Tanzania's endangered heritage: A call for a protection program

African Archaeological Review, VoL 13, No. 3, 1996

Tanzania's Endangered Heritage: A Call for a Protection Program

Audax Z. P. Mabulla 1

There is no doubt that heritage resource loss in Tanzania is proceeding at an alarming rate. Natural and human agencies, adverse storage infrastructures and techniques, and lack of trained conservators and curators and of a proper protection program are the major threats that endanger the heritage resources of Tanzania. As our natural and cultural environments bring irreparable damage to the resources that document our human history, we need to preserve and protect them before they vanish. A preservation and protection program for Tanzania should include public education, the establishment of heritage preservation laws, more progress in the inventory and protection of in situ heritage resources, research into preservation and conservation methods, training of staff, and improvements in the curation of collected heritage resources and records. Preservation and protection of heritage resources are collaborative exercises. The scientific and world community need to support and engage in this proposed program both technically and financially, if the preservation and protection of heritage resources in Tanzania are to succeed.

II ne fait pas de doute que la perte des ressources du patrimoine historique se poursuit dt un rythme alarmant en Tanzanie. Les agents naturels et humains, des techniques et des locaux de conservation inadaptds, el manque de conservateurs bien formds et d'un programme de sauvegarde addquat sont les principales menaces qui p~sent sur les biens historiques et culturels en Tanzanie. Comme notre environnement naturel et culturel provoque des dommages irrdparables aux sources historiques, nous devons les prdserver et les protdger avant qu'elles ne disparaissent. Un programme de prdservation et de protection pour la Tanzanie devrait inclure l'dducation du public, l'adoption de lois relatives ~ la sauvegarde du patrimoine, de nouveaux progr~s dans

1Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, 1350 Turlington Hall, Gainesville, Florida 32611.

197

0263-0338/96/0900--0197509.50/0 O 1996 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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l'inventaire et la protection in situ des vestiges, des recherches sur les m~thodes de preservation et de conservation, la formation des responsables et l'amdlioration des conditions de conservation et de rdcolte des objets et de la documentation. La preservation et la protection des vestiges du patrimoine impliquent une large collaboration. Pour arriver ~ la prdservation et ?t la protection des ressources du patrimoine tanzanien, el faut que la communautd scientifutue et mondiale s'implique et soutienne ce projet ~ la fois techniquement et financi~rement.

KEY WORDS: heritage resources; Piio-Pleistocene; Swahili settlements; Olduvai Gorge; Laetoli; Tanzania.

INTRODUCTION

This paper addresses the needs for protection, conservation, and preservation of Tanzania's heritage. The increased deterioration of the heritage resources of Tanzania makes the need for protection and long-term conservation/preservation programs urgent. This endeavor is of particular importance because this heritage represents an irreplaceable contribution to what Kristiansen has termed the "collective memory of humankind" (1989, p. 27). Once it is destroyed, our ability to learn about the past is irreversibly diminished. Much of the scientific information held by any heritage resource or site is often lost when it is destroyed or damaged. These priceless patrimonies are in desperate need of documentation, management, protection, and preservation for the present and future generations.

In this paper, I outline some of the major factors contributing to the loss of Tanzania's prehistoric heritage. My major objectives are (1) to document the current state of destruction and deterioration of prehistoric pat- rimony, some of which contribute to global, regional, and/or national history, and (2) to suggest a protection and conservation program to counter the trends of heritage destruction and/or deterioration in order to preserve the resources' integrity and survival. I argue that if archaeology and its related disciplines are to survive in Tanzania for the future, we need to put mo.re emphasis on heritage resource conservation, management, curation and protection principles. And if archaeology and its related disciplines are to realize their potential contribution to science, the hu- manities, and Tanzanian society, professionals and nonprofessionals must actively take steps to slow down the current rate of heritage resource loss.

