Building a Public Archaeology Effort Finding the Best Foundation Somewhere between Bedrock and Shifting Sands: Public Archaeology Efforts at Pandenarium (36ME253)

Summary

Small-scale and volunteer-driven public archaeology efforts undertaken at the site of Pandenarium (36ME253) aim to bring the results and practice of archaeology to many publics with recent outreach efforts including partnerships between state agency personnel and university archaeology programs, fieldwork opportunities for volunteers, interviews with local media, and presentations at local, regional, and national conferences. With changing methods and times, our definition of hybrid professionals (Jeppson, 2005) can be characterized as in flux when they move beyond the formal definitions of applied, theoretical, academic, or even compliance-driven public archaeological efforts to informal volunteer-based programs. While not necessarily a novel approach, an effective partnering of research and socio-political interests paired with the experience and willingness of off-duty professionals can provide a foundation for future research and volunteer organizations. Not everybody needs to build on the bedrock of fully-funded formal programs, but shifting sands of one or two individuals will not do either. The flexibility in building informal partnerships out of professional and formal relationships allows us to move beyond concerns with who is telling the story to telling the story for those who would listen.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22053