In the US, Archaeology Stares Down an Uncertain Future

The annual conference of the 7,000-member Society for American Archaeology is one of the largest gatherings of archaeologists in North America, with more than 1,000 presentations. Normally, there is a large federal presence. But a considerable number of government archaeologists skipped last month’s get-together in Denver.

Several federal agencies abruptly pulled travel funding; researchers believe it’s because many of the conference topics touched on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. Leading up to the conference, a dozen scheduled department meetings, including a session on climate change and cultural resource workshops, were shelved. One attendee described the revised program guide as a “two-page bloodbath of federal disengagement.”

U.S. archaeologists face a diminished, uncertain future. Over the past few months, government support for archaeological research, preservation and museums has been largely scaled back. Archaeology and cultural heritage staff have been fired, federal agencies engaged in field and collections work have been gutted, and projects have been mothballed or canceled in all three major employment sectors: academic, private and government.

Christopher D. Dore, president of the archaeology society, said the financial cost in lost potential and opportunities was incalculable. “It is ironic that on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the United States, we are choosing to sacrifice our history and the nonrenewable archaeological sites that provide that history,” he said.

Dore feared that insufficient staffing would undermine the ability to properly supervise and control public use of federal areas. Looting, visitor damage, erosion and even permitted uses such as cattle grazing are grave threats to site protection and tribal lands. “Archaeological resources are not renewable,” Dore said. “Unlike some natural resources, they don’t grow back. Once destroyed, sites and the information they hold are gone forever.”

Although the exact amount of the budget cuts has yet to be worked out, they seem certain to adversely affect the field, experts say. “We need fresh investment and support, and instead we are getting cut off at the knees,” said William Taylor, curator of archaeology at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History.

On Jan. 16, under the lame-duck Biden administration, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded a $350,000 grant to Archaeology Southwest, a nonprofit based in Tucson, Arizona. The money was earmarked for an initiative to document plant and animal species in the Sonoran Desert, particularly those culturally important to local tribes.

Six weeks later, with President Donald Trump in charge, the agency clawed back the funds on the grounds that the initiative “no longer effectuates the agency’s needs and priorities.” It was the first time in Archaeology Southwest’s 35-year history that a federal granting department had reneged on an award. “The real termination is of trust in the federal government to follow its own laws and regulations,” said Steve Nash, the organization’s president and CEO.

On Feb. 14, 10 of the 17 archaeologists in the Southeast regional office of the National Park Service were informed that they were being “terminated.” A terse email explained that they had “failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment.”

The archaeologists, whose wide-ranging responsibilities in nine states included facility management, law enforcement and issuing permits for excavations and energy projects, were among 1,000 full-time park service personnel purged as part of the new Department of Government Efficiency’s scheme to shrink the federal workforce. All the employees were eventually reinstated by court order, but the reprieve looks to be short-lived: Substantial staff reductions are expected.

Archaeologists are staring down a future that may offer limited or no federal funding for safeguarding museum holdings. Tribal leaders have expressed unease about the fate of human remains and objects of cultural patrimony stored in government facilities. “These collections are one of our most powerful tools for training young people to be interested in the world around us, and connect our present to the past and the future,” Taylor said. In some national parks, leases on buildings that house archives and collections have already been allowed to lapse.

Further disruption looms as the government moves to downsize or eliminate programs focused on DEI. Multiyear, leading-edge research projects are in jeopardy because their proposals included a single phrase or word that was anathema to the Trump administration. “Understanding the past, preserving it, sharing it with young people — doing basic research, education and outreach — it’s one of the most important missions we have in science,” Taylor said. “It’s not woke and it should not be political.”

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