Page 43 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

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Rule 5 calls for carefully considering unnecessary impact, in calling for due respect of human remains and venerated sites. In claiming respect for other people’s feelings, it touches upon one of the fundamental dilemmas and areas of contention in archaeology and heritage management.
Significance of heritage, including un- derwater cultural heritage, can be assessed by objectifying approaches. However, it is also quite evident that
definitely not isolated from innovation in astronomy, engineering or the medical sciences.
It is unlikely that all these non-destructive techniques will ever completely replace coring and excavation in archaeological research under water or on land. Intrusive approaches will continue to be important, but they will be much more effectively deployed if they are informed by preliminary non-destructive work. Acquaintance with the possibilities of such techniques is therefore fundamental. In recommending the consideration of non-destructive techniques, Rule 4 has considerable meaning for the management of individual sites, for management questions re- lating to spatial planning and development, for fundamental archaeological research and for the planning of intrusive research interventions. As Rule 4 suggests, one should always consider whether non-destructive techniques are sufficient to achieve specific objectives that traditionally would have been dependent on intrusive approaches.
Human remains and venerated sites
 © INAH / SAS. Diver in
the Chanhol cave discovering
a human skeleton,Tulum area, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
A cenote is a natural karst cave first tunnelled into the limestone by groundwater and than exposed to the surface by the collapse of its ceiling. Mexico’s flooded cenotes hide numerous submerged archaeological sites, ranging from mysterious sacrificial places of the Mayas to pre-historic campsites. For instance, in the Cenote Calaveras (cave of skulls), located at the archaeological site of Tulum, State of Quintana Roo, 118 Mayan skulls and other bones scattered on the bottom were discovered at a depth of 15 m. Underwater cultural heritage
may contain human remains as part and parcel of the deposit. Although human remains may be of considerable scientific interest, research activities shall avoid
the unnecessary disturbance of human remains and always handle them with the due respect.
Rule 5.
Activities directed at un- derwater cultural heri- tage shall avoid the unnecessary disturbance of human remains or venerated sites.
General Principles