A Conceptual Framework for Conservation Management of Underwater Cultural Heritage by Public Agencies

Summary

This is a paper/report submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

When physical remains of the past are discovered underwater preservation actions needed may be obvious to archaeological conservators. Deciding actions taken, however, often falls to public agency managers. By general organization theory effective management requires understanding of context. A conceptual framework to help conservation managers understand contexts within which their preservation decisions are made was developed by the author through research for a PhD in Coastal Resources Management, East Carolina University (Watkins-Kenney 2019). The study investigated the nature and behavior of the system in North Carolina within which managers in its public agency for Archives and History have implemented public policy to conserve state underwater sites since the early 1960s. Factors investigated were public, political, and professional interest, conservation actions, and time. Analyzing data from perspectives of three public policy systems models found this agency’s management system generally to be “traditional” but six case study sites were “complex adaptive systems”.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2020 SHA General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 488