Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Some of the most significant archaeological sites in the United States and abroad are located on public land. Professionals who work with these federal, state, and local entities find their time divided among a staggering number of responsibilities and stakeholders. While the management, stewardship, and interpretation of the buried past isn’t always prioritized within these organizations, unique opportunities for preservation, connection, and exploration abound. This symposium will highlight projects conducted in a variety of taxpayer-funded agencies, some with long traditions of archaeology and some just getting off the ground. The goals of the session, sponsored by the SAA Public Archaeology Interest Group, include highlighting best practices and approaches to public lands archaeology and emphasizing the importance of these sites and projects for descendant communities, natural and cultural resource managers, and the citizens who own the land.

Other Keywords
Cultural Resources and Heritage Management • Historic • Cultural Heritage and Preservation • Public and Community Archaeology • Cultural Resource Management • Survey • Quarries • Public Outreach • Landscape Archaeology • Parks

Geographic Keywords
North America: Northeast and Midatlantic • United States of America (Country) • North America (Continent) • North America • United Mexican States (Country) • Department of Martinique (Country) • Republic of El Salvador (Country) • Department of Guadeloupe (Country) • Cayman Islands (Country) • Antigua and Barbuda (Country)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-14 of 14)

  • Documents (14)
Documents
  • Archaeology and Forestry Perspectives on the Management of Rhyolite Quarries on Pennsylvania State Forest Lands (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Ross Owen. Roy Brubaker.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper discusses best practices for the management of prehistoric quarries on public lands. It incorporates a brief overview of the threats facing the protection of archaeological resources within a temperate forest ecosystem. Leading with a discussion of management priorities from an archaeologist’s perspective,...

  • Beyond the Borders: Using 3D Public Archaeology to Democratize the Past at US National Parks (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Bernard Means.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. National Parks in the United States contain within their borders a natural and cultural heritage not only significant to all the nation’s inhabitants but also hold importance on a global scale. Although interaction with this heritage within a national park is intended to be direct and physical, this is not always...

  • Bringing Archaeology to You: Insights from the Roving Exhibit and Archeology Laboratory (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Anya Gruber. Amy Fedchenko. Mikala Hardie.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. One of the most important aspects of the National Park Service is to preserve the “cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” However, cultural resources—including archaeological sites—are often inaccessible to the public. In...

  • California and Mongolia “Sister Parks” Have Common Goals: How Did that Happen? (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Joan Schneider.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. A partnership between Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (California) and Ikh Nart Nature Reserve (Mongolia) began in 2010 and continues through the present. Annually, a team of American archaeologists, cultural resource management specialists, and volunteers visit Ikh Nart to demonstrate and implement cultural heritage...

  • Every Site Is a Microcosm: A Tale of Cultural Resource Management, Public Parks, and an NRHP Site (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Megan Shaeffer. Charlotte Gintert. Maeve Marino.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This presentation focuses on an Indigenous site that is on the NRHP and is located within Summit Metro Parks (SMP), a county-level park system in Ohio. Work on this site exemplifies many of the issues facing cultural resource / heritage management in a small public park system. The site spans both SMP and adjacent...

  • An Investigation into the Archaeological Resources of Irishtown Gap Hollow (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Amanda Telep.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In partnership with the South Mountain Research Corps, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) has had a unique opportunity to highlight archaeological resources on public lands. Amanda Telep, a second-year graduate student at IUP, received a grant from the South Mountain Research program to conduct an archaeological...

  • It Takes a Village to Raise a Fort: The Fort Halifax Rediscovery Project (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jonathan Burns. Amanda Rasmussen.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Fort Halifax Township Park in Pennsylvania is home to an eponymous French and Indian War site dating to 1756. A Juniata College archaeological field school in 2021 laid the foundation to receive an American Battlefield Protection Program grant from NPS in 2022. Using a combination of geoarchaeology, controlled metal...

  • Making Archaeology Relevant and Inclusive in a Local Park System (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Stephanie Sperling.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Thousands of people are employed by Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County, but only two of them are full-time archaeologists. These professionals are supported by a small part-time staff and are responsible for the stewardship of...

  • Military Land Management (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jesse Gunnels.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Military lands have evolved over the years, beginning as coastal defenses and outposts on the frontier, to major military installations that are small self-contained cities. Beyond their significance for national security and training, these lands contain natural and cultural resources that present unique challenges in...

  • A Poet, a President, and Public Engagement: Archaeological Investigations at Longfellow House (Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, Cambridge, MA) (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Joel Dukes.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Before Henry Wadsworth Longfellow moved into the yellow house on Brattle Street in Cambridge, MA, it was already historic, having served as the home and headquarters for General George Washington in 1775–1776. In anticipation of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the NPS Northeast...

  • Secrets of Two Historic Montana Homesteads (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Charles McLeod.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In 1979 the Lolo National Forest purchased 320 acres in the Upper Rock Creek drainage, Granite County, Western Montana. The 320 acres incorporated two patented homestead claims (Hogback Homestead and Morgan-Case Homestead), both with standing architecture. In 1990 the Missoula Ranger District began rehabilitation of the...

  • Stewardship and the Efforts to Preserve the Carroll Cabin (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Katherine Peresolak.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Carroll Cabin is a late eighteenth-century hand-hewn log home with extant mid-nineteenth-century addition located on State property in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania within Forbes State Forest. Since the donation of the home and surrounding property, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has...

  • Tackling Hard Histories in Penn’s Woods: Exploratory Archaeology of Two Segregated CCC Camps (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Angela Jaillet-Wentling. Katherine Peresolak.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. A number of recent initiatives including the development of a Cultural Resources Program, Untold Stories interpretative work, and programming like Penn’s Parks for All at Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) had the cumulative effect of providing multiple opportunities for the agency to...

  • Walking a Trail Like Reading a Book (2023)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Niels Rinehart.

    This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Histories are typically drawn up linearly, with events laid out in chronological order and often separated into periods of Early, Middle, and Late to illustrate the processes that make one event lead to another. But when you walk through your hometown, the landscape is a text written with the stories of one’s life, and...