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Mission of the National Park
Service
The National Park Service
preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources
and values of the national park system for the
enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future
generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners
to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resources
conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this
country and the world.
(National Park Service
Management Policies 2001)
Both archeological
research and public interpretation are integral parts of
the mission of the National Park Service. Given the
extent of land, number of archeological sites, and
number of people who visit our National Parks, the
importance of both archeology and interpretation is
far-reaching. This section provides an overview of the
four-module program presented in this manual for
effective interpretation of archeological resources,
beginning with a discussion of the history of
archeological research and developments in public
interpretation efforts in the National Park Service.
Interpretation of
Archeological Resources
The inventory of
cultural resources within National Parks has grown
substantially in recent decades to include new aspects
of our past. Thus, interpretation is necessary to
explain to visitors how this new archeological research
contributes to a fuller understanding of our nation’s
history. The primary role of the interpreter is to
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 Represent
the heritage of the nation reflected in our National
Parks; |
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Ensure the
natural, cultural, and recreational heritage
reflected in our national parks is available and
accessible to everyone; |
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Provide
experiences that strengthen the recognition,
understanding, enjoyment, and preservation of the
nation’s heritage; and |
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Create the
opportunity for visitors to ascribe meanings to
resources, to establish intellectual and emotional
connections to those resources, leading to concern
for the protection of the resources. |
This last point is the
seed of resource stewardship and, thus, is the goal of
interpretation: revelation based on facts, not
simply the presentation of information.
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