

Fremont rock imagery with bullet damage, McKee Springs.
Conversation starter 1: I’ve pledged to Protect the Past, and here is why.

A “museum rock” where people have taken artifacts from across the site and collected them in one place, forever changing the story the site can tell.
Conversation starter 2: How does your favorite archaeological site make you feel?
Curious? Nostalgic? Connected to your community and ancestors? A sense of peace, or a sense of grandeur? I know that some of my favorite archaeological sites make me feel this way time and time again. By asking our friends to reflect on how visiting places of the past makes them feel, we can help them understand why we should protect these places. And if you want to protect them, then taking the pledge is a great way to learn how!
Volunteers cleaning up shotgun shells and bullet casings from an archaeological site, Lake Mountain.
Conversation starter 3: In the last year I was shocked to learn that…
In the last year I was shocked to learn that visitation to archaeological sites has skyrocketed! I was shocked to learn that people have been taking artifacts from sites and stacking them near trails! I was also shocked to see how many times sites have been spraypainted, scratched, or intentionally harmed in some way. This is a great education moment to let people know exactly how the past has been threatened by human behaviors. Maybe it is something you have seen first hand or one of the many acts of vandalism that have reached the news, but certainly something recently has shocked you, as it has me!What makes a great post?

Fremont rock imagery on private land along the Dry Fork of Ashley Creek.
- Hashtags
- Use these hashtags so people can find our project and others like it:
- #stoparchaeologicalvandalism
- #protectthepast
- #visitwithrespect
- #respectandprotect
- Open-ended questions, calls for responses, requests to share.
- Sometimes, you just have to tell people exactly what you would like them to do. The conversation starters above are great ways to get people talking, and don’t forget to ask them to share their own experiences!
- Photographs
- If you have your own, great! If you need some you can borrow some of ours Click the images below to view a full-size version and download.
- Use these hashtags so people can find our project and others like it:

A sign explaining how to protect Native American archaeological sites, damaged by target shooting, West Mountain.
Links
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- Just like you were curious enough to find more information, your friends probably are, too! Sprinkle some of these links into your
social media posts
- Pledge to SAV the Past bit.ly/SaveThePastPledge
- Stop Archaeological Vandalism bit.ly/StopArchVandalism
- Utah Public Archaeology Network history.utah.gov/upan
- Just like you were curious enough to find more information, your friends probably are, too! Sprinkle some of these links into your
social media posts