Section 4190.603  Standards of Research Performance

A certified Illinois professional archaeologist has the responsibility to design and conduct projects that will add to the understanding of past cultures and/or that will develop better theories, methods, or techniques for interpreting the archaeological record, while causing minimal attrition of the archaeological resource base.  In the conduct of that research the following minimal standards shall be followed:

a)         The archaeologist has a responsibility to prepare adequately for any project in which he or she is involved.  Archaeologists must:

1)         Assess the adequacy of their qualifications for the demands of the project and minimize inadequacies by acquiring additional expertise, by bringing in associates with needed qualifications, or by modifying the scope of the project;

2)         Inform themselves of relevant previous research, records, and documents;

3)         Develop a scientific plan of research that specifies the objectives of the project, takes into account previous relevant research, employs a suitable methodology, and provides for economical use of the resource base consistent with the objectives of the project;

4)         Ensure the availability of adequate and competent staff and support facilities to carry the project to completion and of adequate curatorial facilities for specimens and records;

5)         Comply with all legal requirements, including, without limitation, obtaining all necessary governmental permits and necessary permission from landowners and other persons as required by law.

b)         In conducting projects, the archaeologist must follow the scientific plan of research, except to the extent that unforeseen circumstances warrant its modification.

c)         Procedures for field survey or excavation must meet the following minimum standards:

1)         Maintain a system for identifying and recording the provenience for all collected specimens.

2)         Uncollected entities such as environmental or cultural features, depositional strata, and the like, must be fully and accurately recorded by appropriate means, and their location recorded.

3)         The methods employed in data collection must be fully and accurately described.  Significant stratigraphic and/or associational relationships among artifacts, other specimens, and cultural and environmental features must also be fully and accurately recorded.

4)         All records should be intelligible to other archaeologists.  If terms lacking commonly held referents are used they should be clearly defined.

5)         Insofar as possible, the interests of other researchers should be considered.

d)         During accessioning, analysis, and storage of specimens and records in the laboratory the archaeologist must take precautions to ensure that correlations between specimens and field records are maintained so the provenience, contextual relationships and the like are not confused or obscured.

e)         Specimens and research records resulting from a project must be deposited at an institution with permanent curatorial facilities.  All specimens and research records collected from projects conducted on public lands under the Act or this Part shall be deposited in the Illinois State Museum.

f)         The archaeologist has responsibility for dissemination of the results of research to the interested public and professional parties.  Results reviewed as contributions to substantive knowledge of the past or to advancements in theory, method or technique shall be disseminated by appropriate means such as a full descriptive report or comparable publications to ensure that the basic data is available to interested parties.