Tanzania is one of the few c guntries in the world that is well endowed in archaeological and palaeontol--ogical resources. Tanzania provides the most comprehensive and complete documentation of hominid biological evolutionary patterns over the past 4 million years and cultural evolutionary patterns over the past 2 million years. Decades of archaeological, geologi-

Tanzania's Endangered Heritage 199

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Fig. 1. Selected key heritage resource sil~es of Tanzania.

cat, and palaeoanthropological investigations in Tanzania by Drs. Louis and Mary Leakey and others have revealed an immense amount of valuable data that continue to contribute to our understanding of human biological and cultural histories. These important heritage resources range from Plio- Pleistocene fossil hominid and archaeological remains to early Swahili settlements (Fig. 1). Nevertheless, these heritage resources are today threatened in many ways. This unfortunate situation has been precipitated by the growing rate at which both in situ and curated heritage resources are being destroyed, lost, stolen, or left to deteriorate. This disturbing situation has been caused by many factors including the following.

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(1) Human agencies such as highly mechanized agricultural and major construction works, vandalism and looting, human usage of heritage resource sites, and theft from museums (Figs. 2 and 3).

(2) Natural agencies such as chemical, mechanical, and biological weathering and erosion. It is important to note that these natural agencies are not necessarily mutually exclusive and elements of one or more might be found to threaten the heritage resources at a single site.

(3) Lack of a clear-sighted management, conservation, and protection program. The Depar tment of Antiquities is the only body responsible for coordinating research, management, conservation, and protection of heritage resources. Unfortunately, it lacks a clear-sighted national policy for these tasks. This in turn has allowed vandalized sites such as the DK and MNK Chert sites at the Olduvai Gorge to deteriorate further (see Figs. 2 and 3). As recently as July 1994, when I last visited Olduvai Gorge, no efforts had been made by the relevant body either to repair the vandalized sheds or to assess scientifically the extent of damage in order to lessen their effects. In 1989 and 1990 damage to these sites was not as serious as it was during my last visits (personal observations, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994).

(4) Lack of trained heritage conservators and curators. (5) Adverse storage conditions for curated heritage objects. (6) Lack of funds for conservation and protection programs.

It is thus of great importance to understand these factors threatening our heritage if we are to formulate an effective and positive management, conservation, and protection program. Nevertheless, space does not allow me to examine in detail these factors. It is noteworthy to say that when heritage resource loss occurs due to any of the above mentioned factors, the world and Tanzanians are robbed of their biological, cultural, and historical heritage and their sense of artistic identity and pride. It is therefore important to protect herit~ige resources for present and future human generations before they vanish.

PROPOSED PROTECTION PROGRAM TO ARREST THE HERITAGE RESOURCE LOSS IN TANZANIA

Having outlined the factors that contribute to heritage resource loss in Tanzania, I proceed to my second objective, namely, to suggest and dis- cuss conservation, management, and curation measures to alleviate the cur-


Fig. 2. Olduvai Gorge's DK site. In 1989 local people vandalized the DK site and looted the corrugated iron sheets from the shed that had been constructed by M. Leakey to protect the world's oldest known human windbreak or stony fence structure.

rent state of heritage resource loss in Tanzania. The list of positive conservation and protection measures is unquestionably long and exhaustive. I deal only with those I consider to be the most important ones for Tan- zania.

I recommend that Tanzania should formulate a national program for conservation, management, research, and protection of h~ritage material with the goal of promoting the cause of archaeology and. its sister disciplines. In order to succeed, this program must have the following major goals: (1) systematic and detailed recording and protection of in situ or uncollected heritage resources; (2) passing and strictly enforcing heritage preservation laws; (3) researching conservation, management, and protection methods; (4) educating the public about the scientific, economic, social, cultural, and educational reasons for heritage resource protection; (5) training staff in all areas of heritage conservation, management, and protection; (6) revisiting recorded sites; (7) improving storage infrastructures and facilities; (8) controlling and managing visitors; (9) integrating cultural heritage conservation with nature and wildlife conservation; (10) establishing priorities for conservation and protection of in situ heritage resources and; (11) raising funds for the program.

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Fig. 3. Olduvai Gorge's MNK Chert Factory site. A similar incidence of damage took place here in 1990. Again, vfindals stole the corrugated iron sheets from the shed.

