Scout Ahead https://www.scoutahead.org/plans/archaeology-merit-badge/steps/01M0QYEVSTQH1WXJ7TZTNCA476

Requirement

5. Do the following: the law, and who protects sites

Required

Both parts required, and both on the same subject as requirement 6. Worth doing the two requirements together in one sitting, because the reading overlaps almost completely.

Notes and warnings

Note. DO REQUIREMENTS 5 AND 6 IN ONE SITTING. Between them they are five short parts on one subject: the law that protects sites, an organization that protects them, why protection matters, what to do if you find an artifact, and how you can be a protector yourself. The reading for 5(a) answers most of 6(a), and 6(b) is the practical form of the same rule. Neither requirement blocks the other and the badge states no dependency between them, which is why no arrow is drawn, but doing them apart means reading the same material twice. The part that takes real looking is the local half of 5(a): federal law and the international conventions are a short search, whereas whether your county has a historic sites ordinance usually is not.

What this is made of

Where this step comes from

  1. Archaeology Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-31), Requirement 5