Cultural resources are the remains of sites, structures, or objects used by people in the past. They may be prehistoric, historic, or architectural in nature and may in some cases be grouped into sites or districts on the basis of shared characteristics.
The value of cultural resources is in the story they tell about former ways of life, human adaptation to the environment, and human behavior in general. This story may be embodied in architectural style, tool types, location with respect to food resources, or engineering feats. In the case of Native American people, the primary value of their cultural resources is in the respect, honor, and maintenance of traditional cultural values and secondarily in aesthetic, scientific or interpretive considerations.
Cultural resources are non-renewable. Once cultural sites are disturbed or artifacts are removed from their natural setting, information about our heritage that can be learned not only from the artifact, but also by the context of its location, is forever lost. Cultural resource management is designed to protect and enhance cultural resource values by means of documentation, conservation and stewardship.
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