ABSTRACT
The increased professionalization of archaeology has resulted in the relatively recent development of ethical codes. The American Anthropological Association (AAA) developed one of the first in the United States. Since then, the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) and a number of other national bodies in First World countries have also developed codes of conduct to assist their members in the recognition and resolution of ethical dilemmas. Each body has produced a formal document that distills the beliefs of its members, articulates the underlying assumptions and guiding principles of the association, and provides a fundamental framework for conducting research in an ethical and responsible way. While each of these codes in some way expresses the common core of group wisdom that originally created them, each was also created within its own social "bubble," resulting in widely differing core values. These vary enormously from code to code: from promoting the greater understanding of archaeology (Archaeological Institute of America) and the stewardship of heritage (SAA and New Zealand Archaeological Association) to recognizing a paramount professional responsibility to those who are being studied (AAA), or acknowledging the importance of indigenous cultural heritage to the survival indigenous cultures (Canadian Archaeological Association, World Archaeological Congress [WAC], and Australian Archaeological Association). While all of these aspects are undoubtedly a part of professional archaeological responsibility across the discipline, there is one very clear difference: As a first principle, stewardship of the archaeological resource privileges a completely different ethical standpoint than a principle that privileges the survival of indigenous cultures. This is not to say that one set of core values is more acceptable or "correct" than any another, simply that each code has been developed from the needs of a particular group at a particular time and place to deal with local situations in different parts of the world.
