Public Archaeology and Modern Society
Lesson Objectives: Categorize public archaeology’s many components, including CRM, legal and ethical issues, curation, conservation, looting, stewardship, colonial legacies, and ethics.
We have already integrated a lot of public archaeology and social relevance ideas into the topics of this first half-semester, but now we expand upon them. What is included within public archaeology? Everything that relates to the wider society: cultural resources management, historic preservation, educational programs, archaeo-tourism, antiquities laws, monument restoration, avocational archaeology, popular media images of archaeology, communication with modern communities and individuals affected by archaeology, and more.
What is cultural resources management (CRM)? It is a broad term that includes all decision-making about archaeological and historic sites, from preservation to excavation to interpretation to the public. Cultural resources managers may be local, state, or federal archaeologists charged with protecting significant resources during construction of a highway or park. Before they can protect them they must first identify them, then determine which are significant. Often the Park Service or Department of Transportation archaeologist cannot do all this alone for large tracts of land, and so may hire specialists in contract archaeology, usually a small business or university research institute or consultant.
Contract archaeologists do the fieldwork, often a great number of Phase I surveys, shovel testing and doing background research, then they prepare a report with recommendations. If they find sites that are not significant—say, a scatter of chert flakes with little stratigraphic depth—they often recommend no further action and going ahead with the construction. They have to do a good job because that is usually all the scientific attention that site will ever get before it is nuked. If significant sites are identified, often during Phase II test excavation, they might work with the managers toward preservation, redesign of the development, or rerouting of the road. Usually the work is evaluated by the cultural resources manager at the public agency, who will concur with the recommendation if the work is done well and within official guidelines. Preservation is sometimes cheaper than digging more, but sometimes not. If preservation is not an option—if the road must go through here or the public hospital must be built here—then Phase III data recovery excavation may be recommended.
What laws protect archaeological sites? As
early as 1906, the Antiquities Act protected sites on federal lands.
But see the list of laws on p. 236 of the book. With the environmental
consciousness of the 1960s and 1970s came many laws protecting cultural
as well as natural resources. You do not need to memorize all the federal
laws, and state laws differ across the country a bit, not to mention
local ordinances. However, the general picture is that public lands
are protected, as we already discussed, but private lands are not very
much. In Florida, if a developer wants to build yet another big gated
community, it will require various permits and compliance with state
laws. If it is big enough, it will be a development of regional impact
or DRI. On the DRI application form, right in there with questions about
the projected traffic patterns, water use, endangered species on the
land, and others, is question 19, asking if there are any significant
cultural resources that will be disturbed by the development. To answer
that question the developer usually hires an archaeologist to do a survey,
and so on. Sometimes the developer will say, no, there are no archaeological
sites identified on this land, to which the state reviewer will say,
how do you know? Has anyone ever looked? Sometimes the developer will
change the development to be slightly smaller, so as to fall below the
threshold for a DRI (I think in Florida it is 600 units, apartments
or houses or whatever).
What are the ethical issues involved in CRM?
Besides all the usual ethical issues that concern the whole profession
of archaeology, management decisions by agencies and for-profit firms
have complex sets of circumstances. Often clients will hire the contract
archaeology company that is the low bidder, not the best (as we see
in all other areas of life!). I have done small contracts with archaeology
students and had the developer offer me more money if I promise not
to find any archaeological sites! Ethical training is becoming more
and more important as the profession of archaeology becomes dominated
by practitioners in CRM and contract positions.
What do we mean by curation, materials conservation, and collections management? All the artifacts and data recovered by field archaeology must be stored in such a fashion that they will not decay, that they can be easily located for further research, available for public appreciation, and cared for into the indefinite future. This is expensive and labor-intensive, and many professionals ignore it because it is more fun to dig. The sometimes tedious listing of every item in every bag and the treatment of decaying items and storage of materials in sturdy, non-degradable containers is the part of archaeology seldom seen or realized by both many professionals and the public.
Is looting a big threat to the archaeological record? The book places the topic of looting first in this last chapter, but modern construction and our explosion of population that results in ever-expanding human effects upon the landscape destroy more archaeology than individual looters. However, there is always looting, probably since the first burials of important people with wealth items! King Tut’s tomb was remarkable not for its outstanding wealth or even the importance of the teenage insignificant king himself, but because it was NOT looted and therefore full of gold and other goodies in original context. Most of the other, far more famous Egyptian rulers’ tombs were robbed—probably before the body was cold, if not later in time.
What about the popular images of antiquities looting? Yes, that is how
Indiana Jones begins, raiding for the lost ark, and Lara Croft is actually
named “tomb raider.” We have a little problem here with public
understanding of what archaeologists do and why it is destructive to
grab artifacts out of context. Now various websites are set to pop up in
your
search engine if you are simply asking about archaeological topics, and
provide you with places to buy ancient artifacts! Remember this when
you are finishing your assignments this week for a paper comparing some
archaeological
websites; this does NOT include websites selling artifacts. The Slack
Farm example from the very opening page of the book shows how systematic,
widespread
destruction is done by people looking either to acquire items for sale
and profit or have items for their personal collections.
What are the antidotes to looting and other destruction of the past? Archaeology education in the schools, in the chamber of commerce meeting rooms, in the law-enforcement agencies and really all public agencies, and in the public communications media.
What is the meaning of stewardship? This is an important concept we try to encourage: understanding the archaeological record as the fragile remains of the past of all people and how we are all responsible for preserving it as much as possible. There are many ways to do this, including lobbying for better preservation laws, engaging the local community in monitoring sites and protecting them against looting, and joining or donating to several preservation associations.
