Sharing the Interpretive Center at Colonial Williamsburg: Archaeologists, Historical Interpreters, and Descendant Communities

Summary

Archaeology at Colonial Williamsburg has always involved African Americans in different levels of its practice.  Members of this community have worked behind-the-scenes and in more public roles at the museum since its founding in the late 1920s. This presentation addresses the unique ways in which archaeologists have worked with African Americans, and how this interaction has allowed archaeologists to reach descendant communities.  Examples from past and ongoing activities are used to illustrate the dynamism of sharing both space and authority through direct engagements, such as field school excavations and slave-site projects, and secondary alliances including forums, open-houses, exhibits, commemorations, and training sessions. Particular focus is given to ways in which archaeologists have heightened their discipline’s influence, moving it from the periphery of frontline interaction to more central and direct roles in the museum's public education.   

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015   •
• Inspirations from Public History: Recommendations for Collaboration and Community Outreach Drawn Across Disciplinary Boundaries

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 431