Systematic and Detailed Recording and Protection of in Situ or Uncollected Heritage Resources

Knowing what heritage resources exist and where they are is often the first step towards management and protection (A. A. Mturi, personal com- munication; Mabulla, 1992; Mclntosh, 1993). One way to achieve this goal is by giving first priority in granting research and excavation permits to (1) research that involves a systematic survey, detailed recording, and inventory of all heritage resource types encountered in the research area; (2) research that deals witti the most threatened and endangered heritage resources such as rock art; (3) research that includes suitable provisions for the conservation and protection of the collected and in situ heritage; and (4) research that considers in-field artifact treatment and conservation to be as much an integral part of research design as excavation or survey. In issuing research clearance and excavation permits, the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology and the Department of Antiquities, respectively, would have to think seriously about the long-term maintenance costs of the heritage collected by the researchers.


For uncollectible resources (such as rock art), emphasis should be given not only to the recording and documenting of new heritage resources, but also to recording their preservation conditions, to analyze in detail sources of potential threats to their integrity and to make general assess- ments and recommendations concerning short- and long-term protective measures that need to be undertaken in the future. Where possible, this approach could be supplemented by practical site-oriented conservation and management of damaged sites--such as removing or reducing smoke soot or graffiti on rock paintings, repairing damaged sites such as the MNK and DK sites at Olduvai Gorge, or fencing sites to keep out animals.

In-field systematic and detailed records and inventories of heritage resources require proper management; at present, Tanzania lacks such a centralized and managed archaeological database. One reason for this is the lack of standardized and computerized survey and excavation forms. For comparative inventory and management purposes, and for easy access to collected databases by researchers, Tanzania must formulate such forms. A centralized and computerized database would be easily accessible to researchers and would prove useful in the protection and management of heritage resources.

Passing and Strictly Enforcing Heritage Preservation Laws

The lack of an established law requiring land-developing agencies to pay for conducting a heritage impact assessment and for salvage and protection measures has meant that a large amount of heritage resources in Tanzania has been either damaged or completely obliterated from the record. The government should therefore pass and enforce a law that would require land developers to consider at the earliest planning stage the effects of their projects on heritage resources. This law should require land developers, both government and privately funded, to cover the cost of con- duct ing he r i t age impact assessment consu! tancy by profess ional archaeologist(s) and for the professional mitigation, conservation, curation, and protection of any remains that are eventually discovered. This would encourage the development of contract archaeology in Tanzania. Given the problems facing Tanzania in raising research funds and the continued gaps in our knowledge of the past and of the basic archaeology of Tanzania (e.g., problems of the loss of heritage resources), contract archaeology represents one way that archaeology could fund itself.

Furthermore, the government must fully involve professionals in for- mulating national policies regarding Tanzania's heritage resources, and the government should respect and accept their professional ability to make

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recommendations and decisions. At present, all planning decisions concerning development activities must be immediately reviewed to determine their effect on heritage resources and appropriate measures must be taken to alleviate that effect.

Researching Conservation Management and Protection Methods

An increasing complexity and specialization of techniques is required for the conservation, management, and protection of particular heritage resources and sites. Therefore, Tanzania should embark on original research into the development of such methods and techniques with the objectives of understanding the causes of heritage deterioration and devising remedial treatments that would prevent or minimize the deterioration of that heritage. Research into particular conservation and protection methods and techniques should be directed toward particular sites (e.g., Laetoli hominid footprints) and/or particular heritage resources (e.g., rock art) and they should be long-term in character. Each heritage resource or site may need special methods or techniques of conservation depending on its nature, structure, and topography, as well as environmental and human factors. This, therefore, requires the establishment of a research center with facilities and qualified staff to analyze threats to heritage resources and research methods of conservation and protection, as well as to apply and monitor conservation and protection measures. It is important to note that in any process of protection and conservation, there are risks; before any modification is undertaken, the heritage resources must be fully recorded in their present state.

