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Number 3, May - Society for American Archaeology

Number 3, May - Society for American Archaeology

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RPAThe failure of academic archaeologists to embrace the ethics and research standards set by their professionalsocieties seems strange given the history of <strong>American</strong> archaeology. Those that fought to establishprofessional standards throughout the 20th century is a venerable Who’s Who of <strong>American</strong> archaeology:A. V. Kidder, Emil Haury, James Griffin, Frederick Johnson, J. O. Brew, Jesse Jennings, William Webb,William Duncan Strong, Fay-Cooper Cole, William McKern, Julian Steward, Irving Rouse, Ed Jelks,Charles McGimsey III, Hester Davis, Fred Wendorf, Don Fowler, William Lipe, and many, many others.All had academic ties to universities, museums, or research institutions. Yet, today, it is preciselyarchaeologists in these positions that have chosen not to be listed in RPA.There are probably many reasons why ethics and standards have receeded from the <strong>for</strong>efront of <strong>American</strong>archaeology. Over the next year or so, I intend to explore some of them with you in the newslettersof the sponsoring organizatons. The first topic focuses on archaeologists working in <strong>for</strong>eign countries.A common response received in the needs assessment from archaeologists refusing to register was thatthey worked in <strong>for</strong>eign countries, and there<strong>for</strong>e RPA did not apply to them. This response represents afundamental misconception about RPA; that it only applies to CRM as practiced in the U.S. Yet RPAwas <strong>for</strong>med in part to respond to ethical problems involving <strong>American</strong> archaeologists abroad. Moreover,the issues of ethics and standards are now in the <strong>for</strong>efront of archaeology in many places around theglobe. Last December, Fred Wendorf and I had the honor of representing the U.S. at the InternationalConference on Rescue <strong>Archaeology</strong> in Pultusk, Poland. We heard firsthand that the number-one problemfacing historic preservation programs in post-Soviet countries is the establishment of professionalstandards to ensure the quality of work as archaeology passes from the control of state-run programsand enters the free market. The concerns of eastern Europe are being echoed all over the continent, andRPA is being used by some countries to ensure that <strong>for</strong>eign and domestic archaeologists meet the samestandards. To help explain the current situation in the Netherlands, RPA past-president Chuck Niquetteasked Willem J. H. Willems, the Netherland’s Inspector General <strong>for</strong> <strong>Archaeology</strong>, to prepare the followingpiece.RPA ABROADWillem J. H. WillemsWillem J. H. Willems, RPA, isInspector General <strong>for</strong> <strong>Archaeology</strong> in the Netherlands.<strong>Archaeology</strong> in Europe has changed drastically over thepast 15 years. Part of this change can be attributed to theadoption of a revised European Convention on the Protectionof the Archaeological Heritage, also called the “MaltaConvention” after the island where it was signed in 1992. Theconvention is a voluntary treaty from the Council of Europe andhas been signed by a majority of European countries; itincludes a “developer pay” principle (seehttp://conventions.coe.int/treaty/en/Treaties/html/143.htm).There are still vast differences between countries in the way thatarchaeological resource management is organized. In many, itFigure 1: The 1994 excavation of two adjacent Gallo-Roman temples in thetown of Nijmegen, Netherlands during urban renewal work; the site is beingexcavated be<strong>for</strong>e construction starts.6 The SAA Archaeological Record • <strong>May</strong> 2006

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