Archaeology at Risk: Evidence of Wilderness Visitor Damage and Theft in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Areas with a high probability of pre-contact material are often fundamentally good campsites- this creates a large overlap between post-contact activities within Wilderness areas and archaeological artifacts, as humans are continually traversing these landscapes. The interpretive potential of surface archaeology is jeopardized when recreation traffic corresponds with vandalism, such as unauthorized artifact collection, campsite construction, and inadvertent damage by visitors. Post-contact activities were recorded with the same standardizations as non-collection documentation for pre-contact material, including descriptive information and locality. Material types included cached lawn chairs, beer cans, and signs of human habituated animal behavior. By comparing the spatial overlap between artifact clusters and recreational features weighted by site probability, we assess the likelihood of site vandalism. In an effort to contextualize different causes for vandalism, the evidence recorded was also categorized as intentional, unintentional, or negligent behavior. Protecting surface archaeology requires rethinking its role, improving public education, enforcing regulations, and developing stronger management strategies. Anticipating what areas are at a greater risk of vandalism allows for earlier intervention and, hopefully, better protections for these landscapes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 53655