Although the recent efforts by the Tanzania Department of Antiquities and the California-based Getty Conservation Institute to conserve the Lae- toli footprints are welcome, there has been no serious long-term evaluation of the conservation measures that need to be applied. The Laetoli footprint conservation program has not fully documented, recorded, and analyzed them in their present condition, i.e., collected and processed biological, geological, cultural, environmental, and technical data, before applying conservation measures. At Laetoli, the issue is not only to remove the intrusive plants and animals that may cause damage (the major focus of the present conservation efforts), but more importantly, to establish a sustainable landscape that would favor their long-term preservation. This requires a long- term study of the geological, chemical, and archaeological environments that preserved the hominid footprints (P. Manega, personal comnunication, 1994). However, short-term preservation measures should be undertaken while awaiting the results of the long-term study. For example, a shed could


be constructed to cover the footprints. This would prevent animal trampling and plant colonization, as well as erosion and the effects of rain water on the carbonate rock that preserves them.

Educating the Public About the Scientific, Economic, Social, Cultural, and Educational Reasons for Heritage Resource Protection

The majority of Tanzanians are relatively uninformed about archaeology for several reasons. First, until very recently, archaeology had never been included in the education curriculum. Second, although archaeologists have for decades studied the prehistory of Tanzania, most of them have shown less interest in relating their research to Tanzanians. One way to resolve the issue of human vandalism and looting is therefore to increase the public's awareness of the need to preserve and protect heritage resources. This concern for and understanding of our heritage must be in- corporated into our national education curriculum at all levels through formal courses, exhibitions, and extracurricular activities, such as using the local media to publicize the importance of heritage resources, distributing posters, posting signs at important sites, etc. The goals, methods, and techniques of archaeology should be introduced into the training of other professionals such as engineers, architects, land planners, highly mechanized farmers, government decision makers, and others whose work may have a direct or indirect effect upon heritage resources.

However, making the public aware of the need to preserve and protect our heritage resources is not sufficient to win support for their conservation and protection. As Lipe (1977) correctly observed, archaeologists need to persuade the public about the scientific and societal values of protecting and conserving heritage resources. Archaeologists must promote and dem- onstrate beyond doubt the nature and role of the heritage resources in the understanding of human and cultural evolution, in establishing national and group identity and pride in past accomplishments, in the potential of ar- chaeologically derived data for documenting long-term human impact on the environment, and in the understanding of past climates and, therefore, the future. The documentation of long-term human impact on the environment and the reconstruction of past climates, for example, are of practical value in the present-day long-term planning of land-use policies in Tanzania.

Also, the public needs to be informed about the enormous untapped potential contribution of heritage resources to both the national and the local economy. Archaeological sites such as the Olduvai Gorge, the Amboni cave, the Mumba rock painting site, and many others in central Tanzania

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boost tourism. Visitors from across the globe express an interest in seeing the heritage resources of Tanzania. The income generated by heritage tourism, however modest, can also be used to revitalize the local rural com- munities and encourage further economic investment (e.g., at Mang'ola in the Eyasi basin the village runs a camping site where tourists pay $4.00 per head per night). Properly planned, cultural tourism can be essential in achieving the development of rural areas without depleting natural and cultural resources or degrading the environment. Similarly, unique locations such as the Olduvai Gorge, Laetoli, Lake Natron, Eyasi, and rock art sites in central Tanzania can potentially bring in multimillion dollar research projects and, hence, boost the nation's economy.

The best protectors of heritage resources are often the people who live near these resources. Archaeologists doing research in these areas must spend much effort explaining and/or exhibiting their works and findings to the local people, efforts that would help dispel some of the misconceptions they have about archaeologists. In order to contribute to the awareness of themselves and their human past, archaeologists should fully involve local people in archaeological research, as members of survey and excavation teams, and as consultants. This is particularly important since archaeological surveys or research programs are in most cases constrained by time and money. Due to these constraints, the documentation strategies of much archaeological research is based on limited information (Lim, 1992, 1993). Local people's knowledge of their landscape and environment is constrained by neither time nor money. Their involvement in archaeological research can therefore significantly expand the information base on which management, conservation, and protection strategies can be developed. For example, in traversing the Eyasi landscape the Hadzabe hunter-gatherers constantly inventory the heritage resources, such as shelters with rock art, for future usage. They therefore significantly contributed to the documentation of rock art sites in the area of my research in 1992/1993 and could also significantly contribute to the protection of rock art sites in general.

