Future Threats and Challenges to Archaeology考古学未来的威胁与挑战

In any age， there are unique threats and challenges facing academic archaeology， the industry and conservation of archaeological heritage. The 21st century is no different.

在任何时代，考古学界、文物考古行业及考古文物保护都面临独特的威胁与挑战。21世纪也不例外。

Climate change

气候变化

The future holds for archaeology precisely what the past held—conservation， but there are now new threats. The end of the 20th century and the start of this one presented some new challenges to our study of people in the past. Climate change and pollution threaten lives and jobs and will alter topographies1 that will damage or erode some of the most archaeologically sensitive landscapes. Sea level rises mean greater defenses required for sea walls to protect standing historic structures and buried remains. Coastal erosion is already threatening archaeological remains.

考古学的未来就是把过去保留的东西完好无损地保留下来——这就是文物保护，但是现在考古学面临新的威胁。20世纪末和21世纪初给我们研究前人带来了一些新挑战。气候变化和污染威胁生命和就业，并将改变地貌，进而损害或侵蚀一些最为敏感的考古景观。海平面上升意味着要采取更多防护措施加固海堤，以保护地上的历史建筑和地下的遗迹。海岸侵蚀已经开始威胁考古遗迹。

Political instability

政治动荡

Political instability has always been a threat but modern warfare has put it at the forefront of our minds. Problems in the Middle East have seen catastrophic damage to cultural remains， but this problem is not new. There has always been a threat from what is called “iconoclasm”—the destruction of religious artefacts or sacred sites. Iconoclasm also applies to the relics and monuments of dead religions or those no longer practised in an area， such as the destruction of Buddhist statues in Afghanistan by Taliban fighters and the ancient Roman city of Palmyra by ISIS. Across the Middle East alone， over 20，000 sites are under threat.

政治动荡一直是个威胁，但现代战争需要我们重点考虑这一问题。中东问题对当地文化遗迹造成灾难性的破坏，但这并非新问题。一直以来都存在来自所谓“圣像破坏运动”（即毁坏宗教艺术品或圣地的行为）的威胁。“圣像破坏运动”还针对业已消亡的宗教或某地区不再有人信奉的宗教的文物和遗迹，比如阿富汗塔利班武装分子破坏佛像，以及伊斯兰国毁坏古罗马城市巴尔米拉。仅在整个中东地区，就有超过2万处遗址岌岌可危。

Tourism

旅游业

The third threat to our cultural heritage is the one thing keeping them financially viable—tourism. In recent decades， management of some of the world’s most important sites have started limiting the number of visitors. Land erosion on the mountain at which Machu Picchu2 is located limits visitors to the hundreds per day; similar for the Great Pyramids at Giza Plateau which allow no more than a few hundred into the tombs. Breath from the number of visitors passing through the pyramid is damaging the fabric of the monuments. The Lascaux Cave in France has closed for good， opened to researchers only while a near-flawless replica is open a short distance away to accept visitors for its upkeep3.

文化遗产面临的第三个威胁来自保持其经济活力的一大要素——旅游业。近几十年来，世界上一些最重要遗址的管理部门已经开始限制游客数量。马丘比丘遗址地处高山之巅，由于土地侵蚀，只得将游客数量限制在每天几百人;埃及吉萨高原的大金字塔群也是如此，允许进入陵墓的游客只限数百人。即便这个数量的游客在金字塔内穿行时呼出的气息也在破坏这些建筑的基本结构。法国的拉斯科洞窟已对游客永久关闭，仅对研究人员开放;而距其不远处建有一个极为逼真的仿造洞窟，用来接待游客赚取费用以维护原址。

Construction vs cultural past

发展建设与保护文化的对立

The advance of human progress is important. As the global population increases， so too will the amount of land for homes， jobs， transportation networks， agriculture and raw materials. There are international laws in place to prevent damage to archaeological remains， but that doesn’t mean they are fully protected. In the developed world， archaeology is often subject to threats from development and construction. In the developing world， poor resources， a lack of government finance and poor regulation mean this is rarely a priority. Archaeology as an academic pursuit is falling behind the needs of construction projects with money made available for investigation through （and funded by） developers. This splits the priorities and interests and arguably creates split loyalties in the pursuit of an archaeological investigation.

促进人类进步很重要。随着全球人口增长，用于住宅、就业、交通网络、农业和原材料的土地数量也会增加。一些现行的国际法可以防止对考古遗迹的破坏，但这并不意味着遗迹现在得到了充分保护。在发达国家，考古学经常面临来自发展与建设的威胁。在发展中国家，资源匮乏、政府缺乏资金和监管不力意味着考古学几乎不可能成为政府的重点关注对象。考古学作为一种学术追求，不能满足建设项目的需要，而研究所需资金又要通过开发商获得（并由其资助）。这就造成在进行考古调研时优先考虑事项跟经济利益之间出现分歧，可以说也导致了究竟忠诚于哪一方的问题。

Cultural sensitivity

文化敏感性

Archaeology used to proceed with investigations and research with little understanding or concern for anything beyond the academic for the public interest. Cultural treasures and icons were held as trinkets4 from times and cultures past. But increasingly， it is coming around to5 the issues caused by cultural sensitivity. Human bodies laid to rest6 in graves， either from existing cultures or past ones， are increasingly being challenged by those who feel their ancestors are being disturbed or disrespected. First Nation7 remains （Native Americans8 and Australian Aboriginals9） are the most prominent， but in the historic cities of Europe， such challenges are also made from local Jewish community leaders even where there is no longer a Jewish community. Archaeology has adapted to cultural sensitivity issues and working towards10 co-operation with interest groups instead of perceiving a conflict.

考古学过去在进行调查和研究时，除了为公共利益而做的学术研究外，几乎不了解或不关心其他任何事情。文化宝藏和标志曾被视为过去时代与文化遗留下来的无关紧要的东西。但是，越来越多的人开始意识到文化敏感性所带来的问题。调查研究安葬在坟墓中的人体，无论从现有的文化还是过去的文化看，正日益面临一些人的挑战，这些人认为自己的祖先受到了干扰或冒犯。原住民（美洲原住民和澳大利亚原住民）遗体最引人关注，但在欧洲的历史文化名城里，即使那里已经没有犹太社区，当地的犹太人领袖也会提出质疑。考古学界已经适应了文化敏感问题，并努力与利益群体合作，而不是探知冲突所在。