The Act Itself
The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA) is cumulative and supplemental to the Antiquities Act of 1906. The Antiquities Act was Congress's first attempt at protecting historic and prehistoric items on public lands. ARPA built upon this focus but expanded the scope of the act and gave clearer definitions.
Its text notes that the main focus is protecting archeological resources and sites that are located on public land and tribal land. It works in connection with other federal acts and Native American Graves Protection Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)(Discussed in a later section). The Act may also be implemented by The Department of the Interior or any other agency they assign the responsibility to ie. The National Parks Service.
Below is a link to the text of the statue on The Office of the Law Revision Counsel website and a link to a compiled legislative history which is available on HeinOnline
What the Act Covers?
The act applies to archaeological resources. This covers but is not limited to pottery, basketry, bottles, weapons, weapon projectiles, tools, structures or portions of structures, pit houses, rock paintings, rock carvings, intaglios, graves, human skeletal materials, or any portion or piece of any of the foregoing items. This Act is aimed at professional looters who are seeking to remove valuable artifacts from public land for profit.
What is Excluded?
Non-fossilized and fossilized paleontological specimens that are not found in an archaeological context. These resources are covered by the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act which is discussed in a later section of this guide. Any item that is not 100 years of age is also not protected by the act.
What Does the Act Apply to?
The Act applies to any public land or Indian land. Public land is any land which the Federal Government owns fee title to. Indian land is any land specifically reserved for the benefit of the indian tribes by the Federal Government.
Law Review Articles
MAN OVER MATTER--ARPA, PRPA, AND SOME KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM, 2012 No. 2 RMMLF-INST Paper No. 6, provides an analysis of the differences between this Act and the PRPA which this guide also covers.
Ryan M. Seidemann, The Reason Behind the Rules: The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 and Scientific Study, 13 B.U. J. Sci. & Tech. L. 193 (2007), provides discussion about the creation of the Act and its practical effects.
Robin Willscheidt, Poking A Sleeping Bear: Cultural Landscapes in the 1906 Antiquities Act, 97 S. Cal. L. Rev. 1119 (2024), provides a discussion of how the predecessor act defines cultural landscapes and the importance of this definition.
Roberto Iraola, The Archaeological Resources Protection Act-Twenty Five Years Later, 42 Duq. L. Rev. 221 (2004), provides a retrospective of the ARPA after 25 of use. It contains valuable case law.
Marina F. Rothberg, Indiana Jones and the Illicit Excavation and Trafficking of Antiquities: Refining Federal Statutes to Strengthen Cultural Heritage Protections, 63 B.C. L. Rev. 1555 (2022), provides an overview of PARA, ARPA, And NAGPRA.
DIGGING IN: AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE ACTS: THE LEGAL PERSPECTIVE, 56 RMMLF-INST 14A-1 (2010), this article provides an overview of the PRPA and the ARPA.