Ancient Ohio Sites Lack State Protection From Archaeology Scavengers

Tarps and a hole are evidence that someone has searched this rock shelter
 in Hocking County for ancient artifacts (2003).
Image Courtesy of Jarrod Burks of Ohio Valley Archaeology and The Columbus Dispatch.

January 11, 2016.

Earl Rinehart, of The Columbus Dispatch, has written an brief explanatory opinion article about the current state of Ohio's cultural artifact laws, those that protect the sa.

"Why Ohio doesn’t have stronger cultural artifact laws is difficult to answer, said Jarrod Burks, director of archaeological geophysics for the consulting firm Ohio Valley Archaeology.

It could be that Ohioans don’t feel a tie to the Native Americans who made the area their home long ago, Burks said. Also, there is no federally recognized seat of a tribal government in Ohio to push for change, he said.

“I bet, if people started looting our pioneer cemeteries, folks would have something to say about it,” Burks said. “For a lot of us, it’s not our history we’re trampling on, it’s someone else’s history.” "

-Earl Rinehart, The Columbus Dispatch.

To read the full article, click here.

For more information,

Visit:

• Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
• Cultural resources: Why should they be protected? 
• "Common motives to commit artifact theft and vandalism include a fascination with the past, a desire to collect artifacts, and knowledge of the monetary value of the artifacts coupled with an intent to sell. For some, artifact hunting, or "pot-hunting" is a family tradition that, to the perpetrator, seems harmless and perhaps even victimless. Beyond the obvious legal violations, some collectors do not understand the moral and historical implications of separating an item from where it was found and thus separating it from its historical context, its story, and from what it could tell us about how it was used and valued in the past. The item simply becomes an object, and its larger meaning is lost. The piece of the historical and cultural puzzle that it would provide may be gone forever, and when human remains are involved, the spiritual link is disturbed."
• United States Department of Justice Offices of United States Attorneys.

• Frequently Asked Questions about Cultural Resources
• New York State Museum
• Cultural Resources Manual
• Ohio Department of Transportation Division of Planning Office of Environmental Services.
• Chapter 1: Introduction- Purpose of the Manual
• Chapter 2: Initiation of Section 106 Process and Identification of Consulting Parties
• Chapter 3: Initial Scoping for Cultural Resource Investigations
• Chapter 4: Section 106 Scoping Request
• Chapter 5: Identification of Historic Properties: Phase 1 History/Architecture Survey
  
• Chapter 6: Evaluation of Historic Properties: Phase II History/Architecture Survey
• Chapter 7: Identification of Historic Properties: Phase 1 Archaeological Survey
• Chapter 8: Evaluation of Historic Properties: Phase II Archaeological Survey
• Chapter 9: Avoidance & Minimization Measures: No Adverse Effect
• Chapter 10: Mitigation: Resolving Adverse Effects
• Chapter 11: Determination of Effects Report Guidelines
• Chapter 12: Final Engineering Phase & Construction Phase Activities
• Appendix A: The Section 106 Process: A Summary
• Appendix B: Introduction to the National Register of Historic Places
• Appendix C: Photography Guidelines
• Appendix D: History-Architecture Report Guidelines
• Appendix E: Archaeology Report Guidelines
• Appendix F: Artifact Collection, Return and Curation
• Appendix G: Historic bridge Guidance
• Appendix H: Acronyms
• Appendix I: Glossary
• Appendix J: References and Web Resources
• Appendix K: Map Examples

•  National Park Service
  
• The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA)
• National NAGPRA

• Ohio Valley Archaeology
• Ohio History Connection
•  Archaeological Staff
• Dr. Brad Lepper
• NAGPRA Review Committee Gets Three New Members
• December 9, 2015.
• Jackson County Man Pleads Guilty to Buying Stolen Native American Remains
• August 19, 2015.
• NAGPRA Awards $1.5 Million for Repatriation of Ancestors' Remains and Sacred Objects
• August 13, 2015.
• National Park Service Announces Grants to Help Native Americans Identify and Repatriate Human Remains, Cultural Objects
• August 27, 2014.
• Cladoosby Hope to Initiate Repatriation Discussion with France
• February 19, 2014.
• Consultation Under NAGPRA, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
• February 12, 2014
• Discuss Community-Based and Indigenous Archaeology with Us!
• February 3, 2014.

• Archaeology Gone Wrong
• January 1, 2014.
• "We have not been stakeholders in the conversations about the treatment of our ancestors for far too long. I read of digs in other countries and the wealth of new understandings of the ancient past from the bones themselves. The difference between the Americas and the digs occurring in the rest of the world is that the community to which the remains belong were not involved in the conversations. Until we attempt to communicate with each other what it is we are trying to protect or to discover, neither side will have a fullness of knowledge, and that is what we all really want." -Ben Barnes, Second Chief of the Shawnee Tribe."