Well, there is "archaeological" and "historical". Not everyone's trash is historical. If Lewis and Clark left it, thats historical. If some poor slob like you or me left it then it is not. Depends on what is left, too. Camp 4 in Yosemite qualified for the National Historical Registry. It did not so much as its "age" but as its significance to the history of climbing in this country. So if you find trash that you may think is a significant part of the history of the Sierra, then maybe. For example, you find an old axe with Clarence Kings name on it. A few years ago I found some old glass bottles up near South Fork Lake. They looked like early 1900's. Rusted tin cans- hard to say. Most are just trash. Trash at a mining site may have some historical value.

Archaelogical implies age. This stuff has to be OLD. Clarence King does not qualify. Indians do. Very early Indians more so. Arrowheads-photograph them, locate on a map, leave them be and then tell someone at a University.

My policy is to take a photograph and locate the spot then report to the FS or National Park Service.