CAARI’s Mission is to promote studies of Cypriot archaeology and related disciplines in the humanities and sciences. To achieve this mission, according to ethical and equitable standards CAARI has adopted the following Code of Ethics, Statement on Social Justice and Archaeology and Research Misconduct Policy.
We stand with other organizations that are likewise committed to the protection of global cultural heritage in condemning the conflict in Ukraine and urging respect of civilian human life, objects, and cultural property as outlined in International Humanitarian Law and The Hague Convention.
Code of Ethics
The Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute is dedicated to the protection and preservation of archaeological sites in Cyprus and the information they contain. To promote this, CAARI supports the following principles:
- archaeological excavations be carried out under the highest standards possible;
- illicit trade of antiquities be actively discouraged; and
- the authorities of the Department of Antiquities be informed of any improper activities involving excavation or exportation of archaeological artifacts.
CAARI endorses the ASOR policy on preservation and protection of archaeological resources.
Adopted 1993, Amended 1999
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CAARI statement on social justice and archaeology
CAARI hosts researchers from around the world who come to Cyprus to study the diverse populations of the island and its neighboring regions. It is important to recognize that CAARI is hosted on an island that has historically witnessed colonial and imperialist intervention and its legacy of strife and inequality.
We acknowledge that our discipline of archaeology has played a disproportionate role in proliferating racist ideologies, including the removal of cultural heritage from its place of origin, cultural and racial misappropriation, and highlighting inter-communal differences. Archaeology must do better, and CAARI is steadfast in its support of building a field that challenges these historical disciplinary practices and acknowledges the need for broader intercultural engagement.
We also acknowledge as an American institution that we bear a particular responsibility to the issues of cultural and racial injustice that harrow our own neighborhoods and universities.
To this end, CAARI wants to publicly affirm our belief and commitment to equality and social justice. We want to be clear that Black Lives Matter and that CAARI supports the fundamental human rights of all groups who face oppression.
CAARI and its affiliated organizations include in their codes of conduct principles that demand honesty in our professional conduct; a commitment to uphold archaeological heritage as a common good for the benefit of all people, not a commodity to be exploited for personal or ideological profit; and the rejection of discrimination based on categories such a gender, race, religion, age, disability, or sexual orientation.
In accordance with these principles, we urgently invite you to join us in a fuller and more conscious dedication:
- to continue learning how to contribute to systemic change in archaeology;
- to continue supporting cultural heritage initiatives that highlight diverse voices and reach diverse audiences; and
- to make archaeology a discipline that amplifies the voices history has ignored.
Join Us In Our Mission
CAARI Research Misconduct Policy
CAARI expects its staff and appointees to abide by the highest standards of scholarly conduct and accepts responsibility for investigating allegations and making findings of misconduct concerning its staff; scholars whose research was conducted with funds from CAARI or with funds from other sources that are awarded by CAARI; or scholars undertaking excavation or survey, research, or publication of archaeological materials, archival or other primary source materials in the care of CAARI. Findings of a violation of this policy on the part of scholars whose research was conducted at CAARI with funds from external sources such as the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau of the U.S. State Department will be reported to the relevant funding source.
To read the complete policy, see the CAARI Research Misconduct Policy.
Adopted 2010