Latest news with #archeology
Associated Press
7 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Peru reduces Nazca Lines park by 42%, raising concerns over environmental and heritage risks
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Peru's decision to shrink its archeological park home to the famous Nazca Lines by around 42% — an area roughly the size of 1,400 soccer fields — has sparked alarm among conservationists, archaeologists and environmental advocates. Critics say the rollback paves the way for informal mining and weakens decades of cultural and ecological protection, while the government says the adjustment reflects updated scientific studies and does not compromise the UNESCO World Heritage status or the site's core protections. 'The reduction not only removes protections — it does so precisely where extractive activity is expanding,' said Mariano Castro, Peru's former vice minister of the environment, adding that the decision could cause 'very serious risks and cumulative damage,' as it excludes zones with active or pending mining claims. Castro added that safeguards for archaeological heritage during the formalization of artisanal mining are already limited. 'This is made worse by the ministry of culture's failure to consider the cumulative impact of dozens or even hundreds of mining operations on sensitive archaeological zones,' he said. The area in question forms part of a UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Site, home to the Nazca Lines — massive geoglyphs etched into the desert thousands of years ago — and one of Peru's most fragile desert ecosystems. Peruvian environmental lawyer César Ipenza, who has closely followed the decision, said the resolution has already been approved and that it reduces the Nazca zone by more than 1,000 hectares. 'This is a weakening of both environmental and cultural protections,' Ipenza said. 'The state should be upholding its commitments under international agreements, not yielding to private interests.' Ipenza and others say the rollback reflects a pattern of regulatory concessions to mostly informal gold miners. 'There's an alliance between the current government and informal mining sectors,' he said. 'The legal framework continues to be relaxed to benefit them.' Peru's ministry of culture, which decided on May 30 to reduce the Nazca reserve from about 5,600 square kilometers to roughly 3,200 square kilometers, declined to answer specific questions from The Associated Press. Instead, it sent a press release saying the adjustment was based on updated archaeological studies and does not affect the UNESCO World Heritage designation or its buffer zone. The ministry said it remains committed to preserving the site's cultural heritage through regulated management. A day after the May 30 decision, Peru's Minister of Culture Fabricio Valencia acknowledged that illegal mining exists within the reserve. 'Unfortunately, informal mining is an activity present in this area, but the measure we have taken does not mean it will be encouraged, nor that the likelihood of any harm from informal mining will increase. That will not happen,' Valencia said on RPP, one of Peru's largest radio programs. When asked for more details about the presence of illegal activity in the reserve, Valencia said, 'there are some mining deposits, but I don't have exact information on what type of mineral is there.' UNESCO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Castro, the former vice minister, warned the move could violate Peru's own laws. 'It contravenes Article 5(h) of the Environmental Impact Assessment Law, which mandates the protection of archaeological and historical heritage,' he said. Ipenza said the government is enabling illegality under the guise of technical adjustments. 'It is shameful to forget our ancestors and our heritage, and to disguise decisions that pave the way for sectors seeking to impose illegality, such as illegal and informal mining,' he said. 'This decision benefits those groups and harms all Peruvians.' — The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Calgary archeology program sheds light on province's pre-contact history
With a history spanning well over 10,000 years, Alberta is a prime location for those looking to uncover ancient ways of living. A Calgary archeology program is shedding some more light on that history while giving aspiring archeologists hands-on experience in the field. Running from May 15 to June 4, the program is a partnership between the university and the City of Calgary. Last year's field school took place in Nose Hill Park, while this year brought students to Edworthy Park in southwest Calgary. It's a great opportunity to both train students and educate the public about the long-term history of Calgary and Alberta, said Lindsay Amundsen-Meyer, assistant professor with the University of Calgary anthropology and archeology department. "This site actually has been known since the '70s. It's just never been excavated," she said of the Edworthy Park dig. "A big part of why we're doing it in park spaces is so we get the random dog walkers coming by, and we can talk to them about the history that's here," said Amundsen-Meyer. The findings have yet to be radiocarbon dated for a precise age, but according to Amundsen-Meyer, it's an Indigenous pre-contact site. "Right now we don't know how old this site is, but we do know that within the city of Calgary, there are sites that stretch back from the contact. Fort Calgary, all the way back eight, even nine thousand years … if we look at the province as a whole, we're talking 13,000 years or more." Many people going for walks in Edworthy Park might not realize the archeological significance of sites like this, or other sites across the province, which makes outreach a central part of the program. "That's older than Stonehenge, older than the pyramids, right? So there is a time depth here that I think is really important to understand," said Amundsen-Meyer. Findings