Large Ancient Settlement Unearthed in Puerto Rico
The main topic of this blog is Egyptology, that is, the archaeology of Egypt. But I feel I need to bring up an issue of an archaeological nature that is happening in my homeland, Puerto Rico. It has to do with a major discovery of pre-Columbian artifacts during an excavation as part of a project to build a dam near the city of Ponce in the southern part of the island. This find is regarded as the most important of its kind in the Caribbean, and the managing of this archaeological site already reeks of colonialism and reminds me of how it used to be during the early days of Egyptology.
Puerto Rico is not a sovereign state. It has been a U.S. territory since 1898. Construction projects that may have a significant impact on the environment are approved and managed by United States authorities. In this case, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has contracted a U.S private archaeology company to survey the site. Amid the controversy, Puerto Rican archaeologists, organizations and concerned individuals are demanding local government authorities to take action. Puerto Rico has an Institute of Culture and a State Historic Preservation Office. So far, the response has been timid, as artifacts are being removed from the site without any record submitted to these or any other government agencies and taken to the United States.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/071029-puerto-rico.html
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