October 2008 Archeology E-Gram
NPS Assists State Department in Training of Afghan Cultural Resource
Specialists
Three Afghan cultural heritage specialists of the Ministry of Information
and Culture are participating in a professional training program in
archeological and historical site management from September through
November 2008. The program syllabus includes planning; security;
preservation; site inventory, condition assessment, and documentation; site
conservation and stabilization; public education and outreach; community
relations; and collections management. Following their arrival in the U.S.,
the Afghan participants met with cultural heritage specialists in various
U.S. government, non-profit, and international agencies and began their
field-based training at national parks in the Washington, DC area. On
October 1 they traveled national park units in Arizona and New Mexico for
training activities. This project is co-sponsored by the NPS and the State
Department, Cultural Heritage Center, in cooperation with the George Wright
Society.
Contact: Francis P. McManamon, (202) 354-2123
U.S. Preservationist Elected President of ICOMOS
Gustavo F. Araoz, AIA, was elected President of the International Council
of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) during the organization's 16th General
Assembly and International Scientific Colloquium, held in Quebec City,
Canada, September 29 - October 4, 2008. He is the seventh President of
ICOMOS, and the first American ever elected to this office. Born in Cuba,
Mr. Araoz is a preservation architect by training. His career combines
professional practice, academia, and institutional management. He has
served as Executive Director of the United States Committee of ICOMOS since
1995. Since 2002, he has served as International Vice President of ICOMOS,
spearheading organizational reforms and advocating greater engagement of
ICOMOS members worldwide. Mr. Araoz currently serves as Executive Director
of the United States Committee for ICOMOS (US/ICOMOS), headquartered in
Washington, DC.
Mr. Araoz envisions an ICOMOS that is a universally accessible stage for
the open exchange of ideas, a major source for the creation and spread of
knowledge, a venue for cross-border cooperation, an alert steward of
cultural heritage places everywhere, and, foremost, the undisputed world
authority in heritage conservation.
ICOMOS General Assembly Adopts Ename Charter
During its 16th General Assembly, ICOMOS voted to adopt as one of its
central documents the Charter on the Interpretation and Presentation of
Cultural Heritage Sites, also known as the Ename Charter. This charter
deals with the methods and technologies of effective, responsible public
heritage communication. The need for internationally accepted principles of
interpretation and presentation is a matter of increasing urgency at a time
of intensifying environmental and human threats to heritage and with the
growth in many regions of elaborate heritage “theme parks,” designed
primarily for income generation rather than for conservation and education.
The Charter does not prescribe specific content for site presentations, nor
does it impose a “uniform” pattern on how particular monuments, sites, or
cultural landscapes should be explained to the public. Rather, it deals
with the fundamental issues of access; information sources; context and
setting; authenticity; inclusiveness; sustainability; and research,
education, and training. The Charter seeks to ensure that these issues are
considered and incorporated into public communication with all heritage
stakeholders, including tourists, local and associated communities, and
local educational systems.
The new Charter represents a consensus by the ICOMOS community on the
central principles of the interpretation and presentation of cultural
heritage sites.
Contact: FP McManamon (202)354-2123
(For more information about the Ename Charter, go the November 2007
Archeology E-gram and read “ICOMOS Committee Approves Ename Charter;” and
to the September 2007 E-Gram and read “Draft of ICOMOS Interpretation and
Presentation Charter Finished.”)
NPS Assists in Development of Conservation and Historic Preservation
Institute in Iraq
The U.S. will assist Iraq to reestablish a professional workforce and
capacity to care for the archeological and historical objects, sites, and
structures in Iraq. A Conservation and Historic Preservation Institute will
be established in Erbil, Iraq, and operate under the guidance of the
Walters Art Museum, the Winterthur Conservation Program, the University of
Delaware, the NPS, and the Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage
(SBAH). The goal of the partnership is to enhance the capabilities of the
SBAH.
With funding from the Department of State and private sources, the NPS will
provide technical assistance in developing curriculum related to activities
and programs for archeological sites and historic structures. Topics to be
covered include archeological and historical resource management and
planning; site protection and security; resource identification,
evaluation, documentation, and collections curation; site and architectural
conservation and stabilization; and site and architectural interpretation,
public outreach, and heritage tourism.
Courses will include theoretical, methodological, and historical topics as
well as “hands-on” site and structure investigation, documentation, and
conservation activities. NPS experts are expected to be among the
instructors for individual courses. Depending on the topic and available
facilities and resources, courses will range in length from a few weeks to
several months.
