Entertaining or Educating to Engage the Public? Marketing Archaeology and Shaping Public Perceptions Without Compromising Scientific Standards

Summary

While public outreach and education have succeeded on some levels, recent budget cuts, limited job opportunities, and tense relationships with stakeholders indicate the public is not fully engaged and does not perceive archaeology as an important cause for which to fight. The two Jamestowns serve as an example: thousands engage with the historical park at Jamestown Settlement without realizing it is not an archaeological site; meanwhile, the Jamestown Rediscovery crew quickly publicizes finds and markets the Fort site to source funding for the project, engaging and entertaining the public while colleagues disparage them for not publishing in peer-reviewed journals. We analyze this and other case studies to discern whether we can entertain the public and market archaeology, while maintaining scientific standards. We suggest archaeologists can respond to public interests and desires without losing sight of research goals: survival means a combination of collaborating, teaching, and marketing.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Community Education and Public Engagement   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-79,03