--- title: "Site Integrity | Intro to Archaeology" description: "Site Integrity is the preservation of an archaeological site's original context, so artifacts, features, and structures can be interpreted accurately in archaeology." canonical: "https://fiveable.me/introduction-archaeology/key-terms/site-integrity" type: "key-term" subject: "Intro to Archaeology" unit: "Unit 4" --- # Site Integrity | Intro to Archaeology ## Definition Site integrity is the degree to which an archaeological site keeps its original context intact. In Intro to Archaeology, it tells you whether artifacts, features, and structures can still be interpreted as they were left in place. ## What It Is Site integrity is how well an archaeological site has kept its original arrangement, context, and associations. In Intro to Archaeology, this means you ask whether artifacts are still in the layers, places, and relationships where people actually left them, or whether later disturbance has mixed them up. A site with strong integrity gives archaeologists a clearer picture of past behavior. A pot sherd next to a hearth, for example, can mean something very different from that same sherd found loose in disturbed soil. The object itself matters, but its position, depth, and association with other materials matter just as much. Site integrity is not just about whether a site looks damaged. A surface site can still have good integrity if its deposits are undisturbed, while a site that looks intact on the surface may have poor integrity underground because of plowing, looting, burrowing animals, root growth, erosion, or construction. Archaeologists spend a lot of time figuring out what has changed and what has stayed in place. This is why survey work comes before excavation whenever possible. A survey helps archaeologists document the condition of a site, map visible features, and judge whether the context is trustworthy enough for deeper study. If a site has low integrity, the interpretation changes too, because the evidence may no longer reflect a single moment or activity. You can think of site integrity as the difference between reading a page in order and reading the same words after someone shuffled the paragraphs. The words are still there, but the meaning can shift fast when the original context is lost. ## Why It Matters Site integrity shapes every interpretation archaeologists make from material evidence. If the context is intact, you can connect artifacts to activities, time periods, and site features with more confidence. If the context is disturbed, the same artifacts become harder to date, harder to associate with one another, and easier to misread. That matters in excavation, survey, and cultural resource management. A site with high integrity may be worth careful excavation because it can answer detailed questions about daily life, ritual activity, settlement patterns, or architecture. A disturbed site may still be useful, but the questions have to change. Instead of asking, "What did this room contain?" you may only be able to ask, "What kinds of material survived here at all?" Site integrity also helps you evaluate threats to the archaeological record. Erosion can move soil downslope, looting can remove objects from their provenience, and development can destroy deposits before they are recorded. Once the context is gone, a lot of the story goes with it. In class, this term gives you a way to explain why archaeologists are so cautious about digging, documenting, and protecting sites. It connects the physical site to the interpretive method, which is really the heart of archaeology. ## Connections ### Context Context is the bigger idea behind site integrity. It includes where an artifact was found, what layer it came from, and what else was nearby. If the context is disturbed, the artifact can still exist, but its meaning becomes much weaker because you no longer know its original relationships. ### Preservation Preservation focuses on how well materials survive over time, while site integrity focuses on whether those materials stayed in place and kept their associations. A preserved object can still come from a disturbed deposit, so good preservation does not automatically mean good integrity. ### Site Management Site management is what archaeologists and land managers do to protect a site after they recognize its value. Decisions about fencing, monitoring, controlled access, or rerouting development often depend on how much site integrity remains and how vulnerable the deposits are to damage. ### [Cultural Resource Management](/introduction-archaeology/key-terms/cultural-resource-management) Cultural Resource Management, or CRM, often deals with sites threatened by construction, roads, or industrial projects. Site integrity is a major factor in CRM because it helps determine whether a site needs preservation, salvage excavation, or another response before the evidence is lost. ## On the AP Exam A quiz question or short-answer prompt may ask you to judge whether a site can still be interpreted reliably after disturbance. You might be shown a trench profile, a survey description, or a case study about erosion, looting, or construction and have to explain how site integrity affects the evidence. In a lab or class discussion, you may compare a disturbed deposit with an undisturbed one and point out why provenience and association matter. If the question asks what archaeologists gain from a site, mention that strong integrity preserves the original context needed to connect artifacts, features, and activity areas. If the site has low integrity, say how that changes the kind of conclusions you can make. ## Site Integrity vs Context These terms overlap, but they are not identical. Context is the information about where something was found and what it was associated with, while site integrity is the condition that tells you whether that context is still trustworthy. You can have context described in notes or maps, but if the deposits were disturbed, the site's integrity may still be poor. ## Key Takeaways - Site integrity means an archaeological site has kept its original context well enough for reliable interpretation. - Artifacts matter most when you know their provenience, associations, and stratigraphic position, not just what they are. - Disturbance from erosion, digging, looting, roots, or development can lower site integrity fast. - Survey work helps archaeologists judge a site before excavation and decide how much of the evidence is still trustworthy. - High site integrity gives archaeologists stronger evidence for reconstructing past behavior, activity areas, and chronology. ## FAQs ### What is site integrity in Intro to Archaeology? Site integrity is the extent to which an archaeological site still preserves its original context and relationships among artifacts, features, and layers. In Intro to Archaeology, it tells you how reliable the site is for interpretation. The better the integrity, the more confidently archaeologists can connect evidence to past activities. ### What damages site integrity? Common threats include erosion, flooding, plowing, looting, burrowing animals, root action, and construction. Any process that moves, mixes, or removes material can weaken the original context. Once the layers or associations are disturbed, archaeologists lose part of the story. ### How is site integrity different from preservation? Preservation is about whether materials survive at all, while site integrity is about whether they survive in their original positions and associations. An object can be well preserved but still come from a disturbed layer. For archaeology, both matter, but integrity is what makes interpretation much stronger. ### How do archaeologists check site integrity? They look at stratigraphy, surface disturbance, artifact scatter, and signs of erosion or human impact. Survey methods, mapping, and limited testing can show whether a site still has dependable context. If the site is mixed up, archaeologists adjust the questions they ask and the methods they use. ## Related Study Guides - [4.1 Archaeological Survey Techniques](/introduction-archaeology/unit-4/archaeological-survey-techniques/study-guide/vC26MY3skgVLoIhR) ## About This Document Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`. - [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns - [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing - [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`) - [MCP server for AP teachers](https://fiveable.me/mcp/teachers): a teacher's classes, assignments and AP-rubric grading (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp/teacher`) ## Structured Data ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-archaeology/key-terms/site-integrity#resource","name":"Site Integrity | Intro to Archaeology","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-archaeology/key-terms/site-integrity","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-archaeology/key-terms/site-integrity#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-07-03T02:22:33.889Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"Intro to Archaeology Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-archaeology/key-terms"},"author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://fiveable.me/editorial#content-team","name":"Fiveable Content Team","url":"https://fiveable.me/editorial","parentOrganization":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/#organization"},"member":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amanda DoAmaral","sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/adoamaral"]},{"@type":"Person","name":"Becky Bahr","sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-bahr-b52743132"]}]},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/introduction-archaeology/key-terms/site-integrity#term","name":"Site Integrity","description":"Site integrity is the degree to which an archaeological site keeps its original context intact. 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