Expert: Ralph Salier - 3/29/2011

Question
QUESTION: What is more valueable objects or knowledge? Although many states have varying laws, federal law states that objects over 100 years old are considered protected so anything not that old should be fair game. Keeping meticulous records is a cool idea, but can be very dangerous for amatuers. Such records make very good evidence to be used against you happen to pick up something illegal, even inadverdantly. This situation is very regrettable because it inhibits the sharing of information, and that in the end is what the science is really about, right? There are not enough archaeologists to excavate every site, and there are certainly not enough taxpayer dollars available to pay for such a thing. More objects become old enough to recieve artifact status every day, so in reality artifacts are a renewable resource. The sceince is really more important for the study of cultures with little or no written history and that is not the case for the era when glass bottles were deposited in America. The probability that truly culturally significant data will be destroyed by amateurs digging dumps from this era seems very unlikely to me, and the current situation really inhibits the sharing of such data. I really think that everyone could benefit from a program that would allow amateurs to collect objects on a limited scale. Obviously I don't think we should open Mesa Verte or any other significant sites to collecting, but areas deemed less signifigant could yield a lot of data if opened to recreational excavation. The scale of excavation could be limited to a three foot by three foot hole and objects found could be required to be turned in for inspection by a pro. The finder should be able to then purchase a title of ownership for a low flat rate but a precent rate could be charged for the assessed value should the title be transfered through sale or export. This could pay for the pros involved and maybe even help to pay for more profesional excavations and museum renovations. Would you be in favor of such a system, and if not, why?

ANSWER: Hi Morgan,

I understand your perspective.  But let me start with a question to you.  Are you familiar with King Tut and the wonderful artifacts found with him in Egypt back in the 1920's?  Do you know why this tomb is so important?  

Well, it is the only royal Egyptian tomb that was NOT looted. It gave archaeologists a view into what was lost in all of the other tombs that were looted. The loss of historical information is staggering!  Thankfully we do have Tut and have some idea of what was buried with others Pharaohs.

So, now you are at a dump. It is perhaps 75 years old and you are looking for bottles. They are cool and have a value. Who cares about the other junk, the metal bits and what ever else hasn't rotted away?? Well, just imagine in 500 years when some future archaeologist comes along and begins to excavate the site they find bits of rusted material, perhaps some broken glass items and ceramics.  They can get a date for the site from these materials but may have a hard time reconstructing the nature of the site because some one has dug into the deposit mixing things together from deeper zones and removing key materials that would otherwise provide a whole view.  

Pot holing or bottle digging destroys the site for archaeologists later on.  BUT if you do keep good records, then at least an archaeologist may be able to do some limited reconstruction.  A site is a lot like the pages of a book.  The archaeologist carefully records every thing on the page before it is ripped out of the book, in hopes of being able to reconstruct what was on the page.  

I know many amateurs that look for all kinds of artifacts, even more then 100 years old but they are surface finds.  They don't go digging for stuff.
These amateurs are vital to the professional field because the keep careful records and work along side of pros.  BUT They have learned not to pothole.  Artifacts are NOT a renewable resource and the pages of these sites are very "delicate" and doesn't take much to destroy the continuity of a site.  

Sites hold more then the pretty artifacts they also have much much more from microphytoliths and pollen which provide environmental information, snails, and charcoal bits that provide microclimate information, the flakes, chips and tiny artifacts that help us understand how things were made and the lay out of even a dump can provide key information on local activities, food remnants like bone, shell, burned bits that tell us what was being eaten etc... So, when a hole is dug into the midst of this, the layers, that the archaeologist rely on are damaged.

If you really want to be of value to the professional community, join a local Archaeological Society, volunteer on professionally run digs, take some summer excavation classes at your local university, and open your view to the wholelistic aspect of archaeology.

I too was an amateur at one point until I began to see it through the eyes of professionals and students.  It is why I became a professional. And while I still look for artifacts in field surveys, it is done to help us understand where and how these people lived and why they chose these places to live.  

I can not encourage your continued site destruction looking for bottles but I do encourage you to learn why it is important to do it right and keep good records and how to do it properly.














