Events around the Country that Affect Archaeology,Amateur Archaeology,and Collecting

Abstract

The message to everyone interested in archaeology is not that amateur archaeologists want the freedom to collect artifacts anywhere or that professionals want access to archaeological resources limited only to other professionals. The danger is that all forms of archaeological investigation by anyone, from the curious tourist, to the paid professional archaeologist doing an environmental impact statement can precipitate adverse legal action. Politically savvy special interest groups are able to force legal action to the detriment of the archaeological resources and the archaeologists. All too frequently the very laws that were designed by well-meaning archaeologists to protect cultural resources are being enforced inconsistently and in ways that no one could have imagined with no archaeological sensitivity whatsoever. Read, think, and be afraid.