New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 4 - CULTURAL RESOURCES
Chapter 10 - CULTURAL PROPERTIES AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Part 14 - CULTURAL PROPERTIES ON PRIVATE LAND AND MECHANICAL EXCAVATION PERMITS
Section 4.10.14.12 - STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT

Universal Citation: 4 NM Admin Code 4.10.14.12

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024

All permitted excavations using mechanical equipment shall conform to the following standards.

A. Mechanical excavation may be used to define stratigraphy, locate subsurface features and cultural deposits and remove sterile overburden.

B. Controlled surface collection of artifacts shall be accomplished using a grid system or by point provenience prior to excavation of trenches or stripping or scraping areas with mechanical earth-moving equipment.

C. For each trench:

(1) document the location, depth, soil profile, artifact yield and other pertinent information;

(2) clean at least one complete profile with a shovel or trowel and inspect the profile for material remains;

(3) document the cleaned profile in narrative, profile drawing and photographs;

(4) examine the excavated area after the removal of each extracted bucket load;

(5) examine back dirt for the presence of artifacts; and

(6) conform depths and configurations of mechanical excavation trenches to OSHA standards for excavation safety ( 29 CFR 1926, Subpart P).

D. Stratigraphic profiles shall be recorded by scale diagram, photographs and narrative descriptions. Deposit descriptions include but are not limited to sediment color, texture, moisture, content, nature of inclusions, organic content and an inventory of cultural material. The color shall be described using Munsell terminology.

E. Mechanical stripping or scraping may be employed following hand excavations or mechanical trenching unless depth of cultural deposits has been determined from surface observations. The stripping serves the purpose of revealing features that were not previously identified and provides a check on the reliability of the excavation sampling design. Features exposed during the mechanical stripping shall be mapped in relation to the site datum. All features shall be fully excavated unless a sampling strategy is included in the approved research design and excavation plan.

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