The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1. (1) Antiquities--As used in the Texas Government Code, Chapter 422, as amended, means material remains in, or recovered from, archeological sites or other historic resources and includes relics and artifacts.
2. (2) Archeological investigation--Any research activity applied to archeological sites and the material remains in, or removed from, such sites, including excavation, recording, documentation, conservation, mapping, and analysis.
3. (3) Archeological site--Any place that contains material remains of past human life or activities in their original or historical context. No site is considered a historic resource under these sections unless the resource is at least 50 years of age or has been determined by the commission to be of overriding historical or cultural significance.
4. (4) Artifact--An historical object of human workmanship or association.
5. (5) Avocational archeologist--Any individual with demonstrated skill or experience in archeological investigation who is not a professional archeologist within the meaning of these sections.
6. (6) Conservation easement--A nonpossessory interest of a holder in real property that imposes limitations or affirmative obligations, as defined and authorized in Title 8, Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 183.
7. (7) Historic or cultural resource--Any building site, district, or structure of historical or archeological interest and its contents. Examples are Indian mounds and camping grounds, sources of stone for aboriginal tools, bison kill sites, rock art, pre-20th century shipwrecks, building foundations, early cottage and craft sites, cemeteries, dumps and trash heaps, military sites, and all manner of historical buildings and other structures. Only resources at least 50 years old, or which have been determined by the state archeologist to be of transcendent historic or cultural importance, are considered historical resources within the meaning of these sections.
8. (8) Historic preservation--The protection and conservation of all aspects of our cultural heritage.
9. (9) History (historic, historical)--Includes prehistory (prehistoric).
10. (10) Inventory of sites--Any form of tabulating, collecting, and holding archeological site records, and all activities which maintain that inventory.
11. (11) Material remains--Any objects, artifacts, or other items constructed, altered, created, or used by humans. Examples are Indian artifacts and the debris from making them; building materials; human skeletal remains; and early maps, records, and documents, as well as historical implements and debris in any way related to culture history. Nonfossilized and fossilized paleontological specimens and geological specimens are not included unless occurring in or related to an archeological context. Only material remains at least 50 years old, or which have been determined by the state archeologist to be of transcendent historic or cultural importance, are considered historic resources within the meaning of these sections.
12. (12) Professional archeologist--Any archeologist certified by the Society of Professional Archeologists (SOPA) for the level of required investigation; anyone determined a professional archeologist by the state archeologist according to the criteria of the SOPA; or anyone meeting pertinent state or federal regulations for qualification for the level of investigation required.
13. (13) Site records--All data and information relating to the character, condition, and location of any archeological site or other historic resource; and all data and information pertinent to collections of material remains. Site records include, but are not limited to, photographs, maps, notes, drawings, site data forms, documents, sound tapes, and computerized data.
14. (14) Standardized Trinomial Numbering System--The three-part numbering system for labeling archeologiccal sites consisting of a number assigned for the State of Texas (41), a standard county abbreviation, and the number of the site according to its order of recording in its county.
15. (15) State of Texas site data form--The standardized form for recording archeological site information as developed and amended by the Office of the State Archeologist.

Source Note:The provisions of this §25.1 adopted to be effective December 31, 1984, 9 TexReg 6315; amended to be effective June 6, 1988, 13 TexReg 2555; amended to be effective July 9, 1996, 21 TexReg 5975.