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.

In short, the purpose of the report is to provide a tool for cultural .
resources management by the Government and to provide a useful compendium
of past research for scholars as well as to present fruitful avenues for
future research—research which would undoubtedly add to both the academic
and public appreciation of the data.

PROJECT AREA

It is quite important that the Government is undertaking the inventory
of this sector of the Mojave Desert at this time because the planning units
(Antelope Valley, Kramer, Calico, Stoddard, and Johnson/Morongo units) lie to
the north of the most heavily populated area of southern California — greater
Los Angeles. This proximity necessarily has led to a greater use of the study
area, which has had a negative result due to the theft, vandalism, and inad-
vertent destruction of archaeological and historical sites. Together, the
five planning units comprise approximately 2.35 million acres. Most of the
land is distributed in San Bernardino County with about one- fifth of the area
split roughly between Los Angeles and Kern counties (see Map 1) . More or less
of a natural boundary exists on the southern perimeter of the study area
formed by the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains, and the hills of
western Riverside County. The northwest boundary of the study area is formed
by the Tehachapi Mountains . The northern perimeter is more arbitrarily
formed by, going from west to east, Edwards Air Force Base, Fremont Valley
and Camp Irwin Military Reservation and United States Naval Ordnance Test
Station. To the east, the area is bounded by the Cady Mountains and the
Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Training Center.

Thus, the project area forms a large and important sector of the Mojave
Desert which takes on special significance due to the increasing use and
potential settlement posed by the heavily populated Los Angeles Basin and
environs

METHODOLOGY, METHODS, STUDY PROBLEMS, AND THEIR RESOLUTIONS

A development of a methodology is a necessary aspect of conducting a
project such as this. In contrast to this project, past studies, attempting
to synthesize literature or to generalize about the data for this area of
California, were limited in several ways. They were limited usually by the
fact that they were conducted by one scholar who necessarily had limited
expertise (e.g., a prehistorian vs. a historian). Past studies were severely
curtailed in the amount of time and funds they could reasonably expend on such
an endeavor (most prior studies were not formally funded at all and the sup-
port of the investigator came from his or her own job as a professor, etc.)
Past studies also were limited in the data sources available to them and the
number of then existing/cooperating institutions. Past studies were also
curtailed by their objectives, for very few past studies had both research
archaeology and/or history as well as cultural resources management as
objectives when they were conducted. Such studies also were limited by the
scope of subjects to which they were addressed. They were not oriented to
compile data on prehistory, ethnography/ethnohistory , history, and cultural
resources management. And lastly, these studies were limited as to the spatial