D.C. Urban Archeology Corps: The Surveying is in the Details

Summary

In the summer of 2017, the D.C. Urban Archeology Corps (UAC), jointly managed by the National Park Service, National Capital Parks-East, and Groundwork DC, conducted a Phase I shove test pit survey at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, where Douglass lived between 1877 and 1895. The UAC is a summer program where urban youth learn about the field of archeology and how it applies to local communities and parks. Participants research the archeological significance of local parks, conduct excavations, identify and process artifacts, and create a culminating project to present to the community. The purpose of the survey was to fulfill the requirements of Section 110 of the NHPA. Simultaneously, the program goal was to train UAC participants in the process of conducting a Phase I survey from beginning to end. This paper will focus on the fieldwork findings, but also discuss the utility in teaching the archeological process in the context of a NPS site. The successful completion of the survey and the knowledge and skill sets UAC participants learned and developed along the way were products of this strong program structure.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22407