Furthermore, as part of educating the public, we must write separate nontechnical research reports that are clearly understandable. The scientific reports we usually write are satisfactory conclusions to a long period of research, but from the point view of the public in Tanzania they are ir- relevant. Archaeology will not become a popular field of interest until we (the archaeologists) seek to ma~e it so. In order to do this, we need to adapt the techniques of the cal~italist marketplace to our ends. We must take steps to present our views about the past and its resources, whether through more education programs, lobbying politicians, or direct access to the mass media.


Training Staff in All Areas of Heritage Conservation, Management and Protection

An increasing complexity and specialization of knowledge is required for conservation, management, and protection of heritage resources. As Jennings (1974) observed, the conservators, curators, and managers of heritage resources need to be fully professional archaeologists who have ob- tained additional skills. However, in Tanzania, all the professional archaeologists employed by the Antiquities Department and the National Museum as conservators and curators have no specialized skills in conservation, management and/or curatorial techniques. In fact, the museum has only one person with a diploma in conservation but he is not a professional archaeologist. Most, if not all, of the conservators stationed at Olduvai Gorge, Amboni Cave, Kaole, Kilwa, etc., have a formal training neither in archaeology and its related subjects nor in heritage management and conservation. Due to a lack of formal training in conservation and protection, curators and conservators at the National Museum and Antiquities Depart- ment do not make periodic inspections of the material in order to assess the condition of the artifacts and provide suitable conservation care. In fact, in my 2.5 years' experience of working at the Antiquities Unit as a Conservation Assistant Grade I (without formal training in archaeology), I witnessed no inspections of the collection for conservation care purposes.

The archaeology teaching curriculum at the University of Dar es Sa- laam (UDSM) should, therefore, be expanded to include theoretical and practical training in the objectives and techniques of rescue archaeology, heritage resource management, conservation, museology, computer skills, etc., at the degree level as well as at the diploma and/or certificate level. At present, plans are under way to establish a graduate teaching program of archaeology. In fact, the archaeology progra m at UDSM has the potential to expand into a center for eastern and central African training of professional archaeologists, heritage resource managers, conservators, palaeoanthropologists, and museologists. Tanzania has one of the longest unbroken palaeontological and archaeological records in the world; stu- dents could come from all over eastern and central Africa to receive theoretical and practical training in all aspects of this important heritage record. Moreover, in terms of field and research equipment, the infrastructure at UDSM is more established than any other archaeology teaching institution in eastern and central Africa. By expanding the teaching program at UDSM, the lack of professionals in all spheres of our discipline could be alleviated. Professionals trained locally would provide the much needed conservation, management, curation, and protection of our nation's heritage. Also, institutional linkages and exchange programs with other coun-

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tries would facilitate the training of Tanzanian professionals. This would expose locally trained personnel to new and recently developed techniques in the management of heritage resources.

Revisiting Recorded Heritage Resources

The conservators of antiquities must either periodically revisit all of the recorded in situ heritage resources or employ local people to do the same. Of the two, I prefer the second option. If local people were employed and given inexpensive means of transportation such as bicycles, they could patrol and monitor all of the recorded sites easily in their respective areas. In the Eyasi basin (2500-km 2 area), for example, two individuals with bicycles can patrol and monitor all the recorded and observed rock art sites once every 2 months. The advantage of this is that they would create an agency of presence in the minds of vandals. Therefore I recommend and urge the Antiquities Unit to employ local people (e.g., the Hadzabe in the Eyasi basin) to monitor heritage sites endangered by vandals.

