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guards and restricting access. While the democratic
ideal would be unlimited access, at some sites it has
been necessary to limit visitors to only portions of
the site or to viewing it from behind barriers. At
some sites such as the cave of Lascaux, where the
breath from visitors was causing irreparable
damage to the cave painting, access has been
totally denied. Researchers are allowed within the
cave for very limited time periods, but tourists must
visit a replica instead.
Because there is a constant tension between
preservation and use, there are arguments in the
field about the extent to which archaeological
resources should be developed for tourism. On the
one hand, all use of a site entails some degradation
of the resource. On the other, a large part the goal
of archaeology is understanding the past and
communicating that information to others. The
general public is a major consumer of archaeological
knowledge, and visitation to sites and
archaeological museums provides an important
aspect of public education. Some archaeologists
argue that there is an ethical and in some countries
perhaps even a legal obligation to provide the
public access to the past and information about it.
Archaeological resources also have propagandistic
value and the control of interpretation is a
contested arena. Governments, for example, can
use archaeological displays to demonstrate a
glorious past, define the position and role of
minorities or classes within the society, and
create notions of unity. Archaeologists are anxious
to use the same sites to explain archaeological
strategies for understanding the past, and to build
public interest in the preservation of the past and
support for archaeological activities. Other groups,
such as indigenous peoples, have both alternative
agendas and ways of interpreting the past, and
these are increasingly incorporated in the presentation
of the past.
Further reading
Boniface, P. �1995) Managing Quality Cultural Tourism,
London and New York: Routledge. �See particularly
chapters 3 and 4.)
Silberman, N.A. �1989) Between Past and Present:
Archaeology, Ideology, and Nationalism in the Modern
Middle East, New York: Henry Holt and Co. �An
analysis of the use of archaeology as propaganda.)
Smith, G.S. and Ehrenhard, J.E. �1991) Protecting the
Past, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. �Covers
archaeology and public expectations, education,
site disturbance and site protection programmes.)
Arctic tourism
KATHRYN A. KAMP, USA
Tourism activities which occur north of the
Arctic Circle constitute Arctic tourism. Road access
is possible in Alaska, Canada, Russia and
Scandinavia. Northern Scandinavia receives over
500,000 visitors a year, with tourist numbers
increasing in other parts of the continental Arctic.
Cruising and ecotourism also exist in Greenland,
northern Russia and the Canadian Arctic, and is
often associated with the interests of indigenous
peoples. Tourism development in both Arctic and
Antarctic regions has been focus of recent scholarly
treatments.
See also: Antarctic tourism; polar
Argentina
Argentina 29
C. MICHAEL HALL, NEW ZEALAND
Argentina is a country of considerable natural
diversity. In the northeastern and northern areas
rain forests predominate, with the internationally
renowned Iguazu Falls being a particular focus.
Along the western border of the country are the
mountainous Andes. To the south, the Patagonian
Andes are a wilder country featuring wide open
spaces and unspoiled habitats. Further south still is
the Antarctic region with its unique fauna and
flora. The Valdes Peninsula has an especially large
concentrations of South Atlantic fauna. In central
Argentina, the pampas offer the traditional image
of the country, that of ranching, cattle raising and
the South American equivalent of the cowboy, the
gaucho. The city of Buenos Aires offers a blend of
European styles and a full range of commercial and