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 still 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
ATKINS
Explore our world of opportunities –www.atkinsglobal.com/careers
3570 Carmel Mountain Road, Suite 300 San Diego, California 92130 I Tel: +1 (858) 514 1083 I Fax: +1 (858) 259 0741
Email: [log in to unmask] | Web: www.atkinsglobal.com| Careers: www.atkinsglobal.com/careers
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/atkins|
-----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
___________________________________________________________________________
The IS team in Atkins has scanned this email and any attachments for viruses and other threats; however no technology can be guaranteed to detect all threats. Always exercise caution before acting on the content of an email and before opening attachments or following links contained within the email.
This email and any attached files are confidential and copyright protected. If you are not the addressee, any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, nothing stated in this communication shall be legally binding.
The ultimate parent company of the Atkins Group is WS Atkins plc. Registered in England No. 1885586. Registered Office Woodcote Grove, Ashley Road, Epsom, Surrey KT18 5BW. A list of wholly owned Atkins Group companies registered in the United Kingdom and locations around the world can be found at http://www.atkinsglobal.com/site-services/group-company-registration-details
Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
|