Zion National Park is famous for its historical artifacts which archeologists carefully collect and curate. Many of the artifacts found in the park end up in the Zion Museum Collection including ancient sandals from the Pueblo period, intricately decorated ceramics and a 2,000 year old hand woven basket that is remarkably well preserved given it was crafted from natural fibers.
The historical significance of items visitors find may be obvious in the case of a hafted knife blade or shards of pottery but Zion recently made a social media post that some things that may look like trash are actually considered “historic artifacts.”
They did not include specifics on what is trash vs something that may end up on display in their museum but did include a photo of a rusted can reaches the threshold of artifact by their standards. Use your best judgement and when in doubt take a picture, record your GPS location and let a ranger know what you found.
Let’s talk trash!
Wait, this isn’t trash, it’s a historic artifact! Although it’s a great idea to leave a place better than you found it, sometimes the “trash” you see in the park are actually historical artifacts. Leave these artifacts where you find them, as they provide valuable information about the area they were found in and the overall archeological record of the park!
What should you do if you find an artifact? Take a photo and note a detailed description of the area (GPS coordinates if possible), then share it with a park ranger so they can report it to our archeologist.
![Zion National Park advises visitors to think twice before picking up trash.](https://i0.wp.com/unofficialnetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/A98D5040-F5D3-1761-22AE49E5D0B3BE11.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/unofficialnetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ZION_2382B_r.webp?resize=456%2C342&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/unofficialnetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ZION_15497B_r_1.webp?resize=456%2C342&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/unofficialnetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ZION_18592_r_1.webp?resize=650%2C488&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/unofficialnetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ZION_47C_r.webp?resize=456%2C342&ssl=1)