Art & Cultural Heritage Law Research Guide: Legislation

An act to provide for the establishment of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities to promote progress and scholarship in the humanities and the arts in the United States, and for other purposes.

Statutes and Regulations that govern the excavation of archaeological sites on federal and Indian lands in the United States, and the removal and disposition of archaeological collections from those sites:

Authorizes the President to protect landmarks, structures, and objects of historic or scientific interest by designating them as National Monuments.

The Act establishes the National Historic Preservation Program which provides, among other things, for the designation of historic landmarks in the National Register of Historic Places, regulations for state historic preservation programs, and funding for state, local, tribal or other historic preservation programs. The law also provides for lease or exchange of historic properties.

The legislation that implements the U.S.'s ratification of the 1970 UNESCO Convention to curb archaeological pillage and illicit trafficking in cultural property.