While they survey the land, they use different types of relative dating. They search until they find things that are worthwhile to look at. This part is very tedious because they want to make sure they don''t miss any prevalent artifacts. After the artifacts are found, they are cleaned then analyzed. Then they report the information and data gathered from the site and record it. Lastly, they make sure the artifacts are safely kept and stored, usually at a museum or research facility. Their Job is not easy and archeologists take their time to make sure they do ot ruin the artifacts or bones. http://www. nps. gov/efmo/forteachers/so-what-does- an-archeologist-do. htm) Bahn points out that archeologist have to, "face accusation of racism, Eurocentrism, neocolonialism, grave-robbing, and male chauvinism" (Bahn, 80). So, why do Native Americans want to make sure all their ancestors are kept buried if archeologists treat them respectfully? James Riding In thinks that the remains of prehistoric Native Americans should be reburied rather than studied. People say that artifacts have a history and are there for people to learn about the ast.
But, Native Americans, James In among them, disagree and think that their artifacts should be kept within their tribe and that their ancestors should be kept buried. They try to make sure that they get their artifacts back. For example, in 1989 UCLA wanted to study the burial remains of Native Americans, however the Native Americans refused and said that their concerns, beliefs, and values were being violated by the archeologist. But, archeologists would not give up; they want to keep learning about the Native American culture through artifacts and bones they were finding.
James In says, "l simply advocate that American Indian''s receive what virtually every other group of American''s enjoys; that is, the right to religious freedom and lasting burial" (In, 382). He thinks that by digging up the bodies you are stealing and disturbing the spirituality of the bodies. Even though archeologists are digging up the Native American bodies to gather more information, the Native Americans see it as upsetting after life and their holy qualities. Digging up the Native Americans, if done, should be done in a proper manner.
You cannot Just grab a shovel and start xcavating because you could hit something important and break it. Archeologist also should not take all the remains, like they did in the past with every Pawnee cemetery they could find. Native American''s are arguing that we are taking everything of theirs and it is not fair. A Native American man, Lawrence Goodfox, said "All we want is the the people in Nebraska to refrain from, forever, any excavation of any Native American graves or burial sites" (In, 383). He is begging that the archeologist stop taking everything they have.
Archeologist should look at all the things they have efore they keep digging more up, compromise with the Native Americans, or only allow digging up the bodies in some states. In some states it is illegal to dig up bodies of Native Americans. By 1992 over thirty states made laws that did not allow archeologist to touch Native American cemeteries. Congress approved two pieces of legislation, the National Museum of the American Indian Act (NMAI) and NAGPRA, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The NMAI Act gave the Smithsonian Institution more than 800,000 objects from a Native American museum in New York City.
It also required someone to take inventory of all the Native American artifacts they have (http://nmai. si. edu/explore/collections/repatriation/). NAGPRA is a law passed that forces museums and federal organizations return certain Native American artifacts, such as human remains, funerary objects, and sacred objects, back to their family or tribe (http://www. nps. gov/history/nagpra/FAQ/ #What_is_NAGPRA? ). The law argues that since in some states they allow the digging up of Native American bodies, then the states that banned it might start to think it is okay to do. On the other side of the debate, Clement W.
Meighan thinks that Native American remains should be used for research and studied rather than reburied. Clement is more open minded than James Riding In and sees that everyone is going to have their own opinion on the reburial of Native Americans. He agrees with In when he talks about giving the bones back to their relatives. Meighan thinks that if a bone is dug up and the bone is of a known relative, then it should be given to that relative. However, many people can claim to be relatives of people even when they are not because there is no actual way of finding out if it is true or not.
Meighan says that, Native Americans and anthropologist should work together, rather than work against each other and argue (Meihan, 392). If Native Americans and archeologists work together they might be able to come up with a compromise. For example, maybe a Native American can go to the site with the archeologist and see that they are not harming anything. If archeologist cannot dig things up, then they have no physical proof of anything. "Medical and genetic research on ancient populations require a piece of the bone - pictures will not do" (Meighan, 390).
If there is no physical vidence to support archeologist claims, then the evidence is useless, because the archeologist could have misconstrued the information. Meighan also points out the fact Native Americans are not at a disadvantage compared to white people. If a Native American "monitors" the excavation, they can look at the results and get paid for watching it. Also, if tax payers are paying for archeological excavations, then they should not have to pay for the reburial also, it is not fair to them and the whole point of archeological excavations is to learn things about people that existed before us.
If we did not do archeological excavations then we would have no idea of what existed before us. Meighan says, "When scholarly classes in the United States archeology and ethnology are no longer taught in academic departments, when the existing collections have been selectively destroyed or concealed, and when all new field archeology in the United States is a political exercise rather than a scientific defiantly true. Archeological excavations should not become an argument or a debate; archeologists do this to further everyone''s knowledge of the world. Native
American''s will not give up the repatriation of human remains and cultural material because they think the remains and cultural materials belongs to them. They feel like archeologists are interfering with their rights and the government is being racist towards them, and archeologist are disturbing the dead and disrespecting their ancestors. On the other hand, archeologist will not give up the fght to keep putting Native American artifacts and skeletal material in museums because they want people to learn about the Native Americans. They argue that if the person is already ead, then they are not harming them.
Also, if bones are Just sitting in the ground, what good are they doing? Nobody can learn anything new if artifacts and bones are buried in the ground. If these artifacts aren''t found then it is doing neither the archeologists or the Native American''s any good. They both should come up with a compromise, like Meighan said. Bahn also agrees with this statement. He says that they need to work together and be polite to each other. First, archeologists should ask the Native Americans if they can do archeological excavation on their land, and if hey say no they can take the problem from there.
If they work together, rather than arguing, there could be lots more information discovered. Also, if the Native Americans are hesitant about something, then the archeologists should try and explain what they are doing. Bahn says, "we will never manage to recreate the ''real past''... the best we can do is hope to elucidate some of the principal factors and influences at work, Just as historians do" (Bahn, 76). We need evidence to know what the past was like. One cannot assume that there used to be dinosaurs on earth, how o we know that? Would you believe a picture or a real bone?
Physical evidence is imperative to understanding what the world used to be like; one should not Just assume what they want. Bahn thinks that the impact of reburial legislation has had complicated archeology. Archeology used to not be about politics and arguing, it is supposed to be for the people to learn new things about culture and the world. All in all, everyone has their own opinions on archeological excavations and where the artifacts should be kept when found. Nobody knows what the correct answer is for sure. But, not one single person, or cultural group should control the understanding of the past.
Everyone has different understandings of the past; some Native Americans think that your spirit is still alive when you are dead and other people disagree. It all depends how you view the past. Brunwasser, Mathew. "Burial Customs - Archaeology Magazine. " Burial Customs - Archaeology Magazine. N. p. , n. d. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.. "So, What Does an Archeologist Do? " Effigy Mounds - National Mounument. National Parks Service, n. d. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.. "What IS NAGPRA? " National NAGPRA. National parks service, n. d. web. 30 Apr. 2013..
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