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  • important to note that archaeological ethics are not the same around the world and what is considered ethical behavior can vary from culture to culture[1]

History of Ethics in Archaeology

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The earliest archaeologists were typically amateurs who would excavate a site with the sole purpose of collecting as many objects as they could for display in museums.[1] Curiosity about past humans and the potential for finding lucrative and fascinating objects justified what many professional archaeologists today would consider to be unethical archaeological behavior. [1] A shift toward scientific knowledge prompted many early archaeologists to begin documenting their finds.[1] In 1906, the Antiquities Act created as the first act in America to help regulate archaeological discovery.[1] This act allowed for federal protection of sites from looting but failed to protect native peoples from having their land and ancestral objects seized.[1] The Society for American Archaeology was developed in 1934.[1] This organization helped to bring regulation into the field of archaeology and provided consistent training for professional archaeologists.[1] A series of laws passed in the 1960s and 1970s created the field of Cultural Resource Management which protects archaeological sites from encroaching development.[1] Debates about the rights of native peoples to their ancestral belongings occurred throughout the 1980s culminating in the passing of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.[1] The rise of ethics in archaeology was spurred by a shift in archaeological theory towards post-processualism which focuses on critical evaluation of methods and the implications of archaeology on politics.[1]

Ethics in Commercial Archaeology

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The bulk of modern archaeological work is done under the auspices of development by cultural resource management archaeologists[2] in compliance with Section 106[3] of the National Historic Preservation Act. Guidance for compliance with Section 106 is provided by The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation[3].

Impacts of Nondisclosure Agreements

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Much of this work is subject to non-disclosure agreements with private entities. A primary ethical criticism levied against commercial archaeological practices is the prevalence of non-disclosure agreements associated with development projects involving a cultural resource management component. Critics claim that NDA’s are a barrier to public access to the archaeological record and create an unethical working condition for archaeologists to practice and that archaeology applied to the industry of development is itself a threat to the archaeological record.[4] This practice prohibits information gathered from the archaeological record during such projects from being disseminated to the public or academic institutions for further study and peer review. Scarre writes that “collecting items that are surplus to requirements…is academically pointless and morally irresponsible" [5] and it has been interpreted that data collected as a result of cultural resource management fieldwork unavailable to the public through NDA access restrictions creates such a surplus and therefore is ethically problematic.

Private Property and Development

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The issue of ownership is paramount in the ethical discussion regarding commercial archaeology. In most circumstances, with the exception of human remains and artifacts associated with burials, ownership artifacts and other material recovered from archaeological investigations performed within the scope of development projects falls to the owner of the property on which the excavation is performed[3]. Many archaeologists consider this to be ethically problematic and a significant barrier to public access.

Colonization & Conflict

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The World Archaeological Congress has determined that “It is unethical for Professional Archaeologists and academic institutions to conduct professional archaeological work and excavations in occupied areas possessed by force”[6]. This resolution has been interpreted to include not only regions where there is active military conflict but regions who have been in conflict in the past and are currently under colonial rule[4], for example, North and South America.

Legislation Across the World

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Globally

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The World Archaeological Congress (WAC) is a global organization that holds a congress every four years to discuss recent publications and research as well as to update archaeological practice guidelines and policies. [6] The WAC publishes a code of ethics for their archaeologists to follow. [7]Some of the accords which have been adopted by the WAC code of ethics include the Dead Sea Accord, the Vermillion Accord on Human Remains, and The Tamaki Makau-rau Accord on the Display of Human Remains and Sacred Objects[7]. The WAC has also published a separate code of ethics for the protection of The Amazon Forest Peoples[7].

The Register of Professional Archaeologists [8] is a multinational organization that provides accreditation for archaeologists and adjacent professionals. They provide a network which serves to connect archaeologists to each other and to industries which rely upon their expertise.

The Indigenous Archaeology Collective (IAC)[9]

Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA)[10]

  • non western legislation

Europe

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The European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), like the Society for American Archaeology in the United States, is an organization which regulates the ethical practice of archaeology across Europe. [11] The EAA requires its members to follow a published code of ethics.[11] The code of ethics requires archaeologists to inform the public of their work, preserve archaeological sites, and evaluate the social and ecological impacts of their work before beginning.[11] This code further provides an ethical framework for conducting contractual archaeology, fieldwork training, and journal publications.[11]

While the EAA regulates ethical archaeological practices across Europe, the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarcheology further provides an ethical guideline for British archaeologists who are conducting research with human remains.[12]

Australia

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The Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) is an organization which regulates and promotes archaeology across Australia.[13] The AAA has a published code of ethics which it's members must follow.[13] The AAA code of ethics highlights issues such as gaining informed consent, rights of indigenous people, and conservation of heritage sites.[13] The AAA code of ethics also states that any member who fails to adhere to the code is subject to disciplinary action.[13]

Canada

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The Canadian Archaeological Association (CAA) exists to promote archaeological knowledge, promote general interest in archaeology, and to act as a liaison between Canadian Aboriginals and archaeologists studying their ancestors.[14] The CAA assures ethical archaeological practices among their members by offering a principles of ethics guideline.[14] These principles of ethics focuses on assuring access to knowledge, conserving archaeological sites whenever possible, and promoting ethical relationships between Aboriginals and archaeologists.[14]

