Ban on archaeological excavation?

Question

My teacher assigned me a discussion question that addresses the issue of a worldwide ban on archaeological excavation. I know she said there is much debate over this, but I can't find anything after hours of searching. Can anyone point me to some links that discuss this possible ban?

Thanks.

Answer 1

I've never heard of that being an issue at all. In fact, it's a downright stupid idea. Archaeological digs reveal the past, and of course we all know the proverb, "Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it."

Answer 2

I never heard of a ban, except on a few local levels. In instances where governments may ban archaeologists from other countries because they want their own people to do the work when the money and resources are available.

Answer 3

I'm a professional archaeologist and I personally never heard of such a ban, each country or in some instances regions within the country decide on legislation regarding the heritage.

In the UK the majority of archaeological excavations are based on the notion of 'rescue' archaeology; the big infrastructural developments like roads, quarries, housing developments etc pay for excavations, this allows a lot of investigations to take place on sites that would otherwise be destroyed and this allows the preservation in situ of other sites.

Answer 4

I found no information either of any such ban. Were one even being discussed, then the Archeology Institute of America (AIA) would have had it publicized. I've been receiving it's publications for years and have never read anything about a ban.

Such a ban would first clear the sites for pot hunters and looters. Many sites are found only after being disturbed.

Many other sites are found when development takes place. In Washington State a construction preparation site exposed the Native American village of Tse-whit-zen. While a archaeological survey had been done, it missed the settlement and the hundred of graves. Were there a ban, what  could be done? Keep building? Stop and not know the damage?

Would a ban include private lands? Metal detecting? If so, where are the lawsuits?

The enforcement, economic, social and similar problems would defeat any such ban.

Given, today archaeologists don't excavate all of a site. About half of Stonehenge has been left for later excavations when improved techniques are available.To some extent it's a ban.

Answer 5

Archaeology is by nature, a destructive science.  Archaeologists record and meticulously map everything as they are being found (matrix, context, provenience), in order to theoretically put things back where they were found after study.

I know of no ban on archeological excavation, but there are limits placed on what can be excavated.  For example, non-invasive archaeological techniques are being utilized in many places around the world.

In Hawaii, Mexico and Egypt, for example, these techniques do not require excavation.  Remote sensing, ground penetrating radar, NASA satellite imaging, and the use of fiber optic cameras that snake their way into the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza are some examples.

From the archeology mapping website: "Archeology, in the past decade and into the new millennium, is trending more toward preservation and reduction of destructive excavation. Within the United States, archeological research, Cultural Resource Management (CRM) work, the National Park Service and other government agencies are all dedicated to the preservation of the country's national heritage."