Research Questions for Area 1

Question #1 - “What's beneath the ground here?”

Excavations should find, identify, and describe any buried archaeological deposits. This is being conducted to comply with federal, state and local laws (see “Why Excavate”) and to provide the city planners with information about what archaeological sites might be damaged if construction takes place here.

Question #2 “If there is a site buried here, is it important?”

Information from this excavation will help archaeologists determine the significance of the buried archaeological sites in the area.

Question #3 “If there is an important site here, can construction take place?”

The planned buildings for Rio Nuevo are important for Tucson's future. In some cases construction plans can be modified to avoid archaeological sites. Often, however, a plan is developed to recover artifacts and information from a site and then construction can proceed.