How can a non-professional participate in archaeology besides just visiting sites and museums as a tourist? There are many societies for amateur or avocational archaeologists who work side-by-side with professionals because they love it. Hester Davis, who just retired as the state archaeologist of Arkansas and taught in a program that certified volunteer field archaeologists in that state, once said that avocational archaeologists are the professional’s secret weapon to help preserve sites (Davis 1991). They love it as a hobby and are often able to accomplish things professionals cannot.
What kinds of private agencies and foundations help protect archaeological sites? The Nature Conservancy was founded to gather private donations to purchase and protect ecologically important and endangered lands, sometimes with archaeological sites on them. Modeled after it is the more specific Archaeological Conservancy, which targets significant cultural resources to buy and protect, often then donating the land to a public agency such as the Park Service to manage and conserve. In Florida there is the Archaeological and Historical Conservancy based in Miami, and many other such foundations are out there, usually with informative websites.
What international agencies work to preserve archaeological resources? The United Nations Educational, Social, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) drafts statements to help prevent illegal international trade in antiquities and cultural properties. The U.S. and many other countries have made agreements through UNESCO to return illegally imported artifacts. Even though U.S. Customs is more worried about what drugs you are bringing into the country, occasionally and with good work from legal professionals, they catch smugglers of looted materials. But, I take calls nearly every week from people who have artifacts brought into the country from Peru or Mexico or Costa Rica and want them identified. I have to explain that if they were obtained recently, they are illegal! There are also lots of fakes out there made for the tourist trade and authenticating antiquities often takes special skills. As already mentioned, authenticating them for sale or profit, or even evaluating them in market terms, is unethical. It is often hard for people to understand why this should be so. Usually the medical model works. We don’t buy and sell body parts. And they are from only one body, while archaeological materials are part of the entire human past.
How is archaeology useful in supporting national identity and cultural heritage? Providing information on the ancestral past can give different ethnic groups a pride in their heritage and information that may be enormously useful and practical, such as in Native American land claims. In many countries outside the U.S., archaeological images figure prominently in everything from postage stamps to popular culture to fine arts. Designations of important sites as world heritage monuments or other landmarks can bring not only national and international recognition but real dollars in heritage tourism. Florida is acutely aware of archaeo-tourism and has good publicity campaigns to urge visitors to visit historic sites as well as Disney World.
What are the negative aspects of the colonial legacy of archaeology? War, vandalism, and looting of treasures for the museums of colonial powers have all devastated archaeological sites. The imperialist mentality used to be well-illustrated in the patronizing treatment in such familiar places as National Geographic magazine (Gero and Root 1990), where the archaeologists were dashing white guys in pith helmets and the actual workers digging and carrying were the dark-skinned natives whose heritage was being taken away to museums in far distant lands with or without their understanding, not to mention proper monetary compensation.
Have we become enlightened about our responsibilities in investigating the past of others? What ethical considerations should guide archaeologists so as not to abuse the heritage of others? Relations between Native Americans and archaeologists, for example, have changed in the past decades. Indians are demanding that their ancestors not sit on some dusty museum shelf waiting to be measured, but be treated with respect, returned to the community of origin, or not dug up in the first place. As anthropologists we have no trouble understanding this, though as scientists we lament the missed opportunities to learn more about ancient health, disease, and society in general when remains must be immediately reburied. These are also of course hotly debated issues in the scientific community, among Native Americans, legal scholars, land-management agencies, and other interested parties who are “stakeholders” in the human past, who have something to gain, if only the pleasure of historic identification, by the knowledge of the past.
Not only is there enormous legal and ethical responsibility in the treatment of human remains, but also just locating and consulting with descendant communities before investigations are underway is required. The permission and cooperation of landowners, local communities, and religious and other authorities must often be obtained before any excavations, but most important is the permission and interest of any living representatives of the cultural group being investigated.
What decisions about archaeology should be made in consultation with the diverse groups who have an interest in the past? Besides if and how to excavate and what studies to do afterwards, there is the question of the disposition of the materials. Artifacts are the property of the landowner, unless they are cultural properties that can be identified as belonging to a particular living group or associated with identifiable human remains.
What should be done with standing ruins? Should ancient buildings be reconstructed, restored as someone thinks they once were, left in place, or preserved at all? Can archaeo-tourism help or hurt? What about modern communities around famous sites? Should they not be involved in designing tourist attractions, museums, and restoration of monuments? Will the plans include any jobs for the local community members? Will the materials once preserved just fine in the ground be conserved well, so they will last while they are investigated or displayed?
What benefits can come to the archaeologist by working with local people and descendant communities? Not only good public relations and support for the project, but also real research information, such as the identification of artifacts and their past functions in the cultural context. Though I have no remaining Native Florida people in the region where I work, the local hunters and fishers are enormously helpful in identifying methods of catching different species and making a living off the river and the sea. In return, I can show them the kinds of species the ancient people used to make a living and how fishing might have been the same or different.
What other obligations to the public remain after the project analyses are completed and the scientific report submitted? Archaeologists should always try to produce popular accounts and interpretations of what they have found for the general audience. This can be in the form of displays, booklets, videos, lectures, or other media presentations. Since most of the work is done with public money, it is only fair that the public benefits. Archaeologists also need to learn to write for the public, in understandable but not condescending terms. All archaeology today is public archaeology.