Archaeology: the scientific study of material remains (as fossil remains, relics, artifacts, and monuments) of past human life and activities. (adapted from Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary) Archaeology is the scientific study of lifestyles and cultures of peoples of the past, both prehistoric and historic, which includes the recovery, analysis, and interpretation of data concerning these people. Archaeology's goals are not just to write and/or supplement the history of our past but to explore how people have adapted to their environment, responded to contact with new people and new ideas, and to try and understand who we are and how we got here. There are over 32,000 archaeological sites on record in Missouri. An archaeological site is a geographical area that was occupied by or used by past people. These sites span over 12,000 years of prehistory and history and are often the only information that we have to learn about the past. The oldest sites contain information about the first inhabitants of Missouri who hunted now extinct animals such as mammoth and mastodon. Later sites show how Missouri inhabitants changed and continuously adapted to their environment over time. Archaeologists also look at historic sites such as old communities, forts, or farms to understand how these people lived, since so much of their way of living went unrecorded. Archaeologists are "dirt detectives" who carefully excavate and record a site to reconstruct past events. Since MoDOT started to include cultural resource studies in its project development in the 1960s, several thousand archaeological studies have been performed. Most highway projects include a Phase I survey by archaeologists which is designed to locate any sites which may be damaged by the proposed construction. If no sites are found, a document is sent to the Department of Natural Resources which describes where the archaeologists looked, the methods used, and the results of the survey. If a site is found, Phase II testing, consisting of limited excavation, is initiated to determine the nature of the site. This work tries to answer questions such as who used the site, what did they do here, when was the site used, and what evidence for these past actvities are still present. If the site is found to be significant, or able to contribute to our understanding of the past, MoDOT will try to preserve the site by redesigning the highway improvements to avoid impacting the resource. If the site cannot be avoided and preserved, a Phase III excavation is conducted. This detailed and intensive level of scientific investigation is designed to recover the artifacts and information contained within the site and to save the data for other scientists and the future. Archaeology is not just the study of Egyptian pyramids or ruined jungle cities. Whether it is the study of Indians or Missouri's early settlers, the remains of the past are preserved in the ground and worthy of study. It is this work which provides background for our history books, information on past environments, interpretative information at museums throughout the state, and even the authenticity of detail we enjoy in our books and movies. MoDOT has a commitment not to forget the past while paving our future. A brief prehistory of missouri The public and archaeology