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This has become clear over the past ten years as conference sessions on the topic have become common. The PEIC-sponsored session at this year’s SHA meeting, “Motivations and Community in Public Archaeology Evaluation�(organized by Kate Ellenberger & Kevin Gidusko) is the latest in a long line of conference sessions and activities devoted to public archaeology evaluation starting in 2008. In this session alone there were authors from academia, CRM, non-profits, and the federal government setting and evaluating their progress toward outreach goals. Though the published literature on the topic may be thin, there is much support for pursuing evidence-based public archaeology (see the infographic below).

Evaluation is scaleable.

Evaluation can be done for little cost, in a short time, for a narrow use, or they can be scaled up for larger, more extensive applications. At any size, implementing evaluation or self-assessment seems to have a positive impact on public archaeology projects.

Evaluation can be easy.

Evaluation is best practice.

Evidence-based public archaeology is good for archaeologists and the publics they are interacting with. Even though public engagement projects have a wide variety of goals, clearly articulating and following up on those goals is good research practice. Being able to demonstrate that we have made some progress in public perceptions of archaeology is important if we expect to be able to continue outreach work. It helps to see patterns of successes and failures across within our work so we may better adjust our future engagements.

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One of the first events I visited was the Gender and Minority Affairs Committee meeting. GMAC works on a variety of issues related to gender and race within the SHA, from ensuring that gender-neutral bathrooms are available at conferences to running anti-racism workshops to honoring especially diverse field-schools to setting up mentoring relationships for young archaeologists. One especially interesting development was the effort to reach out to Historically Black Colleges and Universities near Fort Worth to invite professors and students to our conference. GMAC is also working on a special issue of Historical Archaeology on minority issues, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

GMAC Anti-Racism Workshops

One of GMAC’s biggest projects over the last few years has been to offer anti-racism trainings at SHA annual meetings. As in previous years, trainers from Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training came to present their “Introduction to Systemic Racism�workshop on Saturday morning. In that workshop, each table wrote a six-word essay on why we must do anti-racist work as archaeologists. We wrote, “We can do better historical archaeology,�and “Collaboratively breaking patterned barriers with intention,�and “Lean back, let others lean in,�among others. Then, we discussed the ways that social institutions in the United States value white people over people of color, men over women, straight people over queer people, thin people over fat people, nondisabled people over disabled people, etc. After talking in general, we zoomed in to the specific: how does the SHA as an institution continue these oppressions? The conversation began with discussion of the orthodoxy of the SHA, the expense of coming to conferences, who is invited to symposia, and the scheduling of the conference.

Intersectionality as Emancipatory Archaeology Symposium

Anti-oppression work was evident in the archaeological research being presented as well, especially in the symposium “Intersectionality as Emancipatory Archaeology.�With too many participants for a typical symposium slot, this symposium had two sessions on Friday morning and afternoon. It was organized by Stefan Woehlke, Megan Springate, and Suzanne Spencer-Wood, with Whitney Battle-Baptiste serving as discussant. In sixteen papers, a diverse group of scholars applied the idea of intersectionality to a wide variety of different archaeological contexts. The term intersectionality, coined by Black feminist legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, refers to the way that systems of oppression like racism, patriarchy, and classism, interact with each other to create many different effects on people depending on their many identities. Symposium participants applied intersectionality theory to educating Washington, D.C., youth about archaeology (Alexandra Jones), the Pauli Murray Project (Colleen Betti), analysis of white women planters�roles at Montpelier (Matthew Reeves), and Black women’s consumption patterns at a postbellum farm in Texas (Nedra Lee), among many other subjects. Intersectionality in archaeology is a hot topic right now: the SAA Annual Meeting in Vancouver this spring also featured a symposium on intersectionality issues.

