Dammed if We Do and Dammed if We Don’t: A Social and Organizational History of the River Basin Surveys and the Interagency Archeological Salvage Program

The period from the mid-1940s to the late 1960s was exciting and profession-changing for archaeology and archaeologists. The impetus for this excitement and change was the passage of the Flood Control Act of 1944 and the unanticipated reaction of archaeologists to the destruction of archaeological sites that construction projects authorized under the act would cause. The result was the formation in 1945 of the Interagency Archeological Salvage Program and, as part of it, the River Basin Surveys; 2016 marked the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the operation of the River Basin Surveys. The Interagency Archeological Salvage Program and the River Basin Surveys had a tremendous impact on many who participated, as can be seen through their words. This legacy is still with us today.