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The Challenges of Dealing with Human Remains in Cultural Resource Management

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2019

Patricia Powless  and
Carolyn Freiwald
Patricia Powless*
Affiliation:
Ashford University, 8620 Spectrum Center Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92123, USA
Carolyn Freiwald
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Mississippi, 544 Lamar, 615 Grove Loop, University, MS 38677, USA
*
([email protected], corresponding author)
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Abstract

Over the past few years, the lead author has had the opportunity to excavate multiple large sites in California, working on behalf of developers to keep their projects in compliance with their permits. She also worked in conjunction with local tribes to resolve burial issues with each excavation. During these excavations, she observed the challenges that the tribes encountered when dealing with fast-paced cultural resource management (CRM) projects where burial retrieval and a shortage of resources were the norm. For many years, archaeologists have viewed CRM as only dealing with the material culture of the past; however, archaeologists also consult and work with living cultures. This article will address the endemic problem in CRM that stems from a lack of planning, preparation, resources, and training and how it affects the burial excavations that archaeologists and tribes encounter in the CRM setting. It will also look for solutions to remedy a long-broken system that continues to ignore existing laws set in place to protect resources, as well as the relationships between the Native American community, agencies, researchers, and land developers.

En los últimos años, he tenido la oportunidad de excavar en múltiples sitios de gran tamaño en California, trabajando por cuenta de empresas de desarrollo para mantener sus proyectos en conformidad con los permisos otorgados por entes gubernamentales. También he trabajado en conjunto con grupos locales de Nativos Americanos para resolver problemas relacionados con entierros humanos en cada excavación. Durante estas excavaciones, he observado los desafíos a los cuales se enfrentan estas tribus cuando se trata de proyectos acelerados de gestión de recursos culturales (CRM, por sus siglas en inglés), en los cuales la norma es recuperar los escasos recursos óseos presentes. Durante muchos años, los arqueólogos han considerado que los proyectos de CRM solo se ocupan de la cultura material del pasado; sin embargo, los arqueólogos también consultamos y trabajamos con culturas vivas. Este documento aborda un problema endémico en los proyectos de CRM que se deriva de la falta de planificación, preparación, recursos y capacitación. Este problema afecta las excavaciones funerarias a las que los arqueólogos y las tribus se enfrentan en proyectos de CRM. También se buscan soluciones para remediar un sistema roto desde hace tiempo que continúa ignorando las leyes establecidas para proteger los recursos culturales, así como las relaciones entre las comunidades de Nativos Americanos, los entes gubernamentales, los investigadores y las empresas de desarrollo.

Keywords

NAGPRAcultural resource managementbioarchaeologyCaliforniaburial actethicsley sobre protección y repatriación de sepulturas Nativas Americanas (NAGPRA)gestión de recursos culturalesbioarqueologíaCalifornialey de entierrosética
Type
How to Series
Information
Advances in Archaeological Practice , Volume 7 , Special Issue 1: The Practice and Ethics of Skeletal Conservation , February 2019 , pp. 55 - 59
Copyright
Copyright 2019 © Society for American Archaeology 

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References

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