#88: Stop Spike TV from airing "American Diggers"

Looting in Georgia a couple of years ago. Form the SGA website.Spike TV is planning a show where a group of people, commanded by Randy Savage, I believe, go around to historics sites around the U.S., dig up artifacts, tell us how important they are to history, and then sell them.  This is reality TV taken to a new low.  I feel that most reality TV is pretty much a waste of time but this is a waste of our cultural resources and justifies the actions of thousands of looters already out there and probably would encourage others that looting is OK.

So, sign the petition and let's see if we can get the word out.

Go to the Change.org website here:

Stop Spike TV from looting our collective past!

Here is the text of the petition:

Cancel the scheduled show "American Diggers."

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: Spike TV.

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Cancel the scheduled show "American Diggers."

This show, as advertised by Spike TV (http://aroundthenetworks.com/spike-tv-announces-unscripted-show-american-digger/), will follow a team "led by former professional wrestler-turned-modern- day relic hunter Ric Savage as they scour ... battlefields and historic sites, in hopes of striking it rich by unearthing and selling rare pieces of American history."

"American Diggers," as described, encourages and glorifies looting and the antiquities trade at the expense of American history. Although the items pilfered by the team are acknowledged to have "great historical and cultural significance," these items are sold for individual profit. 

Simply plucking valuable historical items from the ground removes these items from their context. If excavated systematically by a team of trained archaeologists these sites could prove invaluable to our cultural history. The team and Spike TV are clearly more interested in turning a quick profit than in history and education, but by glorifying these irresposible actions they are encouraging the public to follow suit.
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Sincerely,

[Your name]

 

Here is an article by Tom Gresham on the Society for Georgia Archaeology website about fines for looting handed down a few years ago:

"Stiff fines handed down for site looting in Burke County"

Sign the petition!

Thanks

#87 Shovelbums Guide Part 12.5: South Dakota to Wyoming

States that have digital site records, and states that don't.

The introduction to this post is in #82.

For quick reference states that have online searchable records are in bold and are underlined.

#83: Alabama to Georgia

#84: Hawai'i to Maryland

#85: Massachusetts to New Jersey

#86: New Mexico to South Carolina

#82 Shovelbums Guide Part 12: States with ONLINE digital site records, Introduction

This next series of blog posts answers the question, “What states have online access to site forms and reports?”  The short answer is 17 19 20 (UPDATED 3.6.12).  A number of states have digital records but you have to physically go to the records office to view them.  What surprises me a little is that you still have to pay a substantial amount of money in some states for the privilege of going all the way to the records office, by appointment, and doing your own research.  I would be much more inclined to pay for the service if I can do the research from the comfort of my own office, or Starbuck’s.

The states that have an ONLINE SITE FILES ACCESS PORTAL and not just digital records at the office are in bold.  I tried to say something about the state’s that don’t have an online system but some of the websites are seriously lacking in any sort of useful information.

In an effort to make these posts more manageable (my Pages document is 13 pages and 2700 words) I’ve split the list of states and information into the next five blog posts.  The states are listed alphabetically and at ten to a page. Click on one of the states below to go directly to the post that it is listed on.

If you have ANY more information or an update to what I have, because I’m not perfect and could have missed something, please let me know so I can update this list.  I hope this helps someone.  Enjoy.

CLICK ON A STATE TO GO TO THE APPROPRIATE POST

Alabama     Alaska     Arizona     Arkansas     California     Colorado     Connecticut     Delaware     Florida     Georgia     Hawai'i     Idaho     Illinois     Indiana     Iowa     Kansas     Kentucky     Louisiana     Maine     Maryland     Massachusetts     Michigan     Minnesota     Mississippi     Missouri     Montana     Nebraska     Nevada     New Hampshire     New Jersey    New Mexico     New York     North Carolina     North Dakota     Ohio     Oklahoma     Oregon     Pennsylvania     Rhode Island     South Carolina     South Dakota     Tennessee     Texas     Utah     Vermont     Virginia     Washington     West Virginia     Wisconsin     Wyoming

 

UPDATE:

I've received a few comments on other sites about online site records in other countries.  Check out the Heritage Gateway website in England for access to site information in some areas.  Also, check out the Grey Literature Library through the Archaeological Data Service.  New Zealand Archaeological Association has online records and maps available at www.archsite.org.  You need a subscription to access.

#83 Shovelbums Guide Part 12.1: Alabama to Georgia

States that have digital site records, and states that don't.

The introduction to this post is in #82.

For quick reference states that have online searchable records are in bold and are underlined.

