Forest for the Sites: Archaeological Heritage Production in the Gila National Forest.

Abstract

The national forests of the United States represent a highly contested cultural space, where narratives of archaeological heritage, stewardship, wilderness, and more intersect and clash in the present-day. For two previous field seasons (2018 & 2019) the Upper Gila Preservation Archaeology (UGPA) field school, run jointly by Archaeology Southwest and the University of Arizona, has conducted archaeological surveys of Lincoln Canyon in Gila National Forest. These surveys have helped to establish the cultural history of the national forest and have greater implications for discussions of contemporary cultural heritage in the region. My thesis presents the results of research done using the UGPA survey data, alongside a myriad other methods such as discourse analysis and interviews of archaeologists relating to Gila National Forest in order to examine the complicated relationship between the ongoing narratives. Beyond highlighting the place of national forest archaeology in cultural heritage discourse, this research offers insight into potential dialogic and practical improvement through the application of emergent frameworks, such as critical heritage theory and archaeological ethnography, to future work.