of Nineteenthand Twentieth-Century Farmstead Archaeology in the Northeast" (Miller and Klein 2002). In this article, Miller and Klein proposed ways of evaluating the research potential of a ubiquitous type of site frequently found but seldom studied.…”