The position of archeology and historic preservation project coordinator
who will work closely with the NPS on the development of this curriculum
has been advertised on the SAA website (
www.saa.org/careers/job-listing.html#chp2). The cooperating organizations
hope that courses can begin as soon as local facilities in Erbil are
available, key staff are hired, and potential professional trainees are
identified.
NPS Initiates Survey of Historic Property Inventories
The NPS National Historic Landmarks and National Register Programs have
initiated a survey of historic property inventory systems. The survey is an
initial step addressing the Preserve America recommendation to develop a
comprehensive and more readily accessible nationwide inventory of historic
properties. State, Federal, and Tribal Historic Preservation Officers
responded to the National Historic Property Inventory Initiative Survey to
assess the various practices, capacities, and needs of the existing
historic property data bases. The results of the survey and follow-up
investigations will summarize the state of our various databases and will
highlight those areas in which funding and other support might be directed
to improve and upgrade current database capacities. The results of the
survey and recommendations will be available in early 2009.
Contact: Paul Loether, 202-354-2003
NPS Regional Survey Plans Online
NPS regional plans provide overviews of archeological inventory needs in
national parks across the U.S. and in U.S. territories and possessions.
Plans are now online at www.nps.gov/archeology/sites/discovery1.htm#links
for all seven regions: Alaska, Intermountain, Midwest, National Capital,
Northeast, Pacific West, and Southeast. Some plans cover all parks in the
region while others cover clusters of parks in the region.
U.S. Ratifies Treaty to Protect Cultural Property in Time of War
The U.S. Senate voted to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. This
international convention regulates the conduct of nations during war and
military occupation in order to assure the protection of cultural sites,
and monuments and repositories, including museums, libraries, and archives.
Written in the wake of the widespread cultural devastation perpetrated by
Nazi Germany during World War II, and modeled on instructions given by
General Eisenhower to aid in the preservation of Europe’s cultural legacy,
the Hague Convention is the oldest international agreement to address
exclusively cultural heritage preservation. The U.S. now joins 121 other
nations as a party to this treaty. By taking this significant step, the
U.S. demonstrates its commitment to the preservation of the world’s
cultural, artistic, religious, and historic legacy.
Although the United States signed the Convention soon after its creation,
the Pentagon objected to ratification because of increasing Cold War
tensions. Only with the collapse of the Soviet Union did the U.S. military
withdraw its objections, and President Clinton transmitted it to the Senate
in 1999. The public attention given to the looting of the Iraq Museum in
Baghdad and the looting of archaeological sites in southern Iraq during the
ensuing years, revived interest in the Convention, and the Senate finally
voted to give its advice and consent to ratification on September 25, 2008.
Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage to Go into
Effect
Barbados accepted the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the
Underwater Cultural Heritage on October 2, 2008. This is the 20th
instrument deposited by a State to join the Convention. According to its
Article 27, the Convention enters therefore into force on January 2, 2009
for the States that have ratified. Looting of underwater cultural heritage
and the destruction of its context are increasing rapidly and threaten to
deprive humanity of this heritage. The waves have protected shipwrecks and
ruins for centuries, but improvements in diving technology have made them
more accessible and therefore increasingly vulnerable. The pillaging and
dispersion of archaeological heritage is no longer restricted to land-based
sites with treasure hunting now taking place under water. Nevertheless,
while many States have heightened the preservation of their heritage on
land, most of their underwater cultural heritage remains unprotected. The
UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage,
intends to enable States to better protect their underwater heritage.
For more information, go to
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=34945&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Larry Van Horn Retires
Larry Van Horn, NPS cultural anthropologist, has after more than 30 years
with Denver Service Center. Over those years, he has held different but
related positions as an ethno-historian, cultural anthropologist, and
cultural resource specialist. Larry's anthropological work includes
ethnographic assessments with Miwok, Ohlone, and Pomo American Indian
tribes in relation to the Presidio of San Francisco; with Shoshone and
Paiute tribes of the Owens Valley, California with regard to Manzanar NHS;
with African American sharecroppers in Louisiana for Cane River Creole NHP;
and with Miccosukee Indians along the Tamiami Trail. He received an award
of excellence in 1992 for his work on Wounded Knee, South Dakota, Special
Resource Study.
In 2007, Larry received the Omer C. Stewart Memorial Award of the High
Plains Society for Applied Anthropology “in recognition of exemplary
achievement” for his work as an anthropologist in the National Park Service
and for his editorship of two terms (six years) of The Applied
Anthropologist.
