Anthro 2020 Exam 4

What are some major ethical issues archaeologists encounter?

A common ethical issue in modern archaeology has been the treatment of human remains found during excavations, especially those that represent the ancestors of aboriginal groups in the New World or the remains of other minority races elsewhere.

What are cultural resources?

Cultural resources can be defined as physical evidence or place of past human activity: site, object, landscape, structure; or a site, structure, landscape, object or natural feature of significance to a group of people traditionally associated with it.

Criteria for eligibility for National Register

Generally, for bridges to be eligible for the NRHP, they must be at least 50 years old, be historically significant, and have a high degree of integrity. A property has a high level of integrity if it possesses characteristics that convey its historical significance through its setting, materials, design, location, workmanship, feeling, and association (see the glossary for definitions). Determining integrity will be discussed in more detail later in this section. A property's significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture is determined by the integrity of the districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are part of the property and its surroundings. To be considered historically significant, a bridge must meet at least one of the following basic criteria: A. The property must be associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. B. The property must be associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. C. The property must embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, represent the work of a master, possess high artistic values, or represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction. D. The property must show, or may be likely to yield, information important to history or prehistory.

What is CRM?

In the broadest sense, cultural resource management (CRM) is the vocation and practice of managing cultural resources, such as the arts and heritage. It incorporates Cultural Heritage Management which is concerned with traditional and historic culture. It also delves into the material culture of archaeology

How can archaeologists engage the public?

Later, it took on meanings that included activities that engage the public in archaeology through lectures, interpretive signs, or tours of sites and excavations. Today, the term, and how archaeologists engage in public archaeology, goes far beyond this. Public archaeologists investigate the outcomes of the various innovative ways we can engage the public in archaeological research, both within archaeology and in terms of public awareness.

NAGPRA

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act NAGPRA was initially enacted in 1990 to establish the rights of Indian tribes and their lineal descendants to obtain repatriation of certain human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony from federal agencies and museums. By enacting NAGPRA, Congress recognized that human remains of any ancestry "must at all times be treated with dignity and respect." Congress also acknowledged that human remains and other cultural items removed from Federal or tribal lands belong, in the first instance, to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations.

Section 106

Section 106 is the portion of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) that is concerned with Federal undertakings. What is a Federal undertaking? A Federal undertaking is a project, activity, or program either funded, permitted, licensed, or approved by a Federal Agency. The Section 106 review process gives you the opportunity to alert the federal government to the historic properties you value and influence decisions about projects that affect them. ... Section 106 requires federal agencies to consider the effects of projects they carry out, approve, or fund on historic properties.

SHPO

State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO) play a critical role carrying out many responsibilities in historic preservation. Surveying, evaluating and nominating significant historic buildings, sites, structures, districts and objects to the National Register is one such key activity. To help find out if a historic place meets the National Register criteria and how the nomination process works in your state, contact the appropriate SHPO below for assistance.

Antiquities Act of 1906

The Antiquities Act is the first law to establish that archeological sites on public lands are important public resources. The Antiquities Act was a response to concerns over theft from and destruction of archaeological sites and was designed to provide an expeditious means to protect federal lands and resources. President Theodore Roosevelt used the authority in 1906 to establish Devils Tower in Wyoming as the first national monument.

National Historic Preservation Act of 1966

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was passed primarily to acknowledge the importance of protecting our nation's heritage from rampant federal development. It was the triumph of more than a century of struggle by a grassroots movement of committed preservationists. The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA; Public Law 89-665; 54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.) is legislation intended to preserve historic and archaeological sites in the United States of America.

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.