The Future of Archaeology

1. The Future of Archaeology Chapter 27

2. The Destruction of Archaeological Sites • Warfare • Bombing, postwar looting, and misguided attempts are protecting sites can contribute to site damage • Development • As the population grows, it will be necessary to convert land to residential and commercial zones • Construction can discover as well as destroy sites • Looting • Theft results in the loss of contextual and associative information that aids in site interpretation

3. Attempts at Preventing the Destruction of Archaeological Sites • Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) • Protects sites on federal properties, similar to protection of national parks and forests • Does not protect sites on private land • Damage continues despite laws – though looters are subject to fines, community service, and jail • Public Education • Elucidates the immorality and illegality associated with removing pieces of our cultural heritage

4. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act • University and Museum collections contain a large amount of Native American materials from burial mounds and cemeteries • In the early 1990s there may have been as many as 100,000 Native American skeletons in museum storage

5. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act • Many of these Native Americans have living descendents who did not consent to the excavations or approve of the difference in level of respect between their remains and European remains • The NAGPRA laws require all remains or objects, held on Indian lands, under federal control, or held by institutions receiving federal funds be returned to the tribes

6. Archaeology and Nationalism • Many nations have moved toward developing and increasing awareness of their own culture histories and archaeology, through local and nationally-sponsored archaeological research, educational programs, and museums • There are many examples of distortion of archaeological interpretations, generally resulting from ethnocentric views or biases of the investigators • The challenge to archaeology, in the future, is to function as an instrument for the appreciation of cultural diversity and our common human heritage

7. Some Final Thoughts on the Future of Archaeology • Preserving the past for the future is not an easy task, requiring much time and effort • For the continued support of public funds and private benefaction, it is necessary that archaeological findings be made available to a variety of audiences • Modern advancement in communication allow for ease in the dissemination of information and increase public education necessary for archaeological research to continue

8. The Kennewick Controversy • In July of 1996 the remains of what is now called the Kennewick Man were discovered near the city of Kennewick, Washington • Radiocarbon dates suggest the remains are between 8340 and 9200 years old

9. The Kennewick Controversy • Local Native American tribes, prominent anthropologists, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers have been waging court battles for nearly a decade to determine whether NAGPRA regulations apply to nearly 9000 year old remains • To date, numerous courts have determined the remains to be culturally unidentifiable – not close enough to any living Native American population to be repatriated under existing guidelines – though the controversy continues