Women in Diving and Archaeology: Past, Present, and Future

ACUA members took part in anti-oppression work too! On Thursday afternoon, Jessica Keller and Mary Connelly organized a forum with about fifteen women underwater archaeologists discussing their experiences of sexism and advice for young women in navigating the field. Although the panelists agreed that underwater archaeology is a male-dominated world, they argued that through hard work, building networks of women colleagues and mentors, and patience, the field can become more welcoming to everyone.

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I know I’m a bit late – but not too late – to talk about Roundtable Luncheons. There are nine different lunches between the proceedings on Thursday and Friday. All roundtable luncheons will cost $30. They are scheduled from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Omni Fort Worth Hotel, Stockyards 1. Several of them certainly caught my eye.

On Thursday, January 5th, the first session that resonates with me in particular is the “Jobs in Nautical Archaeology�session. I’m going to confess something: 15 years ago when I graduated from the Nautical Archaeology program at Texas A&M University I truly thought that people would be beating down my door offering me a job. Boy, was I wrong! It’s tough out there and I didn’t know the first thing on where to go, who to talk to, or how to have success in the industry! Benefit from my painfully embarrassing naivete, people! Talk with Paul Johnston of the Smithsonian Institution about the different avenues for careers in nautical archaeology and get a leg up on the competition.

Publishing helps a lot, that’s for sure! Come and attend the “Publishing Opportunities for my Research�roundtable on Thursday or the “SHA Publishing Opportunities for Students�roundtable on Friday to see where your research and your ideas can best get out to your colleagues and the public at large.

Once you’re in the “biz,�communication is one of the most essential tools (if not THE MOST) in your toolbelt. The session, “The Language of Advocacy�looks like a goody. Working in CRM, I am constantly talking with government employees and private companies who are weighing my findings against finite budgets. I’ve done my best in navigating these waters successfully, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a better way to go about it. This session seems like it could be a great learning opportunity.

Another notable roundtable follows a different track: “Marketing Heritage Tourism: Examples from the San Antonio Mission World Heritage Site and the Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail.�A lot of us archaeologists are advocates for the resources with which we work. Heritage tourism is a relatively new solution to the continued problem of funding archaeological preservation and research. Look into it while you’re having your lunch!

On Friday, the roundtables continue. Much like the session on Thursday, the “Careers in CRM and Academia�is one from which I really would have benefited in my latter days of grad school and early days in the job market. It’s a chance to sit down with professionals who have cultivated a career and learn the ins and outs of an insider. I also have a personal interest in public engagement. I’m looking forward to potentially sitting down with Ms. Sara Ayers-Rigsby to talk about new ideas to grab the public’s attention and keep it. After all, they have the potential to be very strong advocates for the work that you do. Look into “Innovative Approaches to Public Engagement and Archaeology�if you’re hoping to excite and invigorate the general public about your site.

If curation is your thing, by all means, you should sit down with Sara Rivers-Cofield and Leigh Anne Ellison to talk about your concerns over long-term care of artifacts, documents, and general data. With the Center of Digital Antiquity being one of the participants, there’s little doubt that you’ll learn something new regarding curation technology. And last (but not least), there’s “Archaeology of Submerged Landscapes: New Directions for Underwater Research.�This roundtable will give the participant to look at bigger picture topics surrounding underwater research such as historic water level fluctuations and their impacts on human occupation. New and interesting stuff!

Ya�gotta eat lunch anyway. Why not grab some food and talk shop with some innovators and experts in the industry.

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Let’s talk about tours! This year’s conference features four tours. All of them are scheduled for Wednesday, January 4th. They all originate from the conference hotel, the Omni. Please bear in mind that if you signed up for a workshop, you should check those times against the tours to make sure you don’t have a conflict and I’d bet you probably would.