Improving Storage Infrastructures and Facilities

There are serious problems at the Department of Antiquities and the National Museum relating to storage, curation, and conservation of collected heritage resources. This is because the storage facilities at both institutions are inadequate and structurally poor, yet they are repositories of important nonreplaceable heritage resources. Storage space is crowded and artifacts are stacked in boxes placed on top of each other. Because of the weight of these boxes, the heritage material can become damaged. At both institutions, there are no proper records (e.g., logbooks) of the collected material deposited in them. Therefore, there is no immediate way of recognizing what is lost, stolen, or destroyed. The documentary records that make sense of these materials are also disintegrating. Fur- thermore, storage infrastructures at both institutions are adverse and structurally poor. With the exception of a small air-conditioned room in which some important fossil hominids are curated, there are no environmental controls (e.g., air-conditioning, l~umidity controls etc.), fire detec- tion or protection systems, and/or intrusion alarm systems at either institution. The lack of such essential curatorial systems allows irreplaceable objects to deteriorate, be stolen, and/or suffer irreparable damage. This is very unfortunate, as when sites have been excavated and destroyed, the museum collections constitute all that is left of the archaeological record both at the present and in the future.


Correcting the current problems of improper storage facilities and lack of space in the Department of Antiquities and the National Museum would be given the utmost consideration in the proposed conservation and protection program. These two institutions are housed in one building and therefore they hold heritage resources that could be used for public education through exhibitions, academic training, scholarly research, and pub- lication. Adequate storage space, a computerized inventory system, security systems, environmental controls, and ftre protection are needed, to ensure that curated heritage objects are not vulnerable to destruction, theft, and/or deterioration. Only by resolving the problems of storage will it be possible to hold the artifacts that are currently stored abroad. When returned, this material would increase the role of the National Museum in public education and would bring in multimillion-dollar research projects. As funding for archaeological projects is gradually decreasing, archaeologists will more make use of the existing data sets than initiating new fieldwork. Neverthe- less, research on museum collections can be meaningful only if the collections and the records about their archaeological context are linked, both can be found, and both are in usable condition (McManamon, 1992).

Controlling and Managing Visitors

Tour operators in Arusha have began to realize the economic potential that cultural tourism can offer. Apart from the Olduvai Gorge, another area that attracts tourists is the Eyasi Basin. One or two tour groups per week visit the area during the peak season. Among other attractions (e.g., the way of life of the Hadzabe hunter-gatherer, the culture of the Mang'ati pastoralists, etc.), the Mumba rock shelter (with evidence of prehistoric rock art) continues to be the major tourist attraction of the Eyasi Basin. Nevertheless, there is no antiquities official stationed in the Eyasi Basin to guide tourists here and at other recently discovered rock art sites. In order to minimize the negative impact of visits to sites where there are no such officials, the Antiquities Office should either employ local people as guides or provide heritage management features, such as signs prohibiting visitors from damaging the sites. Cultural tourism pays, but only when the heritage resources are not endangered.

Integrating Cultural Heritage Conservation with Nature and Wildlife Conservation

In my opinion, nature and wildlife conservation must play an important part in the conservation and protection of Tanzania's heritage resources.

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This is because many of the endangered in situ heritage resources discussed in this paper are located in the National Parks and conservation areas. At present, multinational and national organizations allocate a great deal of money for the management and conservation of nature and wildlife resources either to the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism or directly to the National Parks and Conservation Authorities. Unfortu- nately, the cultural heritage resources that are located in the conserved areas are not considered. One way to achieve an integration of wildlife and cultural heritage resources is to remove the Department of Antiquities, the National Museum, and the National Natural History Museum from the present Ministry of Education and Culture and put them under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, where I feel they rightfully belong. In this way, the cultural heritage resources could be part and parcel of the conservation of nature and wildlife, and of the tourist industry in Tanzania. This endeavor would encourage national parks, the Ngorongoro Conserva- tion Authority, and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) in Tanzania to employ archaeologists. This would minimize the current problem of unem- ployment facing young Tanzanian professional archaeologists. However, this would be possible only if the archaeology degree requirements at the University of D a r e s Salaam were expanded to include some training in wildlife management, as well as environmental conservation and law. This approach not only would provide more employment opportunities for our graduates, but more importantly, would produce qualified individuals to protect our heritage at their place of work.

