When Past and Present Collide: The Ethics of Archaeological Stewardship

This article discusses a session at the Archaeological Institute of America's 2006 annual meeting in Montreal, entitled "When Past and Present Collide: The Ethics of Archaeological Stewardship" that explored the implications of ethical obligations in the stewardship of archaeological objects, and suggested ways for archaeologists to engage with stakeholder collaboration, site preservation, and political aspects of archaeology. Presentations looked at issues such as when archaeologists should take sides in political conflicts over archaeology, how economic and social issues that are unrelated to archaeology can be decisive in site preservation efforts, whether acceptance of universal heritage values should be a precondition for inclusion of nonarchaeologists in stewardship planning, and when the actions of archaeologists themselves can be harmful to site preservation efforts.