The following is a list of websites regarding laws, regulations and guidelines that apply to archaeology and cultural/heritage resource management.  Many of these links are in .pdf format.  If you aren't able to read .pdf files, click here to download a free copy of Adobe Reader. Much of the content for this page was acquired from the Links to the Past section of the National Park Service website.  Thanks also go out to Ryan Seidemann for offering to share information from his website, legalanthropology.com.

This list is still under construction.  I would love to hear your suggestions for obvious websites that I have missed and should have included in this list, and also websites regarding cultural and heritage legislation that apply to particular localities or in other countries around the world.  Please e-mail me additions or corrections to this list.  Thanks!  Jennifer Palmer, webmaster, archaeologyfieldwork.com


 

United States: Federal Government
 

Laws

Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 ( 43 U.S.C. 2101-2106) - in .pdf format

American Antiquities Act of 1906 as amended (16 USC 431-433) - in .pdf format

American Battlefield Protection Act of 1996 (16 USC 469k) - in .pdf format

American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 as amended (42 USC 1996 and 1996a) - in .pdf format

Archeological and Historic Preservation Act of 1974 as amended (16 USC 469-469c-2) - in .pdf format

Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, as amended (16 USC 470aa-mm) - in .pdf format

Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 (16 USC 668-668d)

Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 as amended (16 USC 1451-1456) - in .pdf format

The Copyright Act of 1976 (17 USC 101 et seq. [1988 & Supp. V 1993])

Department of Transportation Act, as amended [Declaration of Purpose and Section 4(f)] (49 USC 303) - in .pdf format

Department of Transportation Act, Section 4(i) as amended (49 USC 5561-5567) - in .pdf format

Disposal of Records (44 USC 3301 et seq.)

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 USC 1531-1543)

Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended (40 USC 484(k)(3) and (4)) - in .pdf format

Federal Records Act of 1950, as amended (Records Management by Federal Agencies, 44 USC 3101 et seq.)

Freedom of Information Act of 1982 (5 USC 552)

Historic Sites Act of 1935 as amended (16 USC 461-467) - in .pdf format

Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 as amended (23 U.S.C. 101(a)(35), 23 U.S.C. 101 note, and 23 U.S.C. 109(b)(c), and (p)) - in .pdf format

Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended [Qualified Conservation Contributions] (26 U.S.C. 170(h)) - in .pdf format

Internal Revenue Code of 1990 as amended (Rehabilitation Credit) (26 USC 47) - in .pdf format

Lacey Act of 1900 (18 USC 43-44)

Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 USC 1361-1407)

Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (16 USC 703-711)

Mining in the National Parks Act of 1976 (Section 9) (16 USC 1908) - in .pdf format

Museum Properties Management Act of 1955 (16 USC 18)

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as amended (42 USC 4321, and 4331 - 4335) - in .pdf format

National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (16 USC 470 et seq.) - in .pdf format

(Annotated) National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). [A National Park Service annotation of the Act as amended through December 31, 2000]

National Marine Sanctuaries Act, as amended (16 USC 1431-1445) - in .pdf format

National Park Service Organic Act, Section 1, as amended, [Mission] (16 USC 1) - in .pdf format

National Park Service Organic Act (16 USC 1-4, 22, 43)

National Park Service Organic Act, Section 8, as amended, [Reports on Threatened Landmarks and New Area Studies] (16 USC 1a-5) - in .pdf format

National Trust for Historic Preservation, as amended, [Creation and Purpose] (16 USC 468) - in .pdf format

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, as amended,(25 USC 3001 et seq.) - in .pdf format

Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 USC 1332 )

Preservation, Arrangement, Duplication, Exhibition of Records (44 USC 2109)

Privacy Act of 1974 (5 USC 552a)

Public Buildings Cooperative Use Act of 1976 (40 USC 601a) - in .pdf format

Regulations

Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered Archeological Collections (36 CFR 79)

Disposition of Federal Records (36 CFR 1228)

Federal Records; General (36 CFR 1220)

Freedom of Information Act Regulations (36 CFR 810) - no website yet available

Historic Preservation Certifications Pursuant to Section 48(g) and Section 170(h) of The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (36 CFR 67)

Historic Preservation Requirements of the Urban Development Action Grant Program (36 CFR 801) - no website yet available

National Historic Landmarks Program (36 CFR 65)

National Register of Historic Places (36 CFR 60) and Determinations of Eligibility for Inclusion in the National Register (36 CFR 63)

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act: Final Rule (43 CFR 10)

Preservation of American Antiquities (43 CFR 3)

Procedures for State, Tribal, and Local Government Historic Preservation Programs (36 CFR 61)

Protection of Archeological Resources (43 CFR 7)

Protection of Historic Properties (36 CFR 800)

Research Specimens (36 CFR 2.5)

Standards and Guidelines

Abandoned Shipwreck Act Guidelines

Cultural Resource Management Guideline, NPS-28

Guidelines for Federal Agency Responsibilities, Under Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act

Preparation of Environmental Impact Statements: Guidelines (40 CFR 1500) - no website yet available

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation [As amended and annotated by the National Park Service]

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Architectural and Engineering Documentation

The Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualification Standards (48 FR 22716, Sept. 1983)

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation (36 CFR 67)

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (36 CFR 68)

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings

Executive Orders

Executive Order No. 11593 Protection and Enhancement of the Cultural Environment (1971)

Executive Order No. 13006 Locating Federal Facilities On Historic Properties In Our Nation's Central Cities (1996)

Executive Order No. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites (1996)

Other documents available online

National Park Service website: Park and Historic Preservation Laws publication

Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives

National Register of Historic Places Bulletins and Publications

National Park Service Technical Preservation Services for Historic Buildings Preservation Briefs

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation: The National Historic Preservation Program

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation: Working with Section 106

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation: Federal, State and Tribal Historic Preservation Programs and Officers

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Publications page

Introduction to the Federal Historic Preservation Laws (annotated, 2002) - in .pdf format

 

United States: Individual States

California State Historical Building Code and Safety Board

New Jersey Register of Historic Places

Various state websites with information on laws applying to cemeteries



France

Droit et Archeologie (regs pertaining to archaeology in France)

 

International

1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (19 USC 2601)


Free Language Translation Tool (useful if you are researching laws in other countries)

 

Ethics

Lists of organizations with posted codes for ethics in anthropology and archaeology (courtesy of legalanthropology.com):

American Anthropological Association (AAA)

American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA)

American Institute of Archaeology (AIA)

American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS)

Australian Anthropological Society (AAS)

Australian Archaeological Association (AAA)

Canadian Archaeological Association (CAA)

National Association for the Practice of Anthropology (NAPA)

Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA)

Society for American Archaeology (SAA)

Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA)

Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA)
 

This list is still being compiled.  Click here to suggest a link... Return to archaeologyfieldwork.com...