Should artifact collectors be encouraged to report their discoveries?
Recently, amateur archaeologist Tony Baker has teamed up with the Paleoindian Database of the Americas to encourage artifact collectors to report information about their Paleoindian points for scientific research. In a piece on his website called Dear Arrowhead Hunter, Tony talks about the project in some detail.
The Archaeological Past
There's a rarely recalled fact in the history of archaeological science: in the late 19th century, most of the practicing archaeologists in the world were amateurs. They were doctors and farmers and German professors, well-educated people who were interested in the natural and cultural world and in their spare time explored their neighborhoods and found--and sometimes excavated--archaeological sites in their areas.
These regular amateur archaeologists carefully recorded their discoveries and wrote scholarly articles for such scholarly publications as the American Naturalist and the American Antiquarian; the annual reports of the Smithsonian Institution regularly accepted contributions from amateurs. Quite simply, professional archaeologists were then quite few and far between. And so, much of the early archaeological research of the North American continent is owed to the imput of such persons.
Collectors vs. Professionals
But these days--not so much. Although there are a few strong and interested amateur archaeologists, it's really difficult for anybody outside the profession to keep up with the science any more, and scientific excavation is far more precise than it was 150 years ago or more. And, there is a real chasm between the casual artifact collecting community and professional archaeologists, based on suspicion of one another's motives. Some archaeologists feel the collecting community are destroying archaeological sites; some of the collecting community feel that archaeologists have no right to tell them what they can do on private property.
Both of those suspicions are true. You'd think that would be an impasse. But, the information that a collector could bring to the archaeological record is valuable; all it takes is teaching the collector community to collect that additional information.
Collaboration Initiatives
The oldest established initiative bringing the collector to the archaeological table is the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a voluntary scheme to record archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales, and based at the British Museum. The United States has been slow to follow up, but amateur archaeologist Tony Baker began working with the Paleoindian Database of the Americas, to bring in collector information about Paleoindian points.
Personally, I think this is a very hopeful sign for the future. You may feel differently!
Comments
Kris, thank you so much for writing this blog. It can only help my cause.
On a tangential subject, you wrote: “And, there is a real chasm between the casual artifact collecting community and professional archaeologists, based on suspicion of one another’s motives.” This chasm you speak of is quite variable and its size depends on the availability of archaeology data. For example, the cooperation between the two groups is quite good when paleoindian is the subject because paleoindian archaeologists have so little data and therefore they need the collectors. On the other hand, as the subject time frame become more recent the data become more abundant and it is easier for the archaeologists to scold and/or ignore the collectors.
Tony Baker
“…For example, the cooperation between the two groups is quite good when paleoindian is the subject because paleoindian archaeologists have so little data and therefore they need the collectors. On the other hand, as the subject time frame become more recent the data become more abundant and it is easier for the archaeologists to scold and/or ignore the collectors…”
Agreed, the lack of a centralized collector database for Archaic and younger artifacts points to this phenomenon, Tony.
I made a discovery in 1983 of prehistoric races that lived here in the Pacific Northwest. They made sofisticated artwork out of rock clay that resembles real rocks. many are made like a book (they don’t like books) which when taken apart at the seams reveal pictorial stories in releif. They also used Lava rocks showing pictures of people and all kinds of animals, including Elephants, lions and even dinosaurs. (No kidding this is a fact). It shows their interaction with these animals. I have been working on this discovery now for over 27 years. Would like to train somebody in how to reconize these artifishal rock from the real ones.
Thanks for your attention,
George
As an archaeology student and a collector, I feel that the professional archaeologists have alienated a valuable source of information by demonizing the avocational amateur archaeologist. Most are not pot hunters, never dig anything, and often keep excellent documentation of their finds. However, they are afraid, as they well should be, that if they report their finds they will end up injail with a hefty fine. If we are really all about the the knowledge and data then we need to change our way of thinking.
good pm
This is roland from the Philippines , I contacted you for some help regarding the lighting stone or thunder stone , that I have, this rare stone is a product of a great thunder storm that hit the mountain almost a decade that passed.
its size is 218 mm , weighing 850 grams
and pure black ,very hard and heavier than the normal stone .
Please have enough time to see and investigate this rare stone that can be made by nature once in million chance.
attached is a photo of different angle of this specimen.
May I have the idea of what would be its commercial value?
please reply to my email address
escardajr.rolando@yaho.com so I could share the photos