Archaeology Southwest

For three decades, Archaeology Southwest has practiced a holistic, conservation-based approach to exploring the places of the past. We call this Preservation Archaeology. By exploring what makes a place special, sharing this knowledge in innovative ways, and enacting flexible site protection strategies, we foster meaningful connections to the past and respectfully safeguard its irreplaceable resources.

That means we take a conservation-based approach to southwestern archaeology. We see the region’s sites and historical landscapes as increasingly endangered nonrenewable resources. Explosive growth throughout the Southwest over the past few decades has removed thousands of sites from existence, and many more are threatened as they become more accessible.

In our research, we pursue big-picture questions about life in the past, the kinds of issues professional archaeologists and the public want to know more about. We try to do this through low-impact strategies that take advantage of existing data as often as possible. We don’t undertake large-scale excavations at sites that aren’t threatened right now.

Our quarterly magazine and our outstanding website help us share what we are learning with the public. We have a digital humanities lab that is creating virtual worlds for people to explore.

We also have a site protection program. We work with private landowners, communities, and other stakeholders to protect archaeological sites for the future. Sometimes this means owning a site, and sometimes it means holding a conservation easement, maintaining contact with landowners, or monitoring activity at sites.