Louisiana Division of Archaeology

Louisiana Division of Archaeology
Name	Louisiana Division of Archaeology
Formation	1971
Headquarters	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Region served	Louisiana
Parent organization	Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism

Contents

Louisiana Division of Archaeology The Louisiana Division of Archaeology is the state agency responsible for archaeological resource stewardship in Louisiana. It operates within the administrative framework of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism and collaborates with federal entities such as the National Park Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers on projects affecting cultural resources. The Division engages with academic institutions including Louisiana State University, Tulane University, and University of Louisiana at Lafayette and consults with tribal governments like the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana.

Overview and Mission

The Division's mission centers on preservation of archaeological sites in Louisiana by implementing mandates under statutes such as the National Historic Preservation Act and state legislation enacted by the Louisiana State Legislature. Its priorities include survey and inventory tied to the National Register of Historic Places, consultation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and compliance with federal programs such as the Section 106 process. The Division coordinates with the Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, and regional museums like the Louisiana State Museum to ensure documentation standards consistent with professional bodies including the Society for American Archaeology and the Register of Professional Archaeologists.

The office traces institutional roots to mid-20th century preservation efforts influenced by figures such as Robert S. Neitzel and development projects like the New Deal and Tennessee Valley Authority that reshaped cultural resource policy. In the 1960s and 1970s, state-level reforms echoed federal initiatives by the National Historic Preservation Act and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act that prompted formation of state archaeology programs in places such as Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas. Over time the Division implemented archives and databases inspired by the Historic American Buildings Survey and collaborated on interstate efforts like the Gulf Coast Survey and the Mississippi River Commission assessments. Partnerships with scholars from University of Michigan, Harvard University, and University of Florida influenced methodological evolution toward wetland archaeology and geoarchaeology practices.

The Division is organized into sections reflecting specialties: field investigations, collections management, laboratory analysis, and compliance review, modeled after structures at the National Park Service and state historic preservation offices in Arkansas and Missouri. Staff include professional archaeologists certified by the Society for American Archaeology, curators familiar with the Smithsonian Institution cataloging standards, and compliance officers who liaise with agencies like the Federal Highway Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Division works with adjunct researchers from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, interns from the University of New Orleans, and volunteers coordinated with organizations such as the Archaeological Institute of America and the Louisiana Archaeological Society.

The Division manages site inventory programs compatible with the National Register of Historic Places nominations, implements monitoring consistent with the Historic Preservation Fund, and administers permitting analogous to frameworks used by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. It operates salvage archaeology initiatives tied to projects of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, mitigation programs aligned with Federal Emergency Management Agency responses, and underwater archaeology collaborations with the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Educational grant programs mirror efforts by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation to fund public archaeology and research.

Research themes include prehistoric occupations studied alongside work at sites like Poverty Point, historic colonial settlements such as Fort St. Jean Baptiste, and plantation landscapes comparable to Oak Alley Plantation. Excavations have employed techniques from geoarchaeology pioneered at Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute projects and paleoenvironmental analysis like that used at Olorgesailie. Collections held by the Division are cataloged using standards akin to the Smithsonian Institution and shared with repositories such as the Roger Hadley Museum, Avoyelles Parish Museum, and university collections at Tulane University and University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Collaborative projects have included multidisciplinary teams with researchers from Columbia University, University of Texas at Austin, and Brown University.

Acting under statutes referenced by the National Historic Preservation Act and state codes enacted by the Louisiana State Legislature, the Division evaluates project impacts under the Section 106 process and issues permits following models used by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. It provides guidance to agencies including the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the United States Coast Guard on mitigation strategies, oversees compliance with programs managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for submerged cultural resources, and consults with tribal entities such as the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians and the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana on repatriation aligned with Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act procedures.

The Division conducts public programming in partnership with institutions like the Louisiana State Museum, Historic New Orleans Collection, and Audubon Nature Institute, and engages school systems including East Baton Rouge Parish School System and Orleans Parish School Board for curricula development. Outreach includes exhibitions comparable to those at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, field schools modeled after University of Florida and University of Alabama programs, and volunteer events coordinated with the Archaeological Institute of America and the Louisiana Archaeological Society. International collaborations have linked the Division to projects with the Institut National d'Archéologie et du Patrimoine and universities in France and Canada.

Category:Archaeology of the United States Category:History of Louisiana Category:Cultural heritage organizations in the United States