at the site include bifaces (used as knives), choppers (designed to disarticulate carcasses), scrapers (meant to remove meat from hides) and other stone tools. They're fascinating, but nothing out of the ordinary for a site like this, she said. "Most of what we're finding is what we call lithics. And lithics are basically both stone tools and the garbage from making stone tools," she said. By giving students hand-on experience, they're joining the work force with a significant head start. "There's actually a labour market shortage in archeology and cultural resource management right now," said Amundsen-Meyer. "So we're feeding a lot of students straight into industry and straight into jobs. If we can train them better here, they're better prepared." Working with Indigenous partners is a central aspect of the program, with every dig being preceded by a ceremony and guidance from elders representing multiple First Nations communities playing a key role in shaping participants' understanding of Indigenous culture. "All of those pieces are showing how those descendant communities still have connections to this land, to this place and to sites like this," said Amundsen-Meyer. "I've had elders tell me more than once: you have to have truth before reconciliation," she said. "Part of that is definitely about residential schools, but I think part of it is also about educating people about the long term history of this place." Joining the University of Calgary archeology students at the Edworthy Park site are three Indigenous youth hired to work alongside the team and train as archeologists. "In my opinion, we shouldn't be doing archeology without connecting to those descendant communities," said Amundsen-Meyer. One of those young archeologists, Taren Crowchief of the Siksika Nation, is now in his fourth year with the program. "It helped me see my history and the past, and just everything about Alberta a lot differently ever since I started doing this," he said. His work with the program has helped him look at his people and ancestors in a new light. "I'd always be going through fields back at home on the reserve, and I wouldn't really think much of it. But now when I do go through it, I can't help but just look at every little thing, every little detail," he said. "It's honestly so amazing just to see things so differently."
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Archeologists uncover Midstate history
(WHTM) — There's plenty of history in the Midstate and a group of local advocational archeologists are working to uncover more. The Lower Susquehanna Archeological Society group has spent the last two weeks in Lancaster County digging and sifting through the dirt at the Blue Rock Heritage Center. 'We are wrapping up our spring excavation season,' said Paul Nevin, the groups President. 'We've been trying to establish the footprint of a farmhouse that was built in the mid-1800s and was demolished in the 1950s.' Nevin told abc27 News they are trying to help tell the story of the land. 'People have been on this land for thousands of years along the Susquehanna,' he said. 'And so, we find everything from an eight-thousand-year-old projectile point to, you know, sunglasses.' Rick Fisher, the archeological groups Vice President sifted through pounds of dirt Sunday. 'See if we could find any artifacts in native American plumbing or pottery,' Fisher explained. 'I get excited about, but I actually like to find the whole piece. But unfortunately, you know, it breaks like anybody breaks or drops dishes. Then it breaks and then they toss it out, you know? So, we know it's very rare that you'll find a full piece.' The archeological group believes they did find the foundation of the old farmhouse. 'We ran into a little bit of a surprise because we're trying to find a farmhouse that was oriented parallel to the river and the foundation that we found is turned a little bit to the side,' Nevin said. 'So right now, we're at the point where we're wondering whether this actually was an earlier structure, that the house was built over top of.' Nevin said people get involved in archeology because they are interested in history. Download the abc27 News+ app on your Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Apple TV devices 'Theres always the element that you're going to find some sort of treasure of some sort,' he said. 'And for us, really, the treasure that we find are just things that people leave behind.' Phase two of this project will begin in the summer and last possibly through the winter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
a day ago
- General
- CBC
Calgary archeology program sheds light on province's pre-contact history
With a history spanning well over 10,000 years, Alberta is a prime location for those looking to uncover ancient ways of living. A Calgary archeology program is shedding some more light on that history while giving aspiring archeologists hands-on experience in the field. Running from May 15 to June 4, the program is a partnership between the university and the City of Calgary. Last year's field school took place in Nose Hill Park, while this year brought students to Edworthy Park in southwest Calgary. It's a great opportunity to both train students and educate the public about the long-term history of Calgary and Alberta, said Lindsay Amundsen-Meyer, assistant professor with the University of Calgary anthropology and archeology department. "This site actually has been known since the '70s. It's just never been excavated," she said of the Edworthy Park dig. "A big part of why we're doing it in park spaces is so we get the random dog walkers coming by, and we can talk to them about the history that's here," said Amundsen-Meyer. The findings have yet to be radiocarbon dated for a precise age, but according to Amundsen-Meyer, it's an Indigenous pre-contact site. "Right now we don't know how old this site is, but we do know that within the city of Calgary, there are sites that stretch back from