6. In case you claim ARPA "allows" surface collection of arrowheads - think again. Collecting arrowheads from the surface is still a "prohibited act". The only thing ARPA does is exempt them from felony punishment. They are still subject to forfeiture and it is still illegal to pick them up!

Could someone post up the reg for this statement? I havent found it in the past - and it was written as such so that the Senatorial sponsor of the Bill could continue collecting surface arrowheads. The last time I looked for this "claim" within ARPA I couldnt find it, so I must be blind, or the original bill has been changed since 1979.

FireArch

Section 6(g) of ARPA states:

"(g) Nothing in subsection (d) of this section shall be deemed
applicable to any person with respect to the removal of
arrowheads located on the surface of the ground."

And section 7(a)(3) says

"(3) No penalty shall be assessed under this section for
the removal of arrowheads located on the surface of the
ground."

DM

Thanks DM,

That is what I thought ARPA stated, which is why I thought the quote I quoted was in error.

Richard

On federally managed land or on projects where Section 106 applies, which is what ARPA covers, this is generally interpreted to mean isolates, not part of a site assemblage. 8-)

Actually ARPA does not apply to any Section 106 project, only those on federal land. One of those confusing issues we deal with - like NAGPRA only applies to federal land.... and shipwrecks....and.....
:roll:
DM

I forgot to mention that I have seen ARPA to collections made from non-federal land (state land) when it is clear there was no permission to remove the artifacts from the ground and they were transported across state lines for sale. As far as I know this case is still ongoing so I am not aware if the courts will agree with the arguments being made.

DM

I have never pocketed an artifact from a site. I just don't think it is right to do so. The only thing I ever pick up and keep from projects are interesting rocks. Sometimes when I am on survey I will come across antlers and I will pick some of those up if they are on private land.

Scott

I just sat through two semester of a graduate CRM course, and our professor stated clearly that surface collection by the public on federal land is not against the law. I believe this is aimed more at mom 'n pop hiker who find an arrowhead, archaeologists should know better.

As for me, I've been sorely tempted many, many times (look at that beauty! it's a zero collection survey! I just know that someone passing by is going to pocket it and stick it in the back of a desk drawer someday!) but I've never taken anything, and never will. My first arch professor drilled those ethics into our heads more firmly than anything else she taught us.

On tribal and federally administered (public) lands the law is quite specific about what can and cannot be picked up in, and on the surface of, archaeological sites.

http://www.cr.nps.gov/local-law/FHPL_ArchRsrcsProt.pdf

I'm not sure, to be honest. In some ways, it seems like there was more participation in an earlier incarnation of this website. Before I had to change over forums software, we had over 12,000 registered website members in the course of only a few years. My website stats at that time had us experiencing unique visitors of a rate at least 10x that. The new website software has been up over a year now, and the website membership has only slowly been building back up again.

Maybe folks are busier these days, or I need to do a better job of getting word out about the website. It's been a long time since I've actively tried to promote archaeologyfieldwork.com...

Jennifer

I tell everyone I know about this site frequently....

Richard, thanks! Unfortunately, it seems that maybe I don't tell enough people about archaeologyfieldwork.com. When I'm working on a project, usually about 3 weeks into it, someone will come up to me and say, "Hey, um, are you the girl that runs that Shovelbums, er, I mean, that archaeology fieldwork website?" :lol:

I have often wondered about the lack of participation in some of the forums here. When I've asked folks about it in person, they usually say that it comes down to a matter of free time. Keep in mind that there are also some very active archaeology discussion lists out there like ARCH-L, ACRA-L and HISTARCH, as well as regional groups. I can understand how it would be hard to keep up between all of them.

Jennifer

I used to pick them up in stubble fields while pheasant hunting when I was a kid. I don't know if any were known sites or not. I still have them, probably 50-75 or so.

I have caught a few folks pocketing them while on the job......Grrr.

There is a lot of confusion about the ARPA statutes regarding surface collecting on Federal lands-

Section 6(a) states: "No person may excavate, remove (my emphasis), damage, or otherwise alter or deface any archeological resource located on public lands or Indian lands unless such activity is pursuant to a permit issued under Section 4 of this Act, a permit referred to in section 4(h)(2) of this act, or the exemption contained in section 4(g)(1) of this Act."

So clearly anyone that doesn't have a permit is not allowed to REMOVE anything, whether on the surface or not. (The other exemption, 4(g)(1), pertains to excavations by Indians on Indian lands.) The confusion comes in here:

Section 6(g) states: "Nothing in subsection (d) of this section shall be deemed applicable to any person with respect to the removal of arrowheads located on the surface of the ground.

(Subsection (d) is the description of penalties for violation of the provisions of ARPA.)

So it's against the law to surface collect on Federal land, but their are NO criminal penalties tied to it, at least under ARPA. The criminal penalties were exempted for surface collecting as a nod to Jimmy Carter, who was a long-time collector. In some jurisdictions any surface finds are subject to confiscation, in others there is implicit non-enforcement as it's not considered to really be hurting anything. Then in other areas you have govt employees who are surface collecting, and won't enforce so as not to call attention to their own activities. The collectors in an area generally know when this is going on.

In regard to surface collecting deflated sites on lake margins, enforcement varies also. Some parts of the country allow it (just don't have digging tools or a probe with you or you've had it!), some are very strict in enforcing regulations against it.