Abstract

Human beings leave numerous traces of their activities on and in the earth. Such evidence and its context, form the basis for archaeological interpretations of human history. Archaeological resources are generally recognized as being legally within the public domain which means that the earth is a form of public archives. Unfortunately, with the rise of world-wide industrialized resource extraction, large portions of that archives have been severely disturbed or destroyed. Heritage conservationists have successfully argued for protection of archaeological resources at the artifact and site levels, but have had difficulty obtaining similar protection at the landscape level. Problems include definition, inventory, misperception of threats, misperception of age, conflicts in use and ownership, ineffective justifications, failure to make common cause, and a preservation irony. In spite of the problems there is a substantial body of experience upon which future archaeological landscape preservation can build.