ABSTRACT
The social and economic value of archaeological resources is a concern for heritage management practices. Increasingly, archaeologists are working to use heritage as sources of social and economic capital. Yet this can have both positive and negative effects. This chapter describes the potential values associated with archaeological sites in Brazil and addresses the urgent need for management actions that promote site conservation. In Brazil, the situation is illustrated clearly by sites, such as the Santa Catarina shell middens and Campeche Island, or in historic and urban archaeology. The Santa Catarina and Campeche Island sites will be discussed in more detail as examples of the challenges to archaeological resource management in Brazil. Created in 1937, Instituto do Patrimonio Historico e Artistico Nacional (IPHAN), a part of the national government's Ministry of Culture, is the national institution responsible for the protection of cultural heritage including archaeological sites.
