Since its founding, Desert Archaeology has successfully completed thousands of projects, ranging from small surveys to large excavations, extending throughout the state of Arizona and into New Mexico, Colorado, and California. We creatively integrate legal compliance, scientific research, and public outreach, and have established a record of work that is cost-effective and of the highest professional quality.

Desert Archaeology, Inc. was established as a cultural resources management (CRM) company in Tucson, Arizona, in 1989. The company was created when the nonprofit Institute of American Research’s Arizona Division, founded by Dr. William Doelle in 1982, split into the for-profit CRM firm and the nonprofit Center for Desert Archaeology (now known as Archaeology Southwest).

Desert Archaeology transitioned to a woman-owned company in January 2017, when Dr. Sarah Herr became owner and president.

Two additional Arizona office locations have expanded our reach in the Greater Southwest. In 1999, we opened a branch office in Tempe with expertise in the Phoenix Basin, followed by a Prescott-based mapping headquarters in 2025.

Our mission is to conduct outstanding and efficient archaeological research that both meets client compliance requirements and provides broad public and scientific benefit.

We prioritize innovation and expanding our partnership networks to deliver timely and efficient results in a dynamic regulatory environment. We center client interests while continuing our legacy of remarkable archaeological research that serves the public good.

The core value guiding Desert Archaeology is integrity.

This supports and informs our commitment to honoring and comprehensively recording cultural resources while prioritizing client costs and scheduling.

We prioritize client concerns by creating efficient action plans that minimize development delays and costs. We honor cultural resources by crafting innovative, collaborative research designs that maximize the information return from data recovery to the benefit of scientific and general public knowledge.

We invest in the communities in which we work and cultivate respectful reciprocal relationships with descendant communities and local stakeholders.

Desert Archaeology is committed to providing a respectful and fair environment and does not tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual preference, gender identity, marital status, or veteran status.