Archaeological Site Etiquette

Respect for each other, the land, and archaeological sites

I enjoy sharing hikes, trails, and special drives with people because I feel we all have the right to see and enjoy this great country.  I also believe that with respect, acceptance, and compromise we can all get along.  That goes the same for visiting archaeological and historical sites on public lands.  Having a degree in archaeology I can understand the concerns for protecting these areas of study, but I also believe we all have the right to enjoy these sites by visiting them if we want to.  Since I am sharing information about archaeological and historical sites, I feel obligated to express my feelings of how I would hope you would act when visiting these sites.  I would ask one thing - please leave them the same way you found them.  Here are some simple do’s and don'ts:

The Don'ts

1. Don't take home any artifacts - broken pottery - or flakes
2. Stacking the pottery in a pile - This isn't the answer either because who likes to come to a site and see a pile of pottery
3. Climbing on ruin walls
4. digging for artifacts
5. Causing undue damage or vandalism
6. Driving vehicles, motor bikes, bicycles, ATVs, etc through the ruin site.  Exception: when a road or trail goes through it as in the case with over 50% of all roads and trails in San Juan County then it is okay.  This doesn't mean to cause more damage by leaving the trail or road.  
7. Don't drive up and down every hill looking for ruins with your ATV please "PARK AND WALK"

1. Explore the site and have fun
2. Take pictures of the site and the artifacts
3. Leave it the way you found it
4. Pick up any modern trash that someone else left behind
5. Park on the road or trail and then walk to the site and explore it

The reason we need to follow these do’s and don'ts and leave the site the way we found it is out of respect for all those that will see it in the future. They too want to feel like they are the first person to see the site in hundreds of years.  They want to feel the same excitement that you felt when you saw the site for the first time.  They can't do that if you stack up the pottery sherds, leave trash, damage or vandalize the structures, remove artifacts, and dig for artifacts.  So, I'm asking you to leave it the way you find it is so that all of us, and the many generations to come can enjoy it as well.