Sarah,
I have a real world example ... A small CRM firm has been doing surveys
here in the Midwest and consistently finding large chert scatters that are
said to represent workshops, etc. Unfortunately, many of these sites are
in areas where there are large naturally occurring, weathered chert
gravels in the natural soil environment.
As the results (i.e., positive findings) were getting a little too
frequent for one of my clients, I suggested that it might be useful for
them to bring in an outside consultant to review the findings of the
initial CRM firm and determine whether or not they agreed with the
validity of those findings.
When the original firm was approached, they responded "Sorry, we have
already returned the artifacts to the property owner and they are
presumably mixed in to the driveway fill by now."
There is a reason why collections - even Phase I collections - need to be
curated for at least a reasonable review period, even if it is determined
that they can be deaccessioned at some point in the future. Those are
decisions to be made in the lab, after the fact, not in the field, at
least IMHO. Further, it is hard to imagine a typical survey crew that
would include your best analysts ...
Warmest regards,
Mark
___________________________________
Mark C. Branstner, RPA, AARP
Senior Historical Archaeologist
Illinois State Archaeological Survey
Prairie Research Institute
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
209 Nuclear Physics Lab, MC-571
23 East Stadium Drive
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: 217.244.0892
Fax: 217.244.7458
Cell: 217.549.6990
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"When you are dead, you don't know that you are dead. It is difficult only
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On 11/7/14 1:23 PM, "Pentney, Sandra P" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>Hi Sarah,
>I am a bit late to this party, but I am dealing with a similar issue
>right now in southern California and wanted to weigh in.
>In my opinion, re-burying these collections, or even not properly
>curating, is contrary to the spirit of the resource protection laws. The
>laws were enacted to preserve cultural resources for those who have an
>interest in them. This includes a wide array of people from the general
>public, to tribal members, to archaeologists. We mitigate sites in order
>to collect the data that will otherwise be lost through project
>development. While varying amounts of analysis are completed after
>testing or data recovery, there is still a lot more data that can be
>gleaned from a collection, especially as technology progresses. The
>purpose behind curation is so that those with suitable interest can
>access the collections in the future and do further analysis and
>research. In essence, the law is saying to developers "...ok, you can
>build your project here, but you have to pay to evaluate and mitigate
>this archaeological site so that the data can be collected and the
>concerned community can st
> ill have access to this data potential." To rebury a collection, to my
>mind, is contrary to this as the collection is NOT accessible for further
>research.
>
>Sandra P Pentney, M.A., RPA
>Associate Project Manager/Archaeologist
>
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>-----Original Message-----
>From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sarah
>Cowie
>Sent: Friday, November 07, 2014 11:13 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Catch-and-Release Archaeology
>
>Thanks to everyone for their input, both on- and off-list. There are
>obviously debates surrounding all sides of this practice, and so these
>thoughtful responses are much appreciated. There are numerous relevant
>variables and values surrounding best practices in scientific method,
>stakeholder input, legislation, and economic/pragmatic considerations.
>This discussion has been very helpful in framing some of the differences,
>and it's clear there won't be a one-size-fits-all solution. Thanks again
>for a fruitful discussion.
>
>
>
>
> On Friday, November 7, 2014 6:38 AM, Bill Green <[log in to unmask]>
>wrote:
>
>
> In 1979 Bill Butler published a review of what was then referred to as
>the "no-collection" strategy for survey (nobody could conceive of such a
>strategy being employed in excavation) in *American Antiquity*
>(44:795-799). He considered "no-collection" in regard to site integrity,
>artifact analysis, pothunting, the irreplaceability of resources, and
>curation. He concluded the strategy was indefensible. It would be
>interesting to know how proponents of "catch-and-release" respond to
>these arguments and if new rationales have been developed. (Certainly
>curation issues are more acute now than they were 35 years ago.)
>
>Bill Green
>
>--
>William Green, Ph.D., RPA
>James E. Lockwood Jr. Director, Logan Museum of Anthropology Beloit
>College Beloit, WI 53511 USA http://www.beloit.edu/logan
><http://www.facebook.com/LoganMuseum>http://www.facebook.com/LoganMuseum
>http://beloit.academia.edu/WilliamGreen
>608-363-2119
>Fax 608-363-7144
>
>
>
>
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