PRESERVATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND 

 ETHNOLOGICAL MATERIAL IN ALASKA 



Frederica de Laguna 



Associate Professor of Anthropology 



Bryn Mawr College 



Bryn Mawr, Pa. 



In discussing the problems of preserving archaeological sites 

 in Alaska and of recording native folklore, songs, ceremonies and 

 other ethnographic material, we must keep in mind that the 

 archaeological or ethnological situation varies enormously as 

 we go from region to region in the vast Territory, so that no 

 single formula can be applied, and we must take into account 

 differences in natural environment, in the character of the 

 aboriginal populations, and in the ways in which the white man 

 has affected them. We must also recognize a diversity, even a 

 conflict of interests between groups who might be affected by 

 any plans for anthropological conservation. 



'An Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities," ap- 

 proved by Congress June 8, 1906, prohibits, under penalties 

 ranging up to fines of $500 and 90 days imprisonment, the 

 excavation, injury, or destruction of historic or prehistoric sites 

 and objects, on lands owned or controlled by the Federal Gov- 

 ernment. It permits the President of the United States to 

 establish by proclamation as national monuments tracts of land 

 on which such objects or sites are located. It provides also for 

 the granting of permits for excavation to scientific and educa- 

 tional institutions. The Secretaries of the Interior, of Agricul- 

 ture, and of War are charged with the responsibilities of issuing 

 such permits and of establishing uniform rules and regulations 

 for carrying out the provisions of the act on lands subject to 

 their jurisdiction. These uniform rules were approved on 

 December 28, 1906, and still apply to the Territory of Alaska, 

 although the Interior Department has recently added a few 

 special rules, which we shall mention presently. With the re- 



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