To access the web site, click this URL link: Alabama Office of Archaeological Research
[He continues:]
Why is this so important? I can tell you first hand. It is impossible to protect Native American heritage sites, if you don’t know where they are. Look what happened in Oxford, Alabama!
For what it is worth I strongly agree with this. Any would-be looter has no problems identifying sites as it is. I know of several intact places where there are artifacts under the ground and where I could dig as much as I wanted to, if I wanted to- but I don't. If towns and landowners and neighbors knew what resources were under the surface in these places, it might be more risky to stroll in there with a shovel. But I strongly believe that the greatest threat to these sites is development, not looting. I am watching sites that are known to the state and that have been written about in the MAS Bulletin just get bulldozed into oblivion. I doubt that towns or developers in most cases are aware on any level of just what it is that they are erasing. I believe that professional archaeologists on the whole have done a poor job of getting information out there. Someone looking for information about common projectile point types in Massachusetts is more likely to find this blog, than anything published by a professional. My opinion.
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