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The Committee for the Recovery of Archaeological Remains: Three Decades of Service to the Archaeological Profession

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Fred Wendorf  and
Raymond H. Thompson
Fred Wendorf
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275
Raymond H. Thompson
Affiliation:
Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ 85721-0026
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Abstract

Today most archaeologists are unaware of the enormous debt we owe to a small group who instigated a massive federal archaeological program to recover the archaeological evidence that was to be destroyed by a public works program involving hundreds of dams on most of the major rivers in the United States and set to begin immediately after World War II. This small group of archaeologists, organized by Frederick Johnson in May 1945, known as the Committee for the Recovery of Archaeological Remains (CRAR), consisted of Johnson (secretary), John O. Brew, Alfred V Kidder, and William S. Webb (chair). The CRAR acted independently of the federal government, yet it was the driving force behind the organization of the River Basin Surveys. It stimulated adoption of high professional standards and was largely responsible for public and professional support for protecting archaeological resources that is the basis for our modern cultural preservation efforts.

Résumé

Résumé

Hoy en día la mayoría de los arqueólogos no se dan cuenta de la enorme deuda que tenemos en cuanto al desarrollo de la disciplina, hacia un pequeño grupo de arqueólogos que indujeron un gigantesco programa federal para recuperar la evidencia arqueológica que iba a ser destruida por un programa de infraestructura público que incluía centenares de represas en la mayoría de los ríos grandes de los Estados Unidos, mismo que se iba a emprender inmediatamente después de la segunda guerra mundial. Este pequeño grupo de arqueólogos, organizado por Frederick Johnson en mayo de 1945, conocido como el Committee for the Recovery of Archaeological Remains (CRAR, Comité para la Recuperatión de los Restos Arqueólogicos), incluía a Johnson (Secretario), John O. Brew, Alfred V. Kidder y William S. Webb (Presidente). El CRAR era independiente del gobierno federal, sin embargo fue el ímpetu mayor para la organizatión de los River Basin Surveys (Reconocimientos de las Cuencas de los Ríos). Además de esto, el CRAR estimuló la adoptión de altas normas profesionales y fue en mayor parte responsable por el apoyo público y profesional para la protectión de los recursos arqueológicos, que son la base de los esfuerzos por la preservatión del patrimonio cultural.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 67 , Issue 2 , April 2002 , pp. 317 - 330
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2002

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