America

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The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is an organization which is dedicated the the ethical practice of archaeology and the preservation of archaeological materials in America.[15] The SAA's committee on archaeological ethics continually updates the living document titled Principles of Archaeological Ethics, which was first created in 1966.[16] The SAA registers professional archaeologists who must agree to uphold the code of conduct while conducting research.[16]

The United States government continually passes legislation to protect archaeological materials and uphold ethical archaeological research. The Antiquities Act of 1906 established punishment for archaeological looting, ensured the governments' responsibility to preserve archaeological sites, and created guidelines for conducting archaeological research.[17] The Historic Sites Act of 1935 further confirmed that the preservation of archaeological sites is of national concern.[17] The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 provided federal protection of archaeological sites and established the need for environmental review, ensuring that development does not destroy archaeological material.[17] The Archaeological Resource Protection Act of 1979 states that archaeological materials must be preserved once they are discovered.[17] The Native American Graves Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA) constitutes that museums receiving government funding must attempt to return archaeological materials to Native Americans if the natives claim the material.[17] NAGPRA also states that native organizations must be consulted when Native American materials are found or are expected to be found.[17]

Preservation/conversation

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In the United States, several acts have been passed to help preserve archaeological sites.[17] Some of these acts include the National Historic Preservation act of 1966, which allows for archaeological sites and materials of historical significance to be placed under federal protection, and the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) of 1979, which places all archaeological sites under federal protection, not just sites of historical significance.[17]

Cultural resource management is a branch of archaeology which attempts to protect archaeological sites from development and construction damage.[18]

Nationalism/imperialism

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  • Accusations of
    • Responses to
      • "Some such resistance has focused on claims that the harms associated with ethnographic research are nothing like of the same order as those associated with clinical research in medicine"[19]
  • Responses to accusations
    • Responses to legislation by archaeological community

Antiquities Trade

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In the United States, the Antiquities Act protects archaeological material from looting.[17] The act establishes punishments for archaeological looting on federal land, allows the US president to declare archaeological sites as national monuments, establishes the government's duty to preserve archaeological sites and make them available for the public, and requires that archaeologists conducting research must meet the guidelines set by the Secretary of the Interior.[17]

Ethics in Ethnoarchaeology

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Ethnoarchaeology, which is the study of living people for archaeological purposes[20], is sometimes used in conjunction with traditional archaeology. Ethnoarchaeology presents a unique case, because it deals with the study of people, which is heavily regulated.[21] Any research dealing with humans must be submitted to an ethics committee for approval under The Nuremburg Code (1947) and the Declaration of Helsinki (1964).[19] Researchers must also obtain informed consent from their research subjects.[19]

Archaeologists conducting ethnoarchaeology or other types of research involving humans must adhere to a certain code in order to conduct legal and ethical research, however, this code is the same that is followed by medical research. There is no specific code for archaeological research involving humans.[19] This has been problematic and some archaeologists resist following a medical ethics code by claiming that medical research and ethnographic research are too different to follow the same code. [19]

  • “ growing realization that anthropology's own history has been value-driven (by colonialism, by the obligations of ‘representation’ and so on)”[19]
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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Chadwick, Ruth (2012). Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics. San Diego Academic Press. pp. 179–188.
  2. ^ "Archaeology as a Career". Society for American Archaeology. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  3. ^ a b c "NAS: President Needs Advisory Council". Science News. 106 (1): 4. 1974-07-06. doi:10.2307/3959477. ISSN 0036-8423.
  4. ^ a b Hutchings, Rich; La Salle, Marina (2015-09-03). "Archaeology as Disaster Capitalism". International Journal of Historical Archaeology. 19 (4): 699–720. doi:10.1007/s10761-015-0308-3. ISSN 1092-7697.
  5. ^ Scarre, Geoffrey (2014-10), "7. The Ethics of Digging", Cultural Heritage Ethics: Between Theory and Practice, Open Book Publishers, pp. 117–127, ISBN 978-1-78374-067-3, retrieved 2020-09-26 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b "FAQ – World Archaeological Congress". Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  7. ^ a b c "Code of Ethics – World Archaeological Congress". Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  8. ^ "Register of Professional Archaeologists - Home". rpanet.org. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  9. ^ "IAC to SAA on UCOP Repat policy". Google Docs. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  10. ^ "The Society of Black Archaeologists". The Society of Black Archaeologists. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  11. ^ a b c d "EAA Codes". www.e-a-a.org. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  12. ^ "Ethics and Standards - BABAO". www.babao.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  13. ^ a b c d "Code of Ethics | Australian Archaeological Association | AAA". australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  14. ^ a b c "Principles of Ethical Conduct | Canadian Archaeological Association / Association canadienne d'archéologie". canadianarchaeology.com. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  15. ^ "Home". Society for American Archaeology. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  16. ^ a b "Ethics in Professional Archaeology". Society for American Archaeology. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "NPS Archeology Program: Archeology Law and Ethics". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  18. ^ "ASC : What is Cultural Resource Management?". web.sonoma.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  19. ^ a b c d e f Parker, Michael (2007-12-01). "Ethnography/ethics". Social Science & Medicine. Informed Consent in a Changing Environment. 65 (11): 2248–2259. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.08.003. ISSN 0277-9536.
  20. ^ "Ethnoarchaeology". obo. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  21. ^ "Human Research Protection". https://www.apa.org. Retrieved 2020-09-29. {{cite news}}: External link in |work= (help)
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