Archaeology a vital U.S. strategic interest


Manning

In a July 8 Fox News opinion piece, classics professor Sturt Manning writes:

"Today the United States stands on the top of the podium of world powers: however, does a Roman fate await? A visit to the dramatic Pueblo ruins in the American Southwest, former home to a complex civilization that abandoned its settlements in the 12th-13th centuries A.D., warns us that circumstances can change, and dramatically.  

"Archaeology offers an education in patterns, possibilities and challenges that the U.S. should value and exploit for its future."

Manning continues: "China invests heavily on research and preservation of its archaeology and history  sometimes even controversially, such as its massive spending on maritime archaeology as part of the assertion of Chinese control of the South China Sea.

"In contrast, the U.S. spends a tiny fraction of the money that China, or Europe, invests in archaeological research and preservation. Moreover, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation – the FIRST Act – that would devastate the already limited support the National Science Foundation (NSF) provides toward the U.S. archaeological effort."

Read on for more of Manning's argument for archaeology's role in American public life.