Foreword to The Antiquities Act of 1906,
2001 Electronic Edition
Francis P. McManamon
Chief Archeologist NPS
Departmental Consulting Archeologist, DOI
January, 2001

The Archeology Program, National Park Service, is very pleased to make available in an electronic format Ronald F. Lee's history of the Antiquities Act. This law serves as the foundation of much of United States law for the commemoration, preservation, and protection of cultural resources. Thus, it has very important links to the modern practice of American archeology, cultural resource management, and historic preservation.

Lee's history, originally published by the National Park Service in 1970, has for decades been available only as faintly reproduced copies. Recently, Raymond Harris Thompson and the Journal of the Southwest (Volume 42, Number 2, Summer 2000) produced a print version that updates Lee's text to incorporate information unavailable to Lee. Thompson also, provides a short biography of Lee and an essay on the activities and political process that led to the final enactment of the Antiquities Act, in particular the essential role played by Edgar Lee Hewett in that final, successful effort. Thompson's updating and additional articles are recommended to all.

The 2001 edition presented here is an electronic version of Lee's history. We hope by providing the history in this format, it will be even more widely available and used. We have made a few corrections to the 1970 text, based mainly by recommendations provided by Ray Thompson for which we are very grateful. Frederic W. Putnam's first name is now correctly spelled, not Frederick, as in the original. In Chapter I, the first visit to Pecos by Spanish explorers is given as 1540, not 1544 as in the original. In Chapter II, we have incorporated changes made by Thompson updating information about Bandelier meeting Charnay during a trip to Mexico in 1881. In Chapter VI, the spelling of Monuments megalithiques has been corrected; the reference to Squier and Davis as "Englishmen" removed; and the incorrect reference to Hewett's education in Hannibal, Missouri, has been removed. We have converted Lee's original footnotes to endnotes and in endnote 25 have included Thompson's reference to Lange and Riley (1996) along with Lee's original citation.

Presentation of this 2001 electronic edition of The Antiquities Act of 1906 by Ronald F. Lee has been made possible by various efforts undertaken and support provided over a period of several years by: Robert Grumet, Lloyd Chapman, Kathleen Browning, Terry Childs, Matt Burns, David Andrews, Brooke Blades, Ray Thompson, Liz Johnson, and Bruce Babbitt. My special thanks to each of them for their cooperation and effort.

CRM Online
Learn about the historic and present-day importance of the Antiquities Act through a series of articles in CRM Online (1996):
90 Years of Archeology and Historic Preservation McManamon, Francis P.
In Defense of Digging Archeological Preservation as a Means, Not an End Lipe, William D.
The Antiquities Act—Regulating Salvage of Historic Shipwrecks Zander, Caroline M.
The Antiquities Act—Setting Basic Preservation Policies McManamon, Francis P.

[Adobe™ Acrobat Reader is required to view the articles in PDF format. Download information.]

Contents | Foreword 2001 Electronic Version | Introduction 2001 Electronic Version | Foreword

Foreword to the 2001 Electronic Version
Francis P. McManamon

Introduction to the 2001 Electronic Version
Bruce Babbitt

Foreword

Chapter 1
Beginnings of Public Interest in American Indian Antiquities

Chapter 2
Saving Casa Grande, 1889

Chapter 3
Growth of Interest in American Indian Antiquities, 1889-1906

Chapter 4
Vandalism and Commercialization of Antiquities, 1890-1906

Chapter 5
The Temporary Protection of Ruins

Chapter 6
The Antiquities Act, 1900-1906

Chapter 7
Creating Mesa Verde National Park and Chartering the Archaeological Institute, 1906

Chapter 8
The Proclamation of National Monuments Under the Antiquities Act, 1906-1970

Appendix A
An Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities, Approved June 8, 1906

Appendix B
Uniform Rules and Regulations to carry out the provisions of the Antiquities Act