Archaeological & Historical Consultants

The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) can assist you in locating qualified professionals for cultural resource services, including surveys, evaluations, National Register nominations, data recovery, preservation planning, and much more. Consultants who meet the appropriate Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards and who have expressed an interest in performing work in Iowa are included on the SHPO’s List of Registered Consultants. The alphabetized list includes:

• Prehistoric and Historic Archeological Consultants who have expressed an interest in undertaking contract archaeological research in the State of Iowa and who, in the opinion of SHPO based on submitted resumes, meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards for archeology.
  
• Historians and Architectural Historians who have expressed an interest in undertaking contract history and architectural history research in the State of Iowa and who, in the opinion of SHPO based on submitted resumes, meet the Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualifications Standards for history and/or architectural history.

Download List of Registered Consultants

Inclusion on the list does not constitute endorsement of any individual consultant, any contracting firm, or any consultant’s work or work products. We recommend that samples of work be reviewed, references be checked, and multiple bids be obtained before finalizing a contract with any cultural resource consultant. While we cannot recommend specific consultants, we are able to comment on previous work reviewed pursuant to State and Federal standards and guidelines. Our role in contract procurement is advisory and final selection of a consultant and the method of selection are at the discretion of the client.

Consultants are requested to update their contact information and resume on file once a year. For more information on inclusion on or updates to the List of Registered Consultants please go to the Inclusion on and Updates to the List of Registered Consultants page.

Contracting the Services of a Consultant

When in need of the services of a Prehistoric Archeologist, a Historic Archeologist, a Historian, or an Architectural Historian, feel free to contact any of the individuals on the List of Registered Consultants or other qualified consultants of whom you may be aware. If you have questions regarding the necessary minimal qualifications of an individual under consideration, please contact the appropriate staff member at the State Historical Society listed below. A resume for each principal investigator included on the List of Registered Consultants is on file at the SHPO.

If you wish to obtain professional services by competitive bidding, the SHPO can provide technical assistance in the preparation of requests for proposals and with evaluation of the proposals submitted. We also can provide technical assistance in reviewing historical and/or historic architectural documentation at any level of planning, identification, evaluation, or treatment to ensure that the objectives of the documentation and that minimum Federal standards and guidelines have been met.

Contact

For more information about selecting an archaeological consultant contact:
Douglas W. Jones, Archeologist
Doug.Jones@iowa.gov
(515) 281-4358

Daniel K. Higginbottom, Archeologist
Daniel.Higginbottom@iowa.gov
(515) 281-8744

For more information about selecting an historian or architectural historian consultant contact:
Ralph Christian, Historian
Ralph.Christian@iowa.gov
(515) 281-8697

Barbara Mitchell, Architectural Historian
Barbara.Mitchell@iowa.gov
(515) 281-4013

We do not maintain a list of individuals meeting the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards for Architecture or Historic Architecture. For more information related to procuring the services of architectural professionals with experience working with historic buildings, please contact:

Jack Porter, Preservation Consultant
Jack.Porter@iowa.gov
(515) 242-6152