Case Study: The African American Burial Ground

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Throughout history there have been several occasions in which archaeologists tested the ethical boundaries of their work. Some case studies that reflect this are the African American Burial Ground in New York City and the Myths of the Moundbuilders. The controversial issues which arose from these cases helped to improve archaeologist’s communication with the public. During the movie “The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery,” it was explained that remains were discovered as a consequence of the planned construction of a Federal office building in Lower Manhattan. This not only created an uproar between the stakeholders and the archaeologists, but it affected the surrounding community due to the insensitivity from the archaeologists.

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