The first tour that I wanted to talk about is T-3 – the Fort Worth Architectural Walking Tour. Fort Worth is a great city. It’s big but it doesn’t necessarily feel big. And for some reason it feels more Texan than others do (I may catch some flak for thatâ€?. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that so much of its original architecture remains intact. You can get a sense of the original city if you get out of the car and walk around and this tour is perfect for that. You’ll see the site of “Hell’s Half Acreâ€?one of the bawdiest, most violent, and generally infamous-iest(?) Red Light Districts in the American West (and that’s quite the scale to be at the top of, I’d say). After driving all those cattle for mile after mile after mile to the stockyards, I’m sure folks were ready to let off some steam and this spot was where that happened. There’s also early “skyscrapersâ€? municipal buildings, and other features all tucked into the main downtown area. It’s a really nice walk and well worth a gander.

Livestock Exchange Building in Downtown Fort Worth – 1920s (source: United States Library of Congress).

T-4 – the Fort Worth Cultural District Tour is a great chance to take in some of Fort Worth’s proudest attractions. This tour is a wonderful way to make a leisurely (or ambitious if you’d prefer) day of art and culture out of the conference’s opening. There’s the Amon Carter Museum, the Kimbell Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum (“the Modernâ€?for those in “the Knowâ€?, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and the National Museum of the Cowgirl and Hall of Fame. The Amon Carter Museum is a great celebration of American Art. Right now they’re featuring a limited exhibit on American Photographs that’ll be just about to wrap up when you’re there. Moving over to the Kimbell, you can take in works from Monet, Michelangelo, and Matisse and see sculpture and other arts that span centuries from across the globe. Even the building is a work of art! Go check it out! The Modern is a great place to marvel at and pretend you understand (maybe that’s just me) modern works of art by the likes of Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Susan Rothenberg. Standing next to one another, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and the National Museum of the Cowgirl and Hall of Fame are also on the docket. The Science Museum covers such topics as astronomy, paleontology (including dinosaurs!), energy and the Cowgirl Museum is the only such facility in the world dedicated to the women of the Wild West. The Cowgirl Museum is also the site of the next night’s social event and barbecue. So while you’re there taking in the art and history of the American West, maybe you could hang your coat over a chair and save your spot for the barbecue.

The view of the interior of the Kimbell Art Museum.

On this tour remember that museum admission is not included so if you want to go to the Modern, or the National Museum of the Cowgirl or the Fort Worth Science Museum, you’ll need to pay the admission fee. If you’re a student, bring your ID for a student discount.

You don’t have to stick to Fort Worth for the tours, though. Two of the tours take you over to Dallas. North Central Texas (and the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in particular) boasts one of the largest and oldest African American communities in the state. Come see the history of this vibrant group with T1- Facing the Rising Sun—A View of a Late-19th- to Early-20th-Century African American Community. On this tour you will visit the Dallas African American museum where you can learn about the Freedman’s Cemetery excavation project which took place during the 1990s and early 2000s. The guides of the tour include Duane Peter, the Principal Investigator of the cemetery excavation, and Phillip Collins, a descendant of the early African American Community there and former Curator of the museum. What a great way to learn about this specific portion of Dallas� Texas� and the nation’s history than to hear from those who live there. You’ll also visit the Freedman’s Cemetery and from there continue on to Saint Luke Community United Methodist Church to admire the beautiful stained glass featuring 54 scenes from the community. A one-of-a-kind opportunity right there and a great tour all around!

One of the stained glass scenes from the Saint Luke Community Church.

Finally, it’s pretty well known that John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas as he waved to the crowd from his motorcade on a warm November afternoon in 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald, after firing from the schoolbook depository escaped to a movie theater where he was eventually apprehended and ultimately killed in front of live news cameras as he was transferred out of the Dallas Police Headquarters. One of the Nation’s darkest and most talked about moments in history unfolded right downtown. And as someone who’s passed by all the landmarks many times, they are still amazing to see. With T-2 – John F. Kennedy Assassination Tour, you’ll see it all. Starting from the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth, where Kennedy spent his last night, you’ll head by bus to Dealey Plaza in Dallas to see the spot where the President was shot and visit the Sixth Floor Museum to learn about the event. You’ll visit the famed “Grassy Knollâ€?and see Zapruder’s (of the famed Zapruder Film) offices and head on to Oswald’s residence in Oak Cliff where the infamous photograph was taken. There are many other stops along the way but you’ll eventually make your way back to Fort Worth where you’ll see Oswald’s grave site and conclude at the Ozzie Rabbit (Oswald’s USMC nickname) bar. Led by the tour organizer, Joseph Murphey, historical architect with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, anyone will find this tour interesting and sobering (except for the bar part, I guess). I’ve taken a similar tour to this one and it really is one of those permanent memories in my mind that I’m so glad I took part in. So much history that’s still there just as it was and all in one place.

