- Upon finding an artifact or a potential artifact, note your surroundings. Make note of all important landmarks, such as street signs and names, trees, rock formations, etc. If you have it available to you, take GPS coordinates. Many smart phones may have access to this information via installed applications or ones that you need download. Exact GPS coordinates will be best, but any information regarding the location of the artifact is better than nothing.
- Take photos of the artifact in situ (in its original place/context). Take close ups of the artifact as well as views from further away so all the surrounding area can be photographed, as well.
- Leave the artifact there is the best course of action so that a professional archaeologist can properly excavate the artifact and gain as much information about the artifact as possible. But many people, particularly in certain cultures, are unwilling to leave the artifact in its place. In the event that you feel that you must pick up the artifact, please do so carefully and without disturbing the area around the artifact. You could be destroying potential evidence associated with the artifact or other artifacts and features (man-made and non-movable evidence of human manipulation of the environment).
- If you have taken the artifact, go to a local archaeologist. You can find a local archaeologist through a cultural resource management firm or company, museum with a staffed anthropologist or archaeologist (the latter is preferred), or university/college with an anthropology department. Give the archaeologist the artifact to examine, along with all other information you collected (location and copies of the photos). The archaeologist will assess the artifact and make a decision about the artifact and its location at that time.
"Is it human?"
Thankfully, nothing that has ever been brought to my attention in this manner has ever been human (to date, I have identified a raccoon skull, cow tooth, and an unidentified mammalian scapula), but in the event that you have happened upon human bone, you may have ventured upon to one of two possibilities: a forensics (and therefore criminal) case or an archaeological case (which falls under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act or similar legislation). Because of the potential criminal nature of the find, if you believe you have encountered a human bone CALL THE POLICE! The police are trained in what to do in these types of situations, particularly in the event that the situation is a criminal case. It is incredibly important in these situations not to disturb the scene anymore than you already have. If the find has been deemed archaeological, then trained archaeologists will come in, properly excavate the remains of the individual, and follow the local state and federal laws.
Ultimately, the goal is to protect cultural heritage as best as possible. There are many ways to meet this goal, and ultimately, you can do your part by following the information provided in these posts (parts 1-3). Archaeology and history are exciting fields for many, and everyone can do their part to be part of it and protecting our past for everyone to enjoy in the future.
20 comments:
After reading all three parts of the dumpster diving series, I now know what I should do if I happen to stumble upon an artifact. Hopefully Ill have a smartphone with a camera on it if I ever do find one. I can only image how much of a nightmare it would be to find human remains. If you do find something and take it to an archeologist to determine if its an artifact or not, is it yours even if it is an artifact?
I didn't address that aspect of artifact finding in this blog entry because it really all depends on where (location, municipality/county, state, etc.), how, and what the artifact is in the discovery of it. E.g. If you find an artifact on federal land (e.g. a federally funded state park), you may not have rights to ownership. Now this rule does not always apply because there is a state park in northern Illinois that allows individuals to go fossil hunting. Individuals who find fossils have to submit a short report to the Department of Natural Resources (or other state funded department) but the fossils are the owner of the finder, not the state.
Another situation happened to a friend of mine in the course of her archaeological research. She had a state funded grant to find a very important site that had been lost for about a century. She got permission from land owners to survey property to find the site and use ground penetrating radar and other noninvasive techniques to find the fort. She ultimately did find it, and that's when the land owner demanded that she leave his property because he was afraid that an excavation would ensue, disrupting the agricultural efforts that were going on in his farm. The whole ordeal turned into a minor legal battle from what I understand, but it did eventually get settled with none of the parties completely satisfied.
So ultimately, it all depends on several factors that it is truly difficult to address it in general terms. It's more of a case by case basis.
It is important to mention that when photographing the artifact to NOT move it around to get the underside view. Most people will think "in situ" means "well it is still in place if i do not move it more than 1 foot from its original position" NO. Although i can understand the in place or "where it lies" philosophy most people might not. Maybe a better way of putting it would be ; do not physically touch the artifact when photographing. The people who came to you asking the question: "Is it human?" did not understand "in situ" otherwise they would have not moved the artifact from its original position and therefore would not have the article in their hands to ask the question. Food for thought.
Artifacts are old and are ver fragile that is why we have to be gentle and have the right naterials to gather the findings made.
it is a cool article if you want to go out and dig something up.
Briana banuelos 102 1001
true you should always remember what land marks are around so in case you do find an artifact you can call some one and tell them. but true never remove an artifact just in case its to hard to move and you do not have the right equipment to move it.
