Management summary of the Phase II Investigation of Seven Archaeological Sites on the Poinsett Electronic Combat Range, Shaw Air Force Base, Sumter, South Carolina

Testing of four prehistoric and three historic sites was performed by New South Associates and Geo-Marine Inc. for the United States Air Force, Shaw Air Force Base at the Poinsett Weapons Range. These sites were identified during a Phase I survey of a portion of the weapons range by Kreisa et al. (1995) and were recommended for further testing to determine their National Register eligibility. The prehistoric sites are located in a proposed target area and the historic sites within a fence line construction clear cut zone. The testing phase was conducted in order to provide final eligibility statements in order to determine if and how significant cultural resources would be impacted by these activities. The work was conducted in accordance with and in partial fulfillment of the U.S. Air Force obligations under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (FL-96-515), the Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974, as amended (FL-93-291), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (FL-90-190), Executive Order 11593, “Protection and enhancement of the Cultural Environment,” AIRFA, and NAGPRA. The sites were assessed using National Register Bulletin 36 and were evaluated using the notion that “the significance of an archaeological site is based on the potential of the site to contribute to the scientific or humanistic understanding of the past.” This management summary is intended to provide a synopsis of the archaeological testing of the seven sites and does not include any detailed analysis of the archaeological collections. It is intended only to provide the client with recommendations regarding the National Register eligibility of the sites in question and to illustrate that the proposed field work has been accomplished.