How Wildfires Help Art

I know, I know, it’s hard to find any value in run-away wildfires like the ones we’ve recently seen across the country, but there’s a surprising benefit to ancient art that they bring. Considering how devastating fires can be, they nevertheless reveal treasures to archaeologists because they eliminate the dense cover that hides the last vestiges of lost civilizations.

Some archaeologists estimate they find four times as many sites after fires than they do using survey archaeology, that is, walking the area looking for clues like gently sloping house mounds or remnants of fire pits.

While many of the finds laid bare by the flames are small collections of flakes from stone tool making, or the remains of a kitchen midden, even these are useful for piecing together the everyday lives of ancient peoples. But sometimes much larger discoveries are made. For example, a recent fire north of Los Angeles in Los Padres National Forest revealed an unknown gold mining camp and homestead from the 1800s. Outside of San Diego archaeologists discovered heavy stone walls indicating some kind of early fortress. In nearby Cleveland National Forest boulders and artifacts revealed a Kumeyaay Indian site that had never been mapped. (Find out more about these early California people at Kumeyaay and learn about their ancient past and thriving culture today).

Many groups must work together to reap the benefits of wildfires. The Forest Service, fire crews, archaeologists and tribal members join together to protect potential sites from damage, and oversee their excavation and preservation. After artifacts and sites have been revealed they must be protected from looters who defy the law and scavenge for arrowheads, pottery, and anything else that can be sold for profit on the Internet, even as they destroy the precious remains that are often our only clues to the past.