Welcome to the Florida Archaeological Preservation Association
About our Cause

About us!

Please read the above letter first!

Welcome to the Florida Archaeological Preservation Association webpage.

Over the years we have watched the market for illegal antiquities explode across the internet and the world. Increasingly, there are looters, under the guise ‘harmless collectors’, who try to convince legislators that collecting is a harmless activity and they should be allowed to do it on private property, state property, state parks, federal parks and the streams and rivers and coastal margins of Florida. A handful of us in Tallahassee walked the halls of the capital last session (spring 2016) arguing that the state’s archaeological resources were not for commercial harvesting and the process was utterly destructive to the archaeological record.

With the help, time, and testimony of students, professional archaeologists, interested citizens and representatives of the Native American community we were successful in stopping the collector’s efforts. However, we felt the battle to allow looting will continue and we had to step up our game. A donation from a private citizen provide an initial financial boost to move us forward and we are getting ready for the next session. In preparation for the future the Florida Archaeological Preservation Association (FAPA) was born. It is a registered 501 C (4) and we created a web page (continuing to evolve) and established a FloridaAPA.com domain. Stay tuned for information on the events of the coming legislative session. We need your help and support!

Glen H. Doran
Professor Emeritus and President, Florida Archaeological Preservation Association

Notes on Our Association

  • The Florida Archaeological Preservation Association (FAPA), is a 501(c)(4), created to support legislative lobbying for the protection of archaeological sites on state owned and managed properties.
  • For the past five years, Florida has been challenged by proposed legislation to allow artifact collecting on state land by untrained, non-professionals. The effort has been led by artifact collecting groups, who wish to bring back the State’s Isolated Finds program. This program lasted 11 years before being shut down due to lack of required reporting by participants and the program’s unanticipated role in facilitating site looting.
  • Florida has been heavily affected by illegal excavation and collecting for personal and commercial benefit. Illegal collection of artifacts on state-owned land, including submerged land, has been an ongoing problem that has increased along with the increased monetary value of the targeted artifact types.
  • Legal artifact collecting is permitted in Florida on private property with owner permission, with the exception of artifacts associated with unmarked human burials after enactment of 872.05, Florida Statutes.
  • FAPA supports the continued protection of sites and rejects revival of an artifact collections program on public lands. Artifacts are associated with archaeological sites, and site on State property are the heritage of every citizen in Florida. Archaeological sites are non-renewable and every artifact taken from them results in loss of history and culture.

Supporting Documents and Interesting Reads

Informational Documentation
These documents were generated for the 2016 legislative 'battle' and the issues remain the same.


Here you will find a list of selected statements by organizations that oppose artifact collecting on Florida's public lands.


Also, please check out the links below for even more information!

Florida Archaeological Preservation Association Officers

These are the leaders of the organization

  • Glen H. Doran

    Glen H. Doran, Professor Emeritus, is former chair and professor of Anthropology at FSU where he was a faculty member since 1980. His research interests are in archaeology and human skeletal biology, primarily in the southeastern United States and particularly populations in the Archaic. He is probably best known for his work at the Windover cemetery in Brevard County, Florida (7400 years before present). His interest in soils and geoarchaeology has grown in the last decade and has been involved in specialized Geoprobe work from Florida to Tennessee and west to Texas. He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in anthropology from the University of Texas and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis.

  • James Dunbar

    James S. Dunbar retired from the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research after thirty-five years of service. He has conducted archaeological research on terrestrial and inundated prehistoric throughout Florida. He earned his doctorate from Florida State University and is currently serving as an archaeological consultant and is a co-founder and chairman of the Aucilla Research Institute, Inc. He is the author of Paleoindian Societies of the Coastal Southeast, published by the University Presses of Florida in 2016.

  • Lonnie Mann

    Lonnie Mann is retired after 40 years in the public mental health field. He is a graduate of St. Andrews College and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He enjoys travel, history and volunteering for archaeological projects.

  • Julie Duggins

    Julie Duggins is a consultant with PaleoWest Archaeology and has been working to preserve Florida’s cultural resources for over ten years. She earned an M.A. from Florida State University after studying Anthropology at Wake Forest University. During her time at the Division of Historical Resources, Julie was one of the archaeologists called on to assist with Operation Timucua, which opened her eyes to the threat of the growing antiquities market. Each time Julie maps looting pits on damage assessments, her desire to combat the looting problem becomes more urgent.

The Damage caused to Looted Sites

Check out Facebook page for more information on each image

Contact Us

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