About Us

Archaeological Resource Investigations (ARI) is a unique private contracting firm that was formed over 20 years ago by archaeologist Martin E. McAllister.

ARI Services

ARI specializes in services in several important areas:

• Consultation on archaeological resource protection issues
• Investigation, damage assessment and expert witness services for damage to archaeological resources
• Basic and advanced training on archaeological law enforcement and archaeological damage assessment
• Development and presentation of other related types of archaeological and law enforcement training for government, corporate and international audiences

ARI Accomplishments

• ARI archaeologist and owner Martin McAllister is the author or co-author of a number of important publications on archaeological resource protection topics, including: Archeological Resource Protection (1992); The Society for American Archaeology Professional Standards for the Determination of Archaeological Value: Solving the Archaeological Value Determination Problem (Resource in Presenting Archaeology in Court); and Archaeological Damage Assessment: Legal Basis and Methods (National Park Service Technical Brief 20).
• ARI provided contract instruction on archaeological resource protection and archaeological law enforcement in 176 classes with 5,970 participants between 1985 and 2000.
• ARI has been consulted informally on over 200 archaeological violation cases since 1985.
• ARI has provided contract consultation services on archaeological resource protection and contract archaeological damage assessment and expert witness services since 1986.
• ARI prepared the “Damage Assessment” chapter of the USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region’s Cultural Resources Handbook under a contract with the Forest Service in 1987.
• ARI carried out the archaeological damage assessment for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill under a contract from the Alaska Regional Office of the National Park Service that resulted in a $36,600,000.00 “archaeological value” and “cost of restoration and repair” determination for the resulting damage to archaeological sites in the Prince William Sound area of Alaska.
• ARI organized and presented a national conference on archaeological resource protection standards for college and university outdoor recreation programs under a contract with the College of Santa Fe in 1993.
• ARI developed Guidelines for Investigation and Prosecution of Archeological Violations for Argonne National Laboratory and the United States Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Policy and Assistance in 1997.
• ARI developed the Grand Canyon National Park Non-Recent Human Remains Protocol in 1998 and the Grand Canyon National Park Archaeological Resource Protection Protocol in 1999 under contracts with the National Park Service.
• ARI developed a new state of the art Archaeological Law Enforcement Class in 2000 and has presented 31 offerings of this basic three-day class with 969 participants.
• ARI developed a new Archaeological Damage Assessment Class in 2000, the only class of its kind in existence, and has presented 18 offerings of this advanced five-day class with 269 participants.
• ARI was instrumental in the development of the Society for American Archaeology’s Professional Standards for the Determination of Archaeological Value that were adopted by the Society in 2003.
• ARI developed the initial draft of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Pocket Field Guide: Field Procedures for Violations of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) that was issued in 2004.
• ARI developed a new Introduction to Archaeological Damage Assessment Class in 2005 and has presented one offering of this basic day and a half class with 23 participants.
• ARI developed a new Submerged Cultural Resources Law Enforcement Class in 2005 in cooperation with the National Park Service Submerged Resources Center and has presented two offerings of this class with 55 participants.

ARI Business Status

• ARI qualifies as a “Small Business” under Small Business Administration criteria.
• ARI is enrolled in the Department of Defense Central Contractor Registration (CCR) system and has a CCR Cage Code.
• ARI accepts government and personal credit cards (VISA, MasterCard and American Express), government and tribal purchase orders and government, tribal and personal checks.

ARI Staff

• ARI’s owner is archaeologist Martin McAllister, RPA.
• ARI has access to the services of highly skilled criminal investigators and attorneys to serve as consultants and instructors on archaeological resource protection and archaeological law enforcement.