Disturbance (archaeology)

[1]: 320  The activity of earthworms, in particular, can contribute to the burial, and thus preservation, of artifacts dropped on the ground – but it also frequently blurs boundaries between natural and culturally disturbed soils, and can erase vertical stratification used for dating.

[2] At Nunalleq on the southwest coast of Alaska, a four-century-old Yup'ik site is under threat from the thawing of permafrost and rising storm surges of the Bering Sea.

The permafrost had preserved items normally subject to rapid decomposition, including wooden objects and grass-woven baskets and mats.

[5] Travel over the ground surface, whether by foot, animal, bicycle, or motorized vehicle, can cause artifacts to be broken, crushed, or moved.

Visitors may intentionally move artifacts, either to examine and share them with others, or in an attempt to protect them; this results in a loss of archaeological context which could provide insight into when, where, and how items were used.

[6] In some cases, later civilizations have chosen to modify, deface, or destroy relics of older peoples, particularly when these objects honor political or religious figures that the later society has denounced.

Collecting on private land requires written permission of the landowner, and may be subject to additional state and federal laws governing historic preservation.