This section should provide basic background information on your area/collection/data base AND discuss why this is the ideal location to solve your problem. The information might include discussion of the local environment, brief culture history, available resources, and past work in the area. If your project is part of a larger research project, you should say what has been done in the past and how your work will fit into the overall goals of the project. Your justification for why this is the ideal location for your research should be more than "it's where I want to work"--there needs to be a good match between question and data, so make sure you have a strong statement that supports the area. Reviewers tend to give preference to studies that can only be done in one place or that have time pressures because the sites or collections will only be available for study for a certain amount of time.

1. Describe the area, including the local environment (briefly), geology, topography--whatever is important to your problem.
    
2. Provide a brief overview of the culture history of the area as it relates to your problem.
    
3. Provide an overview of previous research on your question in this area.
    
4. If your research is part of a larger, ongoing project, describe the project and state how your project fits into the overall research goals.
    
5. State how your area is the ideal area to conduct your study.
    
6. If your project has time constraints (for instance, if sites are going to be destroyed by development or other activity), be sure to include a statement to that effect.