#84: Hawai'i to Maryland

#85: Massachusetts to New Jersey

#86: New Mexico to South Carolina

#87: South Dakota to Wyoming

  •  Alabama
    • No digital site records available online.
    • Alabama Historical Commission, 106 Program website
    • UPDATE (3.3.12):
      • I recieved an email from the Alabama Office of Archaeological Research and was informed that they have a digital database for archaeological site information but it's not accessible online.  You have to go to the University of Alabama.  Check out the link.
      • http://museums.ua.edu/oar/assf.htm
    • UPDATE (9.27.12)
      • A number of comments on LinkedIn have revealed that Alabama in fact does have online site forms.  Apparently the site link is not searchable, which is similar to other states, and the fact that it exists at all is not readily apparent.  I'm hoping to post more information on how to gain access to this resource when I receive it.
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
    • No digital site records available online.
    • Arkansas Historic Preservation Program
      • Archaeology & Section 106 FAQ Page
  • California
    • California Historical Resources Information System
      • Includes the Historical Resources Inventory
        • Includes data on
          • Resources evaluated in local government historical resource surveys partially funded through Certified Local Government grants or in surveys which local governments have submitted for inclusion in the statewide inventory
          • Resources evaluated and determinations of eligibility (DOEs) made in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
          • Resources evaluated for federal tax credit certifications
          • Resources considered for listing in the National and California Registers or as California State Landmarks or Points of Historical Interest
        • Maintained by the Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) and eleven independent regional Information Centers (ICs)
    • Fee Structure
    • Start by contacting your regional Information Center
    • UPDATE (3.3.12):
      • As per some really good discussions on LinkedIn, I found out that SOME Information Centers have digital, online, site records, and some do not.  Check your local IC for information.
  • Colorado
    • Compass: http://oahp.historycolorado.org/compass/
    • Provided by the Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP)
    • Open to
      • Cultural resource professionals
      • Researchers
    • Fees
      • 10 day free trial
      • Non-refundable annual fee of $250 per organization
      • Free for non-profits and higher ed.
  • Connecticut
    • According to the Connecticut Archaeology Center website, accessed on February 17, 2012, there are over 5,000 known archaeological sites in Connecticut.  The CAC is, “now in the process of transferring site data to the computerized Geographical Information System (GIS), where it will readily be able to correlate with existing GIS topographic and environmental information including soil types, slope, proximity to water sources, exposed bedrock and vegetation patters.”
    • It doesn’t say when this will be done.
  • Delaware
    • CHRIS: Cultural & Historical Resource Information System
    • CHRIS is a web based mapping application developed to efficiently manage the preservation efforts of historic properties and assist in preservation planning.  CHRIS includes Delaware’s National Register listed properties with the nomination form and pictures for each property.  Historic District boundaries, National Historic Landmarks, and cultural resource inventory for New Castle, Kent and parts of Sussex County are also available.  Aerial photography is available for various years beginning with 1937 up to 2007.
    • Fees
      • Looks like it’s free.  They will check your credentials, though.
  • Florida
  • Georgia

#86 Shovelbums Guide Part 12.4: New Mexico to South Carolina

States that have digital site records, and states that don't.

The introduction to this post is in #82.

For quick reference states that have online searchable records are in bold and are underlined.

#83: Alabama to Georgia

#84: Hawai'i to Maryland

#85: Massachusetts to New Jersey

#87: South Dakota to Wyoming

#85 Shovelbums Guide Part 12.3: Massachusetts to New Jersey

States that have digital site records, and states that don't.

The introduction to this post is in #82.

For quick reference states that have online searchable records are in bold and are underlined.

#83: Alabama to Georgia

#84: Hawai'i to Maryland

#86: New Mexico to South Carolina

#87: South Dakota to Wyoming

  •  Massachusetts
    • No Archaeological site data.
    • Some information can be found, mostly about structures, on the MACRIS website.
  • Michigan
    • No digital records available online.  They do have digital records at the State Offices, however.  See below.
    • According to the Michigan Archaeological Society website, http://www.miarch.org/site-recording.html :
      • “The Office of the State Archaeologist maintains a listing of archaeological sites in the state of Michigan.”
      • “...site locations provided to the Office of the State Archaeologist are not available to the general public and are only given out on a ‘need to know’ basis to researchers and archaeological consultants.
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
    • No digital records available online.
    • Mississippi Department of Archives & History (MDAH)
      • http://mdah.state.ms.us/hpres/archaeology.php
      • “The department’s archaeological records are available for research to archaeological consultants in the Archaeological Search Room...access to the Archaeological Search Room will be made available by appointment only.”
    • UPDATE (9.27.12)
      • Mississippi does have an online database but according to a commenter on LinkedIn the database is clumsy and not accurate.  Many sites are missing and it's not very useful right now.  I'm working on finding information as to how to access this site.
  • Missouri
    • Missouri Department of Natural Resources
      • Archaeology Data Viewer
        • Login
        • Fees
          • Free
        • “The Archaeology Viewer allows those doing preliminary archaeological background research to view site and survey data in the database.”
        • “The Archaeology Editor allows those doing archaeological projects to input their own site and survey data into the database via any high-speed Web connection.”
  • Montana
    • No digital records available online.
    • There is the CRIS, the Cultural Resource Information System
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
    • No digital records available online.
    • The state has a GIS Pilot Project taking place in two counties.  I don’t understand why each state has to re-invent the wheel every time they want to do something.  It’s already been done.  Copy someone else.

#84 Shovelbums Guide Part 12.2: Hawai'i to Maryland

States that have digital site records, and states that don't.

The introduction to this post is in #82.

For quick reference states that have online searchable records are in bold and are underlined.

#83: Alabama to Georgia

#85: Massachusetts to New Jersey

#86: New Mexico to South Carolina

#87: South Dakota to Wyoming