Preservation, Protection, and Outreach Programs in National Park Service Archaeology

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

For nearly 100 years, the National Park Service (NPS) has preserved, protected, and interpreted archeological resources throughout the United States. While many such efforts efforts take place in park units, NPS also conducts programs and initiatives that are national and international in scale. NPS archeologists are responding to the threats posed by climate change, reaching out to youth and other constituencies, supporting enforcement of the laws that protect archaeological sites, and working with partners to develop solve pressing problems in heritage conservation. This session demonstrates the depth and diversity of recent NPS archeological practice by presenting large-scale initiatives mounted by NPS parks and programs.

Other Keywords
Arpa • 3D technologies • NAGPRA • National Park Service • Historic Preservation • Education • National Register of Historic Places • Heritage Preservation • Zooarchaeology • Looting

Geographic Keywords
North America - Midwest • North America - Mid-Atlantic • North America - Southwest • North America - California • West Asia

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-13 of 13)

  • Documents (13)
Documents
  • 25 Years of NAGPRA in the National Park Service (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Mary Carroll.

    The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGRA) became law on November 16, 1990, requiring Federal agencies and museums to repatriate Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony to lineal descendants and culturally affiliated Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. During the 25 years since its enactment, the National Park Service (NPS) has been responsible for both implementation of the Act and compliance with the...

  • Cultural Resource Protection Responsibilities: On Being a Federal Archeologist (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Caven Clark.

    Archeologists who have chosen a career with a Federal agency have many responsibilities that are different than those of academics, chief among which is to be the subject matter expert and/or champion/advocate for the protection of the non-renewable resource. It’s not a question of which is better, more relevant, or more important, but that we as Federal archeologists have a compelling need to be conversant in cultural resource law, to assist in investigations, and educate our peers, our...

  • Dealing with Reality: Managing Education at the National Park Service-Midwest Archeological Center (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Dawn Bringelson.

    The National Park Service takes pride in high caliber interpretation of natural and cultural resources, and is known as the major supplier of informal education in the United States. With the centennial of the NPS approaching in 2016, the Service is directing all parks and programs to intensify education efforts. In addition, the NPS Call to Action of 2012 establishes the increasing of NPS relevancy to young people as a priority. Maximizing educational products and impacts is of particular...

  • Digital Preservation and 3D Technology Strategies for the Management, Protection, and Interpretation of the Only Existing American Revolutionary War Tunnel: Developments from the 3D Documentation Project at Ninety Six National Historic Site, South Carolina (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Travis Doering. Lori Collins. Margo Schwadron.

    New strategies for archeological preservation and interpretation are emerging from collaborative research occurring within our Nation’s National Park Service (NPS) System. This paper shares results from a dangerous and challenging underground confined space archeological project documenting a Revolutionary War Era tunnel system as part of cooperative work between the University of South Florida and the NPS Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC). Using digital imaging, terrestrial laser scanning,...

  • Legal Issues Concerning Cultural Heritage Resources Damage Assessments (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Todd Swain.

    The Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) was passed in 1979. ARPA requires archaeologists to calculate three different types of value to quantify the amount of loss in federal looting incidents – archaeological value, commercial value and cost of restoration and repair. In 2002, a section was added to the U. S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines to cover the damage, theft and trafficking of Cultural Heritage Resources. These guidelines also require archaeologists to calculate the amount of...

  • Linking Hispanic Heritage Through Archaeology (LHHTA): Engaging Latino Youth With Our National Parks (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Barnet Pavao-Zuckerman. Trica Oshant Hawkins.

    Linking Hispanic Heritage Through Archaeology (LHHTA) is a program that connects Hispanic youth to their cultural history using regional archaeology as a bridge. The program highlights the role of the National Park Service in interpretation and cultural preservation. LHHTA involves high school students and teachers in archaeological field and lab work, visits to museums and National Parks, and experiential learning. Participants explored their personal and cultural histories through the use...

  • The Listing of Outlaw Treachery (LOOT) Federal Clearinghouse: 35 Years of Data (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Karen Mudar. Leah Burgin.

    Despite the development of sophisticated online legal search engines and ready availability of certain types of court documents, the 35-year-old LOOT Clearinghouse continues to collect unique information about looting and vandalism of archeological sites on Federal lands. Comparison of LOOT data with data from other sources suggest that legal search engines provide more extensive information about litigated cases, while LOOT contains more information about non-ARPA cases and cultural resource...

  • The National Park Service Archeology Program Role in Protection and Management of International Cultural Heritage (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only David Gadsby.

    Since it began exporting the national park idea nearly a century ago, the National Park Service (NPS) has become instrumental in the protection and preservation of cultural heritage throughout the world. Cultural heritage conservation activities conducted in partnership with other nations enable NPS to disseminate important messages about the dangers of looting and the importance of protecting heritage sites. They also help to spread contemporary preservation practices and technologies to...

  • The National Register and NHL Programs: Shaping Archeological Significance at National, State, and Local Levels (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Erika Martin Seibert.

    The National Register of Historic Places (NR) and the National Historic Landmarks (NHL) Programs create and maintain two of the few federal lists of important archeological places. While these programs are housed within the National Park Service’s preservation programs, the National Register and NHL Criteria for listing/designation are established by federal law and regulation and are tied to Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Therefore, these Criteria are applied...

  • A National Strategic Vision for Climate Change and Archaeology (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Marcy Rockman.

    The US National Park Service (NPS) recognizes a two-fold relationship between cultural resources and climate change: climate change affects cultural resources, while in turn cultural resources contain invaluable information about long-term human capacity to adapt to changing climates. The NPS Climate Change Response Strategy (2010) set out four pillars of climate change response: science, adaptation, mitigation, and communication. Work is now underway to merge these two approaches, integrating...

  • Progressive Partnerships for Heritage Preservation: 3D Immersive Learning, Documentation and Research Tools in our Nation’s Park System (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Lori Collins. Travis Doering. Margo Schwadron.

    Today, much of the world’s cultural heritage is at risk from natural and human-induced causes. New technologies such as terrestrial laser scanning, advances in imaging and photography, 3D printing, and other spatial and visualization techniques are greatly advancing capabilities for heritage preservation and research. These technologies are democratizing data access, and improving the ability to share and interpret archaeological information globally. The ability to rapidly and accurately...

  • The Urban Archaeology Corps 2014: Rethinking Youth Employment in the National Park Service (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Mary Furlong Minkoff. Teresa Moyer.

    The Urban Archaeology Corps was created as a way to rethink youth employment, archaeological education, the contributions young people can make, but also how the National Park Service can more effectively serve the next generation of Americans. An experimental youth employment program in the National Capital Region, the UAC employs underserved and minority youth in the Washington, DC area. What has resulted is a program that is a mix of school, summer camp, and work unlike any of the youth...

  • The WHY and HOW of integrating archaeological findings into wildlife management efforts (2015)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kirstie Haertel.

    The relevancy of archaeology to contemporary social issues has become a topic of concern for many in the discipline. Zooarchaeologists in particular have focused some effort in highlighting how archeological interpretations can assist with wildlife management and conservation biology. While this work helps to amplify the social value of archaeology, the approach to date has been somewhat disparate. In order to implement the vision of integrating archaeological findings to wildlife management and...