All of the steps to preserving artifacts are in fact good except the last one. The last rule almost in its entirety violates the first three rules. But i guess if the individual in question has already done the damage it is better for them to bring the artifact in to an archeologist than to place it on a shelf somewhere never to be seen.
Quite the opposite, Robert, regarding your thoughts on the third option. As noted in the other articles in this series an artifact loses a lot of its information by being removed. Plus, by removing the artifact an individual may be unknowingly destroying other parts of the site, which leads to bigger problems for archaeologists. I realize that all of this seems counter to dominant American norms and values that are perpetuated in our society, but trust me when I say that leaving it is the best thing one can do in many cases. For example, in the area where I work (northern Chile) we received reports of countless sites but we did not excavate them. Why not? We didn't have the space to properly house the artifacts and other materials from the site. What is currently in the museum's custody is currently being ravaged by fungus and bacteria that is destroying the pieces. These bacteria are thriving on the open air exposure that wouldn't exist if the artifacts remained safely in situ (in the ground). Do we wish to someday excavate what we are aware of? Yes, of course, but when space is available and now more importantly we have the technology to combat these natural phenomenon that are destroying the past.
These are great steps in order to keep the artifact intact, in the case it is extremely old, rare and/or criminally prosecutable. Being employed in the Criminal Justice field, these are very much like the steps that are taken in Criminology. Preservation of evidence not only helps coroners, pathologists and detectives, but also helps the family members come to peace with their loss, if it is human remains. Evidence is so important, down to single cell and I believe within the field of Anthropology this is quite the same. Not only does our history as a species lie in the artifacts and ground in which we walk in, our knowledge and teaching of what may lie ahead in the future does also. I hope, as a society, more people become aware of the consequences and take it more seriously. This may lead to the preservation of more evidence and potentially, closing more cases that have gone cold in the Criminal Justice field.
Finding an artifact would be pretty exciting and neat to find! (Unless it was a human bone of course). I remember when I was younger, I would find rabbit or other rodent bones on our property, since we lived out on 10 acres in the desert, and thinking it was the coolest thing! Nowadays, I don't think I would be spending my time playing around in the dirt, finding weird and random animal bones would be as fun as it was when I was younger haha.
It's nice to know what to do if you find some type of artifact. You never know what you could happen upon if your doing some form of construction.
This article brings assignment to earlier in the semester of what we learned to do when digging up artificats. I wish I could of found this blog sooner. Artifacts can tell alot about history and their surroundings.
I feel like a lot of people want to pick up artifacts because they are cool. I do see how messing with them could damage them though. Before reading this post I would have probably just picked it up, but now I know what to do. Thanks for the insight!
This article has definitely informed me on what to do and what not to do when it comes to finding human remains. My first thought would never ever be to touch but I am fully aware to contact someone.
Imagine walking outside to talk your dog potty and you look down at the rocks you are standing on and you see a fossil fossilized in on of the rock; how awesome that would be! What is the weirdest place you, or someone you know, have ever found a fossil or artifact?
--Kimberly Wilbers
Weirdest? Hands down when my five year old brother gave me a "present" after his preschool play. I was surprised to get something from him (as typically the actors get gift) and I jokingly remarked, "Is it dead?" Deadpan reaponre: "Do you want it to be?" I don't think I have been more nervous than right then because I wasn't sure what my brother was going to give me. Turns out he and his preschool mates we're digging on the playground and found a cow's tooth. While I recovered from my near fatal heart attack realizing it wasn't human (and I would not be having an awkward conversation with the police) my little brother amassed his dig mates who bombarded me with questions. Strangest find ever.
Honestly i'm that slow person that would find a fossil remain and probably not even notice it until someone else pointed it out to me. So after reading this i know for sure i shouldn't be the one to touch it and have possession of it. I would contact someone who actually knows things about it and have it sent to have further looking into it.
Of course people would be very excited if they find something and don't know if it's human or not. Even though they might love to keep it or move it. it'll be best to call the police if it's like a bone or something. - Alexis Buford
These tips are very insightful and educative, i wonder how many people may ruin an artifact because they decide to remove it from its original place "situ". I do think third rule negates the others but only if there person doesn't follow the previous rule.
I love that the main point of this article is to protect cultural heritage. I am confident that I know what to do if i find human remains.! great post
-jasmine busby
I would be honestly scared if I found a body as an artifact. I say that because you wouldn’t know as someone with no experience if this is an old body or some who passed away recently. In the moment I probably would've just walked away and not have got involved before I got in this class. Now I would most likely call the police to report it. Because you don’t know what could be the story or reason behind it. It could be someone's family member or a piece of history that is missing.
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