Archaeology was typically viewed as an academic, often esoteric pursuit until the latter 20th century. The emergence of the environmental movement of the late 1960’s and ‘70’s gave rise to a preservation ethic that targeted cultural as well as natural resources in response to accelerated natural resource exploitation and land development. Prehistoric and historic archaeological sites as well as historic buildings and monuments were now classified cultural resources in North America or heritage sites elsewhere in the world. Over the past half century legislation has been in force to mitigate th
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