A Ten-Millennia Lens: Landscape, Culture and History at Russell Cave National Monument

Developed out of a need for a reliable methodology of documenting historic landscapes, the National Park Service uses Cultural Landscape Reports to determine the significance and integrity of historic landscapes. Treatment recommendations developed from an analysis of site history and existing conditions guide the management decisions of cultural landscapes. Russell Cave National Monument, located in Bridgeport, Alabama, contains one of the oldest continuous archeological records in North America. A cultural landscape report for the park had not yet been completed. This research consists of a historical narrative covering the 10,000 years of human occupation in the cave, a documentation of existing conditions, an analysis of historic integrity, and recommendations for management, preservation, and restoration of the landscape