Cultural Resource Damage Assessment

ABSTRACT Unauthorized cultural resource alterations range from looting and grave robbing to contract violations and wildland fires. Such alterations degrade cultural resources’ spiritual, communal, ecological, economic, and scientific values. Alterations often violate communal senses of place, secur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advances in archaeological practice : a journal of the Society of American archeaology 2023-05, Vol.11 (2), p.111-125
Main Authors: Welch, John R., Cowell, Shannon, Ryan, Stacy L., Whiting, Duston, Cantley, Garry J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Archaeology
Community
Cultural heritage
Historic buildings & sites
Holy places
Human remains
Jurisdiction
Land use planning
Law enforcement
Looting
Native North Americans
Public lands
Repatriation
Violations
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Summary:ABSTRACT Unauthorized cultural resource alterations range from looting and grave robbing to contract violations and wildland fires. Such alterations degrade cultural resources’ spiritual, communal, ecological, economic, and scientific values. Alterations often violate communal senses of place, security, and belonging. Alterations complicate jurisdiction-specific management, which is premised on up-to-date information on resource sizes, conditions, and significance. Cultural resource damage assessment protocols based on proven forensic practices distil to eight fieldwork steps: verify the alteration, assemble the team, survey the scene, document the evidence, gather the evidence, assess the archaeological value and the cost of repair and restoration, prescribe emergency remediation, and confirm evidence documentation and custody. The eight steps give special consideration to local communities and Indigenous Territories, where unauthorized alterations are as common as they are elsewhere, whereas impacts to spiritual and cultural values are generally greater. Adapted to jurisdiction- and incident-specific circumstances, the steps will guide responses to alterations by community leaders, land managers, regulators, law enforcement agents, and archaeologists, including preparation of excellent damage assessment reports. Damage assessment practitioners and land managers should refine these practices to deter alterations, engage Tribes and other affected communities, halt postalteration degradation, ensure accountability, and enable jurisdiction-scale curation of cultural resources and their unique value constellations. El origen de las alteraciones de recursos culturales no autorizadas van desde saqueos y robos de tumbas hasta violaciones de contratos e incendios forestales. Tales alteraciones degradan los valores espirituales, comunitarios, ecológicos, económicos y científicos de los recursos culturales, violando a menudo el sentido comunitario de lugar, seguridad y pertenencia. Las alteraciones de recursos culturales no autorizadas también complican los sistemas de gestión específicos de la jurisdicción, que se basan en la premisa de tener información precisa sobre el tamaño, ubicación, condición e importancia de los recursos. Los protocolos basados en prácticas forenses comprobadas se dividen en ocho pasos recomendados en el trabajo de campo: verificar la alteración, reunir al equipo, sondear la escena, documentar la evidencia, recolectar la evidencia, recopil
ISSN:2326-3768
2326-3768
DOI:10.1017/aap.2022.46