Additional Information

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Scholars Portal Journals

Language

English

Notes

Abstract: Collected sites are commonly seen as places requiring expert intervention to ‘save the past’ from destruction by artifact collectors and looters. Despite engaging directly with the physical effects of collecting and vandalism, little attention is given to the meanings of these actions and the contributions they make to the stories told about sites or the past more broadly. Professional archaeologists often position their engagement with site destruction as heritage ‘salvage’ and regard collecting as lacking any value in contemporary society. Repositioning collecting as meaningful social practice and heritage action raises the question: in failing to understand legal or illegal collecting as significant to heritage, have archaeologists contributed to the erasure of acts that aim to work out identities, memories and senses of place, and contribute to an individual’s or group’s sense of ontological security? This question is explored through a case study from the New England region of North America where archaeologists have allied with Native American and other stakeholders to advocate for heritage protection by taking an anti-looting/collecting stance. We explore alternatives to this position that engage directly with forms of collecting as meaningful social practices that are largely erased in site narratives.

Taxonomies

RPA Codes & Standards

• Archaeologist's Responsibility to Colleagues, Employees, and Students
• Archaeologist's Responsibility to the Public
• Integrity of Research Methodology
• Specimen and Research Record Storage

CIfA Codes

• Principle 1: Adherence to ethical and responsible behaviour in archaeological affairs
• Principle 2: Responsibility for the conservation of the historic environment
• Principle 3: Responsibility for acquiring and recording reliable information of the past in archaeological research
• Principle 4: Responsibility for the availability of archaeological results within reasonable dispatch
• Principle 5: Recognition of aspirations of employees, colleagues and helpers in all matters of employment

Keywords & Terms

• Accountability
• Adequate and Responsible Reporting, Publication, and Dissemination
• Avoid, Discourage, and Report Unethical and Illegal Activity
• Consultation/Partnership with Affected Groups
• Consultation/Partnership with Indigenous Peoples
• Culturally Significant and/or Sacred Sites, Objects, and Places
• General Archaeological Ethics
• Impact on Communities - Local, Descendant, etc.
• Indigenous, Tribal, Aboriginal Rights
• Integrity of Research Methodology and Field Procedures
• Looting, Collecting, and Illicit Trade of Cultural Property
• Management of Cultural Resources, Heritage, History
• Professional Qualification
• Professional Standards
• Public Interest, Collaboration, Education, and Outreach
• Standards of Data Collection, Recordation, Analysis
• Stewardship

Topics & Issues

• Amateur and Advocational Archaeology
• Antiquities Trade
• Archaeological Advocacy and Activism
• Archaeological Ethics - Other
• Collaboration in Archaeology (i.e. Communities, Non-Archaeologists, etc.)
• Community Archaeology and Participatory Research
• Descendant, Resident, and Stakeholder Communities
• Destruction of Cultural Heritage
• Ethical Dilemmas
• Ethical Responsibilities of Archaeologists
• Ethics of Collecting
• Indigenous Archaeology: Perspectives and Issues
• Interdisciplinary Research
• Interpreting the Past
• Legislation and Archaeological Preservation
• Professionalism and Professional Standards