Mind the Gap: Laws and Policies Related to Burial Places in Pennsylvania

Summary

Pennsylvania has a long history of human occupation and an array of community types and settlement patterns ranging from large cities to sparsely populated rural communities. This geographic and cultural diversity resulted in varying burial practices including small family plots in farm fields, religious burial grounds, as well as private and publicly-owned cemeteries. As the state grew and changed throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the legislature enacted or revised laws affecting burial places and human remains in a piecemeal fashion, likely in response to specific projects and circumstances. This legal framework has not been substantially changed since the mid-20th century, leaving policy gaps that recent projects have exposed. Chief among these issues is how privately-owned, unmarked burial places are treated legally and ethically when remains are discovered, often during development activity. This session will explain the legal and policy environment for burial places in Pennsylvania as context for the 218 Arch St. project in Philadelphia.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20429