Establishing Priorities for Conservation of in Situ Heritage Resources

Most importantly, the program should establish priorities of heritage sites that need to be long-term managed, conserved, and/or protected. This is particularly important since management, conservation, and protection programs characteristically exceed their funding capacities in any country (see below), and. for a country like Tanzania, where sites are scattered across the landscape, conserving all those that are threatened is impossible. The criteria for deciding which sites or uncollected heritage resources deserve to be conserved or protected are many and varied. However, consideration should be given to (1) the educational, cultural, scientific, and economic potential of a site; (2) its present state, i.e., the archaeological potential; (3) its rarity or uniqueness--rare ~ites such as the Laetoli footprints and the DK site at Olduvai Gorge should be given first priority; and (4) its vulner- ability--a vulnerable heritage resource such as rock art needs to be conserved. Threatened heritage resources that cannot be conserved or protected


should be fully documented and recorded, e.g., mapped and drawn, photo- graphed, videotaped, and even traced.

Curators and conservators at the Depa, htlent of Antiquities and Na- tional Museum could start using available resources and. knowledge to make periodic inspections of the material in order to establish the condition of the artifacts so that they can provide conservation care (e.g., replacing damaged or lost labels and bags, gluing broken sherds, etc.) before it is too late.

Raising Funds for the Program

Since the 1960s there has been an increase in archaeological and pa- laentological research in Tanzania. This has resulted in an increase in the number of heritage sites and quantity of collected heritage material. Funds for conservation, curation, management, and protection programs, however, have not kept pace with the growing number of sites and collections. To my knowledge, the government's contribution to the Department of Antiquities and the National Museum for conservation, curation, and protection has been minimal. Foreign sources also have been either meager or not forthcoming. In fact, Tanzania has for a long time welcomed research projects without taking into consideration the issue of funding for continuous care of the collected heritage. This is detrimental to our efforts at preserving our heritage.

Therefore, the program should raise funds for its implementation. No matter how sound it may be, the proposed program would be impossible to implement without financial resources. Such an influx of funds could remedy many of the discussed problems and could ensure short- and long- term success of the program. Since heritage management, conservation, and protection is a collaborative exercise, funds for this program could be re- alized in two major ways: internal and external sources.

Internal sources

�9 Convince builders and developers of the urgency and importance of rescue archaeology and that surveying, excavation, conservation, curation, and protection should be budgeted as part of the overall costs.

�9 Encourage local private and institutional donations and endow- ments.

�9 Establish a closer tie with the tourist industry in Tanzania (e.g., the Ministry of Tourism, the National Parks, hotel establishments, tour operators, etc.) to promote cultural tourism. Money from entrance fees at some of the prominent archaeological sites such as

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the Olduvai Gorge could be used. The Ngorongoro Conservation Authority has, for example, shown interest in repairing the DK and MNK chert sites at Olduvai Gorge if they are officially asked by the Antiquities Office. Archaeological researchers' overheads should include conservation and protection costs. Revenue from the selling of casts of fossils, artifacts and other cultural materials and from Museum entrance fees. Convince the Tanzanian government to contribute more funds to the protection program. As archaeologists we need to make the government have a greater appreciation of archaeology.

External Sources

�9 Encourage foreign private and institutional donations and endow- ments, including donations of equipment, chemicals, books, jour- nals, and human expertise.

�9 Convince overseas builders and developers of the urgency and importance of heritage resource assessment.

�9 Create a video documentary about Tanzanian endangered sites (e.g., the Laetoli footprints, Olduvai's DK and MNK chert, Isimila, etc.) and request funds. Furthermore, the documentary would make these heritage resources accessible to interested parties not able to travel to Tanzania (e.g., the elderly, handicapped and eco- nomically disadvantaged). Organizations such as the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Geographic Society, UNESCO, the International Institute for Conservation (IIC), the Getty Conservation Institute, and others could help produce the documentary.

�9 Encourage research programs to include in their design matters of heritage resource management, conservation, and protection at the level of field operation.

�9 Establish closer ties with the foreign tourist industry in order to publicize the cultural heritage aspects of tourism.

