The Antiquities Act of 1906 and the Hidden Treasures of the American West

This is a two page overview of the Antiquities Act by the Wilderness Society..

Since Congress passed the Antiquities Act in 1906, presidents—Republicans and Democrats alike—have used the Act more than 100 times to preserve some of our most spectacular and historically important public lands. Although its title suggests a focus on archaeology (ruins, petroglyphs, etc.), the Antiquities Act gives the president the power to protect all forms of American history – natural, scientific, and archaeological – by designating National Monuments. Starting with Teddy Roosevelt, 15 Presidents have used the Act to create diverse National Monuments, ranging from the small (one acre) and historic Fort Matanzas in Florida to the large (10,600,000 acres) and spectacular Yukon Flats National Monument in Alaska.

本内容为荒野协会（Wilderness Society）编制的《古迹法》（Antiquities Act）两页概述。自1906年美国国会通过《古迹法》以来，无论共和党还是民主党籍总统，均已逾百次借助该法案保护我国部分最壮观且具有重要历史价值的公共土地。尽管法案名称看似仅聚焦考古范畴（如遗址、岩画等），但《古迹法》实则授权总统通过设立国家纪念地（National Monuments），保护所有形式的美国历史遗存——涵盖自然、科学与考古相关的历史内容。自西奥多·罗斯福起，已有15位总统运用该法案设立了类型多样的国家纪念地，覆盖范围从占地仅1英亩的佛罗里达州历史遗迹马坦萨斯堡（Fort Matanzas），到占地1060万英亩的阿拉斯加州壮观育空平原国家纪念地（Yukon Flats National Monument）不等。