Friday, June 16, 2006
Private Prehistory, American Style
A Midwestern preservationist who works in this country to protect historic burial sites, including Native American mounds, e-mailed an interesting response to CultureGrrl's Private Prehistory piece (about prehistoric caves on private property in France), which I posted yesterday:
My correspondent declined to be identified for publication, so has not to jeopardize relations with private landowners.
Your blog regarding landowners who keep the location of archeological sites "under wraps" hits home, since I know there are many sites that should be protected but are under- or not reported [in the U.S.].
Getting people excited about what we call "historic preservation" in the States has always been a hard sell. It's not a problem in Europe, where people actually live and work in old structures.
My correspondent declined to be identified for publication, so has not to jeopardize relations with private landowners.
