Archaeology in your Backyard: Successes and Lessons Learned from FPAN-Led Community Archaeology Projects

Summary

Over the past 10 years, staff from the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) have developed curricula, programs, and trainings that educate both the general public and land managers about archaeology and Florida's unique past. While many of these initiatives might take place in a classroom or lecture hall, FPAN archaeologists also get out in the field to organize community archaeology projects that engage the public with the discovery of their own pasts. This presentation will highlight some of the successful strategies employed for these community based archaeology programs, as well as some of the challenges of this type of work outside of a traditional academic setting. Participatory mapping, oral history work, and public archaeology days have been useful in listening to and learning from the public about their local histories, but what happens when memories clash with archaeological interpretation? How can "public archaeologists" bridge the gap while also respecting the layered and ever changing histories that communities are constantly building and changing?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• My Best (and Worst) Day at FPAN: Celebrating 10 Years of Florida Public Archaeology Network Program Highlights and Continuing Challenges

Keywords

Spatial Coverage