What was the initial impetus for the Antiquities Act of 1906?
The initial impetus for the Antiquities Act was to stop the destruction of archaeological sites in the American Southwest by new settlers scavenging for materials that they could use in their homesteads or for artifacts that they could sell. Ronald F. Lee, in his fascinating history of the Antiquities Act (available in electronic form here), sets the date for the beginning of the gestation of the Act in 1879. Lee notes that in this year four events occurred that affected subsequent activities that led to the Antiquities Act 27 years later. The events of 1879 included, the publication by Frederic Ward Putnam of a superbly illustrated report on the ancient pueblo archeological sites in Arizona and New Mexico. Putnam remained active in American archaeology from his position at Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology until his death in 1915. He served as a member of several committees and boards that later worked for federal legislation to protect American antiquities. Also i
