GNAHRGIS Archaeology Introduction

[This website provides real-time on-line resources for the professional archaeological practitioner as well as information of interest to vocationals, planners and the general public alike.]

The political and physical boundaries which define the geographical area known as the state of Georgia contain the physical remains left behind by those who lived here dating continuously from over twelve thousand years ago up until the present. The earliest and most lengthy occupation of the state was by Native American groups whose cultures evolved from hunters of big game at the termination of the last ice age around 10,000 B.C.E., to hunters and gathers, to “Mound Builders” and farmers during the first millennium A.D. and finally to tribes and individuals who adopted a European life-style in the 19th century. Georgia’s archaeological heritage continued with the arrival of the first Europeans in the 16th century and includes sites of modern development into the 20th century.

Archaeologists in Georgia have been studying these remains for over a century and a half, first exploring the large earthworks, shell mounds, camp sites and villages of Native Americans and later sites of the earliest European explorers, Colonial settlers and towns, revolutionary war forts, antebellum plantations and civil war battlefields. Attention later turned to the study of 20th century tenant farms and the city garbage dumps of Atlanta. In essence, Georgia’s archaeological investigations now cover the entire archaeological record.

The State’s archaeological programs are varied and are represented by different organizations, agencies and institutions. Most major colleges and universities around the state employ archaeologists and offer degrees in Anthropology or other related fields. These academic institutions often conduct field schools where college students are trained in the techniques of archaeology at a wide variety of historic and prehistoric, urban and rural sites. State and Federal agencies such as the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources maintain a staff of archaeologists in order to meet state and federal legal requirements which provide protection for archaeological resources. This effort is spearheaded by the Office of the State Archaeologist at the Department of Natural Resources. A record of the State’s archaeological resources is housed at the State Archeological Site File at the University of Georgia in Athens. Not only does this file contain a listing of all known archaeological resources in Georgia, but it also maintains a library of all archaeological studies conducted in the state.

Other groups also contribute to knowledge of the State’s archaeological record and help determine the direction and provide guidelines for Georgia’s archaeological program. The Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists provides a forum for professional archaeologists in Georgia to share information on their activities and supports the advancement of Georgia archaeology. The Society for Georgia Archaeology brings together persons of all interests in archaeology from the professional to the layman to help preserve places and materials in Georgia that are evidence of our rich cultural past.

GNAHRGIS Disclaimers

General Archaeological Disclaimer

The absence of known archaeological sites in a given area does not imply that none are present. There may be many sites that have not as yet been identified in an area.

General Historic Preservation Disclaimer

Every effort is being made to insure that GNAHRGIS historic resource information is as accurate and up-to-date as possible. However, GNAHRGIS field survey data have limitations:

• GNAHRGIS contains historically recorded information that may not be current. Over time, surveyed resources may be altered, moved, or destroyed. A resource may not be still located where GNAHRGIS indicates that the resource is located. The absense of historic resource information in any specific area does not necessarily indicate that there are no historic resources in the area. The resources may not have been surveyed yet. The only way to determine the absence or presence of a resource is to observe the resource in the field.
• New interpretations of history may supersede those used for previous evaluations of significance, resulting in obsolete data based on prior interpretations.
• Not all surveyed resources are viewable by all users and are only viewable by the agencies that entered the resources in GNAHRGIS and viewable by Historic Preservation Division (HPD) personnel. Resources may be made viewable to all users once the resource information is reviewed, and made public by HPD.
• GNAHRGIS data is crowdsourced. Errors and ommissions are possible in reported data, particularly in locational data. Notify HPD of errors and omissions.
• Information entered in GNAHRGIS supercedes older information on paper survey forms, which were scanned and attached to GNAHRGIS because of the photographs the documents contained.
  • IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SCANNED SURVEY FORMS IN GNAHRGIS: In order to capture photographic images, many original paper survey forms including contact prints have been scanned and incorporated into GNAHRGIS. These survey forms with their 35mm contact prints provide the only available photographic coverage of many surveyed resources. However, the printed data on the scanned survey forms-particularly the assessments of National Register eligibility- may have been superseded by data in the GNAHRGIS database.
  • For Section 106 and Georgia Environmental Policy Act compliance: It may be necessary for applicants and agencies to collect additional or up-to-date field data and historical information to satisfy compliance requirements.
• In general,older field surveys are generally less inclusive (and therefore less reliable) than more recent field surveys. Older, less-inclusive field surveys generally contain up to a few hundred historic resources per county; newer, more-inclusive surveys generally include from several hundred to a thousand or more historic resources.
• GNAHRGIS may not contain resources from olders surveys or from areas not surveyed. Many of Georgia's oldest field surveys, pre-dating the mid-1980s, exist only in HPD office paper files with no information about the associated resources in GNAHRGIS. You will need to visit HPD offices to make use of paper surveys not in GNAHRGIS. Some areas of the state have never been field surveyed for historic resources and are not in GNAHRGIS. Contact HPD for a map and list of unsurveyed areas of the state.

National Register Listed Resources Layer

Georgia resources that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places are mapped in GNAHRGIS. National Register-listed resources are denoted with purple triangles on the map. National Register listings that encompass larger acreage, such as most sites and historic districts, also have a corresponding polygon in the system that delineates their general boundaries. In order to view the polygons, users need to activate the “*Historic - National Register - District/Site Areas – Current” layer, using the “Layers” widget at the top right corner of the map screen.

The polygons in GNAHRGIS should be used as a starting point for understanding a National Register listing- the National Register Registration Form and original nomination map (which are uploaded and attached to each National Register-listed resource in GNAHRGIS) are the official source of National Register information, and should be used in tandem with GNAHRGIS entries. However, contributing/noncontributing classifications within this documentation are a “point-in-time” assessment made at the time of and for the purposes of nomination, and may no longer be accurate today. To verify whether a resource would be considered contributing to a historic district or not today, and for any questions regarding boundaries, listing status, or nomination documentation, please contact the Historic Preservation Division’s National Register Program at NationalRegister@dca.ga.gov.

National Register-listed resources that are restricted to the public (i.e. “Not for Publication”) do not display on the map. Those GNAHRGIS records only provide the following information: Resource name, city, county, resource category, and National Register Reference Number.

National Register Eligibility Disclaimer

Most historic resources in GNAHRGIS publically acccessible surveys have been assessed by HPD for their significance and eligibility in terms of the National Register of Historic Places Criteria for Evaluation. Eligibility information is the opinion of the historic resources surveyor alone.

Evaluations are a “point in time” perspective and are subject to revision based on the passage of time, and circumstances including:

• Changes in the reported physical circumstances of a historic resource and its environs since the time it was surveyed-such as additions and alterations, relocation, destruction, and new development;
• New historical documentation about the resource;
• Broad new interpretations of history and associated historic resources that may affect our appreciation for the significance of the resource;
• Changes in the way the National Register criteria are applied to types of historic resources.

In the context of historic resources survey, most field survey evaluations of significance are based on the architectural qualities of the historic resource since little if any historical data is collected during many field surveys. New information about the owners, occupants, users, or builders of a resource or about events, activities, or developments historically associated with it could always change its assessment of significance.

Query Disclaimer

"No matches" resulting from a query may indicate that no such resources exist in the geographical area of the query; however, "no matches" may indicate that:

• The geographical area on which the query was based has not yet been field surveyed so that there is no information about historic resources available.
• Historic resources matching the query parameters may exist in the geographical area of the query but were not identified in any existing surveys. The surveys may not meet current standards for coverage.
• Map coordinates for historic resources matching the query parameters may have been inaccurately reported. As a result, the resources are improperly located and do not return with the query results.