CONCLUSIONS

The loss of heritage resources by either natural or human agencies, such as a lack of professionals or lack of a protection program and funds, is a pervasive enemy of the efforts to preserve our past. As our natural and cultural environments inflict irreparable damage on the heritage re-

Tanzanla's Endangered Heritage 213

sources that document our biological, cultural, and historical pasts, we need to conserve and protect these resources rather than stand by and watch them vanish. It is important to note that these heritage resources are non- renewable; once they are destroyed, our ability to learn.about the past from them is irreversibly diminished. Much of the scientific information held by any heritage resource or site is often lost when they are destroyed and/or damaged. In Tanzania, these priceless patrimonies are in desperate need of documentation, management, protection, and preservation for the present and future generations.

In this paper, I examined and exposed the threats to the heritage resources of Tanzania and then called for a protection program. If this program is put into effect, I believe that the resulting professionals, documentation, conservation and protection methods and techniques, proper heritage management plans, and public education will alleviate the current threats facing our heritage resources. The income generated through tourism, increased research, and interest of the world community (e.g., donations, etc.) would provide a continuing source of funding for their maintenance. Although the proposed program does not exhaust all the needs and requirements of protecting Tanzania's heritage resources, I believe it would advance the goals of curbing the current trends of heritage resource loss in Tanzania and other parts of Africa. To this end, it is in- escapable to conclude that the future of Tanzanian archaeology is action for heritage resource conservation and protection, or it will be nothing.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Investigation into the factors contributing to the demise of heritage resources in Tanzania was carried out during my. doctoral "research in the Eyasi basin. Major funding for this research was provided b.y the National Science Foundation (NSF). Additional funding was provided by the Ford Foundation and NORAD's support of the Archaeology Unit, University of D a r e s Salaam. I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of these organizations. My doctoral studies would not have been possible without financial support from the Ford Foundation and the University of Florida, both of which deserve many thanks. Furthermore, I would like to thank NUFU's support of the Archaeology Unit, University of Dar es Salaam, for provid- ing me with travel funds in Tanzania in order to collect more data for this paper.

This paper drew upon aspects of my personal history and research, and benefited from my advisors and colleagues. My sincere thanks go to my advisor Steven A. Brandt for his academic guidance and for keeping

214 MabuHa

faith in me. Also, I would like to thank Randi Haaland for encouraging me to write this paper. My greatest thanks go to my colleagues, in particular, F. T. Masao, A. A. Mturi, N. J. Karoma, P. Manega, B. B. Mapunda, and F. Chami, for their useful comments and suggestions and my research team (R. Mrema, R. Maro, O. S. Kileo, A. Kweka, S. A. Kilindo, and others) for their cooperation. I also wish to thank Professor de Maret for writ- ing the r6sum6. Nevertheless, the suggestions and conclusions reached in this paper reflect only the ideas of the author.

REFERENCES

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Kxistiansen, IC (1989). Perspective on the archaeological heritage: History and future. In Cleere, H. (ed.),Archaeological Heritage Management in the Modern World, Unwin Hyman, London, pp. 23-36.

Lim, I. L. (1992). A Site-Oriented Approach to Rock Art: A Study from Usandawe, Central Tanzania, Ph.D. dissertation, Brown University, Providence, RI.

Lim, I. L. (1993). Rock art as a cultural heritage: Strategies for administration. Paper presented at the Mary D. Leakey International Congress, Arusha, Tanzania.

Lipe, D. W. (1977). A conservation model for American archaeology. In Schiffer, M. B., and Gumerman, J. G. (eds.), Co'nservation Archaeology: A Guide for Cultural Resource Management Studies, Academic Press, New York, pp. 19-41.

Mabulla, Z. P. A. (1992). Spatial Archaeology of MSA/LSA Cultures in the Eyasi Basin, Tanzania. Research proposal submitted to NSF, Washington, D.C.

Mclntosh, K. S. (1993). Archaeological heritage management and site inventory systems in Africa. Journal of Field Archaeology 20: 500-504.

McManamon, P. F. (1992). Managing America's archaeological resources. In Wandsnider, L. (ed.), Quandaries and Quests: l/'tsions of Archaeology's Future, Occasional Paper No. 20, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, pp. 25-40.

Documents

Tanzania's endangered heritage: A call for a protection program