the contact. Fort Calgary, all the way back eight, even nine thousand years … if we look at the province as a whole, we're talking 13,000 years or more." Many people going for walks in Edworthy Park might not realize the archeological significance of sites like this, or other sites across the province, which makes outreach a central part of the program. "That's older than Stonehenge, older than the pyramids, right? So there is a time depth here that I think is really important to understand," said Amundsen-Meyer. Findings at the site include bifaces (used as knives), choppers (designed to disarticulate carcasses), scrapers (meant to remove meat from hides) and other stone tools. They're fascinating, but nothing out of the ordinary for a site like this, she said. "Most of what we're finding is what we call lithics. And lithics are basically both stone tools and the garbage from making stone tools," she said. By giving students hand-on experience, they're joining the work force with a significant head start. "There's actually a labour market shortage in archeology and cultural resource management right now," said Amundsen-Meyer. "So we're feeding a lot of students straight into industry and straight into jobs. If we can train them better here, they're better prepared." Indigenous engagement is key focus Working with Indigenous partners is a central aspect of the program, with every dig being preceded by a ceremony and guidance from elders representing multiple First Nations communities playing a key role in shaping participants' understanding of Indigenous culture. "All of those pieces are showing how those descendant communities still have connections to this land, to this place and to sites like this," said Amundsen-Meyer. "I've had elders tell me more than once: you have to have truth before reconciliation," she said. "Part of that is definitely about residential schools, but I think part of it is also about educating people about the long term history of this place." Joining the University of Calgary archeology students at the Edworthy Park site are three Indigenous youth hired to work alongside the team and train as archeologists. "In my opinion, we shouldn't be doing archeology without connecting to those descendant communities," said Amundsen-Meyer. One of those young archeologists, Taren Crowchief of the Siksika Nation, is now in his fourth year with the program. "It helped me see my history and the past, and just everything about Alberta a lot differently ever since I started doing this," he said. His work with the program has helped him look at his people and ancestors in a new light. "I'd always be going through fields back at home on the reserve, and I wouldn't really think much of it. But now when I do go through it, I can't help but just look at every little thing, every little detail," he said. "It's honestly so amazing just to see things so differently."
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
UCalgary students turn Edworthy Park into archaeological dig site
University of Calgary students are learning out at one of the city's parks, and hope to give Calgarians a glimpse into a past right under their feet. University of Calgary students are learning out at one of the city's parks, and hope to give Calgarians a glimpse into a past right under their feet. A partnership between the city and students from the University of Calgary is digging up a piece of the city's past. For two weeks, the students have been digging, sifting and sweeping an area of Edworthy Park in the southwest. Bit by bit, layer by layer, they're looking to uncover pieces of history. 'Archeological resources are part of a cultural landscape, and they tell a story that most citizens and visitors are unaware of,' said Laureen Bryant, the city's cultural landscape planner. In what is now a dog park, the team is mapping out a stone circle of what is potentially a ceremonial or homestead site. So far, they've uncovered what's believed to be a bison bone and several pieces of old stone tools. 'I've grown up here, and just knowing that my roots come directly from the past and just... it's really intriguing and cool,' said Taren Crowchief, an archaeological research assistant. University of Calgary students are learning out at one of the city's parks, and hope to give Calgarians a glimpse into a past right under their feet. University of Calgary students are learning out at one of the city's parks, and hope to give Calgarians a glimpse into a past right under their feet. Crowchief is a member of Siksika Nation and says he was drawn to the work to gain a better understanding of where he comes from. 'I have a really big love for archeology, and just everything that this does is just intriguing. It has helped me see my history and the past and just everything about Alberta a lot differently,' he said. Edworthy Park was settled in the 1880s, and markets, quarries and farming covered the area. But its history goes far beyond that, with Indigenous peoples using the land for hunting and camping. 'That stone circle has been known since the 1970s, but there's never been any additional work here or additional subsurface testing,' explained Lindsay Amundsen-Meyer, a University of Calgary archaeology professor. 'We don't know how old this site is, but we do know that within the city of Calgary, there are sites that stretch back from the contact period, Fort Calgary, all the way back (8,000 or) 9,000 years,' she said. University of Calgary students are learning out at one of the city's parks, and hope to give Calgarians a glimpse into a past right under their feet. University of Calgary students are learning out at one of the city's parks, and hope to give Calgarians a glimpse into a past right under their feet. This is the second year of the partnership, and last year's dig was at Nose Hill Park. The work at Edworthy Park will continue into the first week of June, and Calgarians are encouraged to observe the dig and ask the students questions.
