Danielle Kurin, PhD, is an anthropologist and bioarchaeologist whose academic career spans teaching, research, and institutional leadership in the United States and Peru. Since 2013, Danielle Kurin has taught undergraduate and graduate anthropology courses at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she advanced from assistant professor to tenured associate professor and founded the Walker Bioarchaeology and Forensic Bone Lab. Her scholarship focuses on Andean civilizations, and she has authored multiple books and peer reviewed articles on bioarchaeology. Her experience directing field research, overseeing museum collections, and training students in the analysis of human remains informs ongoing discussions about professional accountability, legal compliance, and ethical standards in archaeology. With prior appointments at Vanderbilt University, Bryn Mawr College, and Peruvian universities, her work reflects sustained engagement with both research practice and institutional stewardship.
RPA Membership as a Signal of Ethical Archaeological Practice
As archaeological work increasingly intersects with cultural heritage laws and public oversight, professional standards can influence hiring decisions and public trust. The Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA) is a registry of archaeologists who agree to follow a published code of conduct and research standards. Membership does not guarantee flawless work, but it signals that an archaeologist has voluntarily accepted written expectations and a formal accountability process.
Archaeology is not only about discovery. When a project director and field crew work near a burial area or culturally sensitive site, they make on-site calls that affect consultation, collection decisions, and how results are shared. Those calls shape how museums or agencies interpret their responsibilities for what is uncovered.
Excavation is also irreversible. Once archaeologists remove soil layers, shift artifacts, or disturb human remains, later researchers cannot fully rebuild the original spatial relationships. Because context is part of the evidence, losing it increases the need for careful planning, controlled methods, and accurate reporting.
RPA responds to that irreversibility by setting explicit expectations and written obligations. Its code emphasizes compliance with applicable laws and professional candor, including being truthful, accurate, and appropriately protective of confidential site information. It also establishes standards for competent archaeological research.
Human remains make those responsibilities even more sensitive. Bioarchaeology, research that studies human remains from archaeological contexts, can be scientifically valuable, but it requires clear boundaries and respect. A responsible approach includes careful documentation, limits on access when needed, and meaningful attention to descendant and community concerns tied to identity, belief, and burial practice.
Archaeologists and institutions must also follow legal rules. In the United States, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) sets requirements for museums, agencies, and universities that hold certain human remains and cultural items, including inventories, notices, and repatriation. When institutions skip required steps, they can face enforcement consequences and heightened oversight, so compliance becomes part of everyday professional practice from the start.
In the field, standards show up as reliable records. Archaeologists protect meaning by recording provenience, meaning where items were found and what they were found with, using notes, labels, photographs, and maps. If a team fails to track that context, later analysis becomes far less reliable, even if the objects themselves survive.
But responsibilities do not end at the trench edge. After excavation, archaeologists and collecting institutions share stewardship duties, including controlled access, stable preservation conditions, and documented systems for inventory and movement tracking so items do not drift, disappear, or become “unaccounted for.” Written plans, policies, and procedures, together with routine review, help staff follow the same safeguards during storage, handling, and authorized access.
Professionalism also involves keeping skills current, but RPA’s Continuing Professional Education program is structured as a way to recognize training opportunities without imposing a formal credit requirement on members. That distinction matters because it presents professional development as an encouraged norm and a quality signal. It also reinforces that ethical practice evolves as methods, digital systems, and stewardship expectations change.
RPA also shows how standards are enforced when problems arise. Its grievance and disciplinary materials describe how complaints move through screening, investigation, and resolution, and the organization shares “lessons learned” so professionals can recognize patterns and avoid repeat problems. The strongest value of membership shows up before work starts, when the archaeologist explains how the team will document context, follow applicable laws for sensitive materials, and transfer items into a collections system that controls access and tracks movement over time.
About Danielle Kurin
Danielle Kurin, PhD, is an anthropologist specializing in bioarchaeology and Andean civilizations. She has taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and previously held academic appointments at Vanderbilt University, Bryn Mawr College, and universities in Peru. She is the founding director of the Walker Bioarchaeology and Forensic Bone Lab and the Andahuaylas Museum Peru. Her publications include multiple books and articles in leading journals focused on archaeological method and human remains research.