---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your answer. I respect your opinion and I understand your point of view. I agree that the preservation of uncorrupted data is the most important aspect of the sceince. I also realize that the aesthetic value of an actual object is important culturally, and I understand that objects that may seem unimportant to an amateur might hold vital sceintific information. I would also like you to know that I am not a potholer. I live in a small town in western Montana and I used to go out behind my house when I was a kid and pick up half rusted cans and the occasional bottle probably left behind by a logging, or millworker camp. I have poked around in a dump that was probably from a mining camp, but I never really dug in it. We were more interested in doing some recreational prospecting in the area. I am an avid rockhound, and I have a nice collection of quartz crystals most of which I dug for. I have recently become more interested in archaeology and I admit that I am interested in aquiring a personal collection, but I have become frustrated because of restrictions. I am begining to realize that the only way to aquire a personal collection is to buy. Unfortunately I can not afford to do this and I must tell you that objects found by someone else simply do not have the same aeshtetic value to me personally. I know this sounds selfish and maybe it is, but I believe that individuals should have the right to create private collections. The professional community does not seem to support this view and much of the attitude seems condescending. This only increases my frustration because I feel that this situation limits collecting to the wealthy. Indeed your suggestions for becoming valuable to the proffesional community involve payment or at least donation of time and all I get back is the knowledge that I have helped deepen our understanding of history. You must also understand that from the perspective of a collector the realization that museums and universities maintain emense collections while restricting individuals from collecting even on a small scale contributes to resentment of the whole proffesional community. I am not really that interested in bottle collecting, I am actually more interested in collecting arrowheads. I know artifacts from prehistoric soceities can be much more important because we know so little about these cultures, and the artifacts are all we have to interpret them with. Still, I am very  interested in collecting, but I really wish to do so ethically and in cooperation with the proffesional community. I certainly don't want to be responsible for the destruction of knowledge. Do you know of any societies in Montana that are dedicated to private collecting in a manner consistant with proffesional methodology in order to support cooperation with proffesionals? If not would you support the creation of such a soceity?

Answer
Hi Morgan,

Here is the web site to the Montana Archaeological Society  http://www.mtarchaeologicalsociety.org

Here you will find a list of contacts and you can also request information.  Most state societies have multiple "Chapters" and your area may have one too.  Societies join professionals and amateurs together and very often the professionals sponsor digs and these then become "educational forums" for the amateurs.  

I completely understand where you are coming from and I still have the small collection of artifacts I collected as a kid.  Most of these came from plowed fields around my home.  You can do this  too. Get yourself a USGS map of your area, then visit with the farmers who grow stuff and ask to see their arrow head collections.  Most have them. Then ask if you can hunt the fields.  Also ask permission  to keep what you find.  The farmer owns these materials unless he gives permission to retain them.  He may want to see what you found.  Be very honest and respectful of both the farmer and his property and especially of his crops.  That is his livelihood after all.  DO NOT go digging in his fields as this would be a violation of surface hunting etiquette.  Montana may have some strict rules but I'm not aware that they are any more strict or formal then anywhere else in the US.  

Keep careful records of where you found the artifacts and which were found were.  The best way to do this is to outline the USGS map area of the farm (big or small) then using a piece of graph paper do a "close up" of the fields you want to hunt.  Then label the map (NSEW) and prominent features.  Then as you find the artifacts you can "spot them on the map" give each a number. Bag the item and mark the bag with the same number as on the map.  Later at home, you can wash them and using white paint and nail polish, you can number the artifact.  This way, you can then lay them out on the map to give you an idea of concentrations, placement etc... That is how you find villages and sites. Then when you go back, after the field has been plowed, (get permission again and every time) you know where to concentrate you hunting.

As a professional, I strongly encourage you to join your local society and even the local historical society.  Read as much as you can on the subject.  There is a great book called the amature archaeologists hand book which is loaded with great information and helpful tips and it is written by a professional who's goal was to improve the lot of the amateur as a "finder" of sites and a steward of our history.



Well you provide a critical aspect of historical preservation.  Kudos to you!! We need more dedicated people like you to help preserve our past.  

As for asking permission, you may want to have a document drafted that absolves the land owner of any damages you may inflict upon your self while hunting their property.  This is a sign to them that you take it seriously and respectfully.  Many land owners will give permission with such a document in hand.  I've done it for years and it is fun.   I encourage you to break the ice.  Talk to one person, and see what happens.  Only three potential answers will come back, 1) sure but be careful, 2) only if....... and 3) hell no.