"Is There Gold in that Field?" CRM and Public Outreach on the Front Lines

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled ""Is There Gold in that Field?" CRM and Public Outreach on the Front Lines" at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Public outreach and education is often seen as the responsibility of universities, government organizations, and state-run systems. The first archaeologist many people meet, however, is more likely to be working in cultural resource management. Interactions may range from the informal, like chatting with curious members of the public who have stopped by a field project, to extremely formal such as public outreach projects arranged as part of a creative memorandum of agreement for a Phase III Investigation. CRM is an industry driver for archaeology, where unique contributions to the field are regularly made, but it is not always possible for the general public to easily access the results of these investigations. Almost 90% of archaeological work conducted in the United States happens through CRM, and this session will delve into successful public engagement projects conducted in the commercial sector.