One of the final moments of Kennedy’s motorcade before the assassination in Dallas.

Anyway, that’s it! Your tours! Get in there and sign up folks, or at the least sign up when you arrive on January 4th.

Until next time.

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Howdy folks!

I hope that you’re surviving the crazy holiday season and looking forward to the SHA’s annual conference. This year, the conference mozies on down to Fort Worth, Texas where there will certainly be a lot to talk about, to see, and to do. Over the next few weeks, I wanted to use this space to dig a little bit into the SHA Program and provide my thoughts on those items that piqued my interest. The preliminary program is available now for your own review, but here are some of the highlights that I saw in reviewing it. There are some neat topics, tours, and workshops there that get me looking forward to the meeting!

For today, I’m going to focus on some of the Workshops that struck a particular chord with me. There are several to choose from. My mentioning specific ones below should not discourage you from checking out all of them. As the preliminary agenda says, all of these will be held on Wednesday, January 4th with the exception of the GMAC Anti-Racism Training Workshops, which will be held on Saturday and Sunday, January 7th and 8th.

Being someone who has a keen interest in digital media and has dabbled (albeit ham-fistedly – I figured out how to make a somewhat convincing martini glass once!) in the world of 3D Graphics, the first workshop that jumped out at me was WKS-06: Digital Heritage for Historical Archaeology: A Practicum in 3-D Modeling. I have always wanted to find better ways to give non-archaeologists new avenues to understand an excavation and 2D drawings, though great, often come up short. I have seen 3D graphics as a great tool to make excavations and artifacts ‘come aliveâ€?(as the saying probably way too often goes) but have not been able to figure out the software by teaching myself; the the programs are just too different, I suppose. This course, directed by Edward González-Tennant of Digital Heritage Interactive, LLC, could be just the ticket to getting someone like myself over that seemingly steep initial learning curve and into “smooth sailingâ€?territory. Then I could start viewing, analyzing, and presenting field data in a new way!

The company that I work for conducts surveys on occasion on military training areas and ordnance is always a concern. That’s where a course like WKS-01: Ordnance Identification and Threat Assessment (Instructor: Tom Gersbeck from Oklahoma State University) comes in. In some instances on field projects, training is pretty basic prior to going out to do a survey. Having a practical, beginner’s guide to identifying ordnance in the field taught by a person there in the room with you (versus on an online video) could be fantastic! The subject ties loosely with WKS-07: Battlefield Workshop for Contractors and Grant Applicants taught by Kristen McMasters of the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program, too. In this workshop, the NPS will provide some great guidance on American battlefield preservation initiatives and associated grant programs. Being honest, I wasn’t aware of the ABPP before I read this program. What a great job they are doing and I welcome them to Texas to inform others of how they can help us all out in our work on these historic sites.

The Underwater Cultural Awareness Workshop (WKS-04; taught by Amy Mitchell-Cook from the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology) would also be very handy in helping to better understand how to explain underwater cultural resources to non-underwater archaeologists. Though I have my master’s in nautical archaeology, I could see a lot of benefit in viewing these resources from a non-practitioner’s point of view to find ways to better convey findings. It’s also always good to have a brush-up on international legislation.

Also, most of us are at least familiar with GIS; maybe not in direct practice, but we’re pretty aware of its capabilities. GIS is THE TOOL for geographic data collection and interpretation and learning to use even the basics of it can be very helpful for the experienced veteran and the new student coming up. If you’re interested, consider enrolling in Kyle Walker’s (Texas Christian University) WKS-02: Geographic Information Systems. As an added bonus, this class being held offsite at TCU’s campus there in downtown Fort Worth (travel is included). It is a beautiful campus (and that’s saying a lot coming from this University of Texas Longhorn) so I encourage you to go check it out.    

Needless to say, race and racism have been a bit of a theme of late on the national stage here in the United States. I have considered archaeology to be a profession and science in which that topic really doesn’t come up very often. That’s quite possibly the result of me simply being unaware, though. That certainly doesn’t mean that it isn’t there and it isn’t worth discussion. Shoot, the fact that there’s a Gender and Minority Affairs Committee (GMAC) suggests as much. Accordingly, I am more than a little curious about WKS-08: GMAC Introduction to Systemic Racism Workshop and WKS-09: GMAC Second-Steps Antiracist Workshop: Becoming an Antiracist Multicultural Institution, both hosted by Flordeliz T. Bugarin (Howard University), Michael S. Nassaney (Western Michigan University), and Crossroads Antiracism Organizing & Training. Split over two days, this course will provide attendees with an opportunity to speak about their own perspectives and see the viewpoints of others on this difficult topic. It will be particularly eye-opening to learn others�findings on the racialization of our discipline.

In my 15+ years as a professional archaeologist, I haven’t worked with human remains very much until fairly recently. I don’t know if that makes me an anomaly or not, but a couple recent projects and all of a sudden WKS-05: Practical Aspects of Bioarchaeology and Human Skeletal Analysis (Chairs: Thomas Crist, Utica College, and Kimberly Morrell, AECOM) is speaking to me. In the few instances where I have worked with burials and human remains, I’m keenly aware of how much more there is for me to learn about the identification and analysis of burials and how best to effectively engage descendant groups and get the public interested in these sites. This seems like a fantastic place to start.

With the course being offered almost every year since (We’re Gonna Party Like It’s) 1999, it is clear that WKS-03: Archaeological Illustration (Instructor: Jack Scott from Jack Scott Creative) is a tried and true winner! Like the 3D course, this is one that I would bet an illustration novice could walk in saying to him/herself, “I’ll never be able to do something like that…â€?and then walk out saying, “Hey! Look what I learned how to do!â€?And if you aren’t much for traditional pen-and-ink illustration techniques, I bet you could pick up a wealth of guidance on common illustration conventions, printing concerns, and more for direct application in digital media as well. To commemorate its long run, I wonder if Mr. Scott will play “Believeâ€?by Cher (the top song from 1999 according to Billboard) for a little concentration music. Maybe some Smashmouth? Anyway…   

There, I went and did it.  I was only going to talk about the ones that really jumped out at me and I wound up talking about all of them.  I guess that means I have a bit of a decision ahead of me, don’t I? While I mull this over, you check out the program and get yourself registered! Talk to you soon!

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SHA is asking at least 50% of our regular members (students and others are welcome to join if they can) to donate at least $50 in celebration of the Society’s 50^th anniversary this year. The funds raised will be divided between two programs that are not funded as part of the regular budget. These are the Diversity Initiative and the Student Endowment. 

One other current aspect of the Diversity Initiative is the anti-racism workshops that have been offered at the last two annual conferences. The committee has successfully raised funds to cover the costs of the past workshops which have used a paid outside facilitator. But wouldn’t it be better if the SHA could fund future workshops from an endowed pool of money and not require the committee to take on the additional task of fund raising on an annual basis? I think so. One could argue that imposing that additional requirement on the committee organizing the workshops is in of itself is an exertion of power over them and one of the institutional expressions of racism that the workshops strive to open our eyes to. I attended the workshop at Washington, DC conference last January and found it had a lasting impact. In the months since, when I observe institutional racism, as we all do, I try to imagine concrete steps that could be taken to overcome it. In cases where I have the opportunity to make suggestions, I feel it’s my responsibility to do so. Now, did I need the SHA anti-racism workshop be able to do these things? Perhaps not, but I certainly feel the workshop created a level of comfort I didn’t always have with the language and dialogues that are necessary to break down racism’s barriers.

The Student Endowment Fund was created in 2007 to fund the Ed and Judy Jelks Student Travel Award, the Quebec City Award/Bourse de Québec, the Dissertation Prize, and the Student Paper Prize. To date, the Endowment has approximately $33,000. The 50 for 50 campaign will help the Endowment to maintain its viability and ensure these awards and prizes will be available in the years to come to help our next generation of archaeologists advance their careers.

I was compelled to write this blog to encourage you to think about what a difference one small $50 donation can make if half of our close to 1000 regular members contributed. It would certainly help to create a pool of money that can be used to address diversity issues, increase diversity within our Society and perpetuate our profession via the Student Endowment Fund. Our strength is in the numbers. Finally, in addition to the satisfaction you’ll have knowing that you participated in 50 for 50, SHA is creating a commemorative pin for donors that can proudly be worn at the Fort Worth conference, or anytime you want to express your participation in this important fund raising effort.

Please click here or go to polegroove.com/donate to contribute.

The post Why I care about 50 for 50 (the current SHA fundraising initiative) and why you should too. appeared first on Society for Historical Archaeology.

#SHA2016 is next week (!) and we are all looking forward to seeing you in D.C.!  Please contact the SHA staff at hq@sha.org if you have additional questions about your #SHA2016 Conference registration. Otherwise, the final #SHA2016 Conference program is now posted. 

Remember: Look for and use #SHA2016 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. during the Conference next week!

Jan 12, 2015 Please join us for #SHA2016!

Jan 26, 2015 Who Digs in D.C.?

March 07, 2015 Historical Archaeology at George Washington’s Mount Vernon

March 09, 2015 Archaeology on a Shoe-String in the District of Columbia: An Introduction to the DC Historic Preservation Office

April 07, 2015 Alexandria Archaeology: The City of Alexandria’s Archaeological Protection Code turns 25!

April 21, 2015 Maryland Historical Trust and the “Archeological Synthesis�Project

 May 18, 2015 Reflections on Archaeology in the District of Columbia

 June 01, 2015 Archaeology in the Community: Stepping up and Reaching out

 June 15, 2015 5 Archaeological Things to See and Do in Washington D.C.

June 29, 2015 7 Archaeological Things to See and Do in Washington D.C.

July 13, 2015 #SHA2016 Conference: Let’s Trend from the Field!

July 28, 2015 #SHA2016: D.C. participates in #dayofarch!

Aug 24, 2015 #SHA2016 Ethics Bowl: Let’s Get Ethical!

Nov 02, 2015 Spotlight on #SHA2016 Workshops

Nov 16, 2015 #SHA2016: Tips for Getting Around D.C.

Nov 30, 2015 #SHA2016 Tips for Your Stay in D.C.

In addition, the Society for American Archaeology PEC Network of State Organizers has been featuring public archaeology in each state on their Facebook page.  D.C. was recently featured during the week of November 22-27, 2015. We have provided the same links that SAA provided, below. Check them out!

Nov 22, 2015

#‎NoteworthyPubArch

When and Where: Where do you find archaeology in a big city like Washington, DC?

D.C. is home base to many of our biggest archaeology and historic preservation organizations. Here is information on the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers

Nov 23, 2015

#‎NoteworthyPubArch

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is an important institution committed to bringing Native voices to what the museum writes and presents. They care for one of the world’s most expansive collections of Native artifacts, including objects, photographs, archives, and media. Their education page is pretty fantastic! View their online collections, play “Infinity of National Culture Quest,â€?and find resources on resources for schools. 

The National Park Services NCR Regional Archeology Program in D.C. has created a fabulous website to for those wanting to learn about excavations, preservation, and the management of archaeological resources in the D.C. area. There are many great resources for kids!

Nov 24, 2015