Larry’s friends and colleagues wish him all the best in his retirement.
Proposals sought for Park NAGPRA Internship Program
The Park NAGPRA program is soliciting project proposals for its 2009
internship program. Park NAGPRA internships provide opportunities for
students to work in parks, centers, and offices nationwide on projects
related to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
(NAGPRA). Interns help manage the treatment and repatriation of Native
American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of
cultural patrimony as defined under NAGPRA. Projects may include working
with archeological and ethnographic collections, assisting with
consultation meetings, assisting with repatriations, or administrative
tasks. Any NPS unit with NAGPRA needs may submit an internship project
proposal.
Contact: Mary S. Carroll (303) 969-2300
New Archeological Resource Protection Training Offered by FLETC
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center is offering a new program
entitled Investigation of Complex Archeological Resource Crimes-901
(ICARC-901). This training will provide the experienced officer/agent with
the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and manage more complex
archeological resource crimes. Some of the program topics to be covered
include Principles of Undercover Operations, Developing/Utilizing Sources
of Information, Interviewing, Writing ARPA Search Warrants, Financial
Aspects of Criminal Investigations, Forensics, Body Wires and Video
Recorders, GPS tracking Operations, and Writing Investigative Plans. The
program is 40+ hours of instruction, plus pre-course work. Students should
be highly motivated and expect instruction to run into the evening hours.
The target audience is journeyman officers with experience in archeological
resource investigations and special agents seeking to expand their
investigative abilities.
Dates for the class: January 26-30, 2009. The estimated cost of the course
is $1,300.00 which includes meals, lodging, miscellaneous costs, and
tuition.
Contact: FLETC Senior Instructor Charles Louke, (912) 280-5188.
Grants under $10,000 from the National Park Foundation
Do you have an archeological project in your park that you just can’t get
off the ground? Have you thought about applying for a grant under $10,000
from the National Park Foundation? The mission of the National Park
Foundation is to strengthen the enduring connection between the American
people and their national parks. The Foundation accomplishes its mission by
making strategic grants, creating innovative partnerships, and establishing
special funds that enhance the national parks. Working on its own and with
partners, the National Park Foundation funds grants and programs that meet
priorities and critical needs across our national park system in the areas
of youth, community, outreach, conservation, and professional engagement.
The foundation recognizes that sometimes the smallest grants can make the
largest differences. Grants under $10,000 is designed to help parks that
need a small amount of additional funding to strengthen the efforts of a
local partnership or turn an underfunded and innovative idea into a
successful project. Grant applications are reviewed twice annually.
For more information about grants under $10,000 from the National Park
Foundation, go to www.nps.gov/partnerships/NPF_grants_and_prgs.htm.
Projects in Parks: Of Adobe, Lime, and Cement: The Preservation History of
the San José de Tumacácori Mission Church – Part 2 by Jeremy Moss
The year 2008 marks the centennial of the establishment of Tumacácori
National Monument in southern Arizona. The theme of Tumacácori’s centennial
celebration is “One Hundred Years of Preservation and Stewardship,” in
recognition of the preservation specialists, archeologists, historians,
interpreters, masons, and maintenance workers who have strived to preserve
the mission for future generations. Keeping with this theme, this second
article by Jeremy Moss summarizes the preservation history of San José de
Tumacácori. Historic structures are more than their original fabric: they
are part of past events and people’s lives. By preserving historic
structures, we are also preserving associated life ways, events, personal
histories, religious beliefs, customs, and cultural values.
Archeology E-Gram, distributed via e-mail on a regular basis, includes
announcements about news, new publications, training opportunities,
national and regional meetings, and other important goings-on related to
public archeology in the National Park Service and other public agencies.
Recipients are encouraged to forward Archeology E-Grams to colleagues and
relevant mailing lists. The Archeology E-Gram is available on the News and
Links page www.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm on the Archeology Program
web site.
Projects in Parks is a feature of the Archeology E-Gram that informs others
about archeology-related projects in national parks. Prospective authors
should review information about submitting photographs on the Projects in
Parks webpage on InsideNPS. The full reports are available on the Projects
in Parks web page inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=279&id=3670
on InsideNPS or through individual issues of the Archeology E-Gram on the
on the News and Links page http://www.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm on
the Archeology Program web site.
Contact: [log in to unmask] to contribute news items, stories for “Projects in
Parks,” and to subscribe.
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