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16.1: Introduction to Legal and Ethical Considerations in Archaeology

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    Through land development, intensive agriculture that clears forests with heavy machinery, tourism, and exposure, we are destroying archaeological remains and examples of cultural heritage—expressions of how societies live or lived, including their homes and cities, customs and practices, utensils and art, and ethics and values that represent a legacy of a particular group. Warfare also destroys archaeological artifacts and living cultural sites by damaging and destroying important monuments and symbols and by leaving museums and archaeological sites unprotected from looters.

    Generally, people agree that national and regional governments have a responsibility to protect cultural heritage sites and artifacts from being destroyed. However, the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of an Armed Conflict, which was intended to protect and potentially prevent such destruction globally, has yet to be ratified by the United States and the United Kingdom. Additionally, as you can see in the following table, the United States has enacted several laws designed to allow for protection of cultural artifacts, but the laws mostly do not establish any process for preservation and protection and, therefore, provide no clear consequences when resources are damaged or destroyed.

    U.S. legislation Acronym Brief explanation Other notes
    Antiquities Act (1906) none Authorized the president to declare historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of scientific interest as national monuments, explicitly establishing the importance of archaeological sites on public land in the U.S. legal code.
    National Historic Preservation Act (1966) NHPA Intended to preserve historic and archaeological sites on public lands.

    Section 106: Main provisions for archaeology, basically stating that when any money for a project comes from the federal government, builders and developers must determine if old things (archaeological) are present at the building site. When archaeological remains are found, they must do something about them (survey, inventory, and/or preserve) to retain federal funding for the project.

    Section 110: Individuals who work for federal agencies are responsible for checking for, evaluating, and protecting historic remains on the land they manage.
    National Environmental Protection Act (1969) NEPA A national policy of protecting the environment that requires proposed actions funded by the federal government to evaluate both natural and cultural resources.
    Archaeological Resources Protection Act (1979) ARPA Enacted after the Antiquities Act of 1906 was determined to be unconstitutionally vague and requires that archaeological sites be protected. Governs excavation of archaeological sites on federal and Native American lands, including requiring permits that protect cultural and historic resources, and prohibits interstate and international sales of artifacts.
    Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (1990) NAGPRA Established precise rules and responsibilities when Native American burials and other items associated with a Native American burial are found through excavation and are housed in museum and university collections.

    In addition to numerous laws they must follow, archaeologists face many ethical dilemmas in their work. A code of ethics is a written statement of ethical guidelines for groups, organizations, and individuals in their professional occupations. The field of archaeology has established three primary levels of codes of ethics that have unique benefits and limitations. The highest-level codes are the ones adopted by professional organizations such as the Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA). The RPA’s standards of conduct provide for a grievance process and clear ways of enforcing those standards within its ranks, including censure. The weakest level of codes are general statements of goals, principles, and responsibilities adopted by organizations such as the Society for American Archaeology (SAA). SAA has drafted sweeping principles of desired behavior by archaeologists that include things such as accountability and stewardship but do not establish consequences for individuals who do not follow the guidelines.

    Terms You Should Know

    • Antiquities Act
    • Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA)
    • code of ethics
    • cultural heritage
    • Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of an Armed Conflict
    • National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA)
    • National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)
    • Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

    Study Questions

    1. Describe what archaeologists refer to as cultural heritage. What legal protections exist to safeguard cultural heritage in the United States and internationally?
    2. How do professional codes of ethics guide archaeologists’ behavior? What types of archaeological codes of ethics exist and how do they vary?
    3. Are you surprised by the current level of protection of cultural heritage artifacts and sites? Are there additional legal protections you would like to see enacted for archaeological sites?
    4. What type of code of ethics seems most effective to you? Why?

    This page titled 16.1: Introduction to Legal and Ethical Considerations in Archaeology is shared under a CC BY-NC license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Amanda Wolcott Paskey and AnnMarie Beasley Cisneros (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .