Responsibilities and Ethics or Archaeology

Goals of Archeology

• perserve cultural heritage

• understanding how and why things happened in the past

• understanding the lived experiences of the past

• dissemination

Excavation is a destruction process

• students have an enormous responsibility to document

• have to get everything with one excavate

Preservation and conservation

• preserve world and local heritage

• disseminate knowledge in both academic and public settings

Formation processes

• natural

• cultural

natural formation processes

non-human events that create, alter, or preserve archaeological sites

cultural formation processes

human activities that create, alter, and preserve archaeological sites over time

looting and destruction of cultural heritages

• illegal, indiscriminate taking of archaeological remains, these often sold for profit

• illegal trade in antiques is the wolrds fourth most lucrative business after drugs, guns, and money laundering

effacing history

the destructive actions of archaeological work or the historical record can erase or damage the past

Thutmose III defaced the figure of Hatshepsuts

• defaced monuments and images ofter hatshepsuts death

• chiseled away her name

• break statues

• covering her images

• remove her power and political standing

The role of CRM

• identify, evaluate, document, and preserve cultural and archaeological resources while balancing development needs

The Miami Circle

• archaeological site that is protected

• collaborated with local people to save the circle

Dissemination

to spread something (information) widely

• technical reports

• academic publications

• public engagement

Control of the Past

• politics and ideologies

• research agendas

• media

• tourism

Alternative Narratives

• archaeological narratives are not the only valid ways of reconstructing the past

• some narrative can be harmful

  • manipulate data

  • use fake evidence to support your claim

    • backtracking until you can prove it

• who decides?

Unethical use of archaeology

• Gustaf Kossinna

• Nazis

• Movies

Pseudoarchaeology

• why is it harmful?

• non-scientific based speculations of archaeological data

• examples:

  • ancient aliens

  • lost contient 

Preservation

involves a range of methods and legal frameworks to protect archaeological sites and artifacts from deterioration and destruction

Tension between local, national, and world heritages and identities

• descendent communities

  • until very recently, they were not permitted to enter thier own ancestors site

• blood ties or cultural affiliation?

  • archaeological, tourism, and national identity

• local or nation heritage?

  • they say they have a right to look after those remains

  • others believe they should belong to national heritage

  • others say it should be a World Patrimony

    • believe it should belong to the local people

questionable export

exported to one place to another through individuals institutions

• elgin marbles

UNESCO

• conventions for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict 1954

• [            ] conventions on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illict import, export, and transfer of ownership

tourism

• pro

  • funding for preservation

  • local economic opportunities

  • cultural awareness

• cons

  • site deterioration

  • over tourism

  • risk of commercialization and looting

who controls the past?

• state, media, experts, descendent populations?

• no single group

National Historic Preservations Act (1966)

• national preservation program and a system of protections for historical and archaeological sites

Archaeological and historic Preservation Act (1974)

• requires federal agencies to preserve historical and archaeological data that might be lost due to federally funded or licensed projects

• provides authority and funding for federal agencies to recover and preserve artifacts and data by conducting surveys, investigations, and analysis, and requires them to set standards for managing archaeological collections and securing curatorial services

native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) (1990)

• federal law that protects native american graves, requires the return of native american human remains and cultural items to lineal descendents and tribes, and provides a process for their repatriation

• applies to federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funds

UNESCO Convention (1970)

• means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property is an International treaty to combat the illegal trade in cultural items

UNIDROIT Convention (1995)

• convention on stolen or illegally exported cultural objects

• an internation treaty that supplements the 1970 convention by creating uniform private law rules to aid in the restitution and return of cultural property

Why archaeology?
Beyond scientific research

1. site documentation and preservation

2. reconstruction of culture history

3. preservation of excavated features and artifacts

4. archiving of records for future use (field notes, maps, forms, etc.)

5. disseminating information to the public (publication)

6. access to these materials and records for future study (museum)

7. protection of the rights of the living descendents of the ancient society

Provenance

where things are made (its origin)

Provenience

• where things are found (its spatial context)

• three dimensional location of any kind of archaeological data

why is looting a problem?

• destruction of cultural heritage

• loss of information for understanding human history