Balancing Public and Professional Interests in Archaeology from a State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) Perspective

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

As the public increases its influence over how the discipline of archaeology defines its scientific and educational value, state-sponsored archaeological institutions, such as the State Historic Preservation Office, must continue to adapt to satisfy their professional and public audiences. In 2017, the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office (NeSHPO) conducted its five-year review of the State of Nebraska’s historic preservation plan. This plan communicates to the National Park Service, lawmakers, and the public the State’s strategic goals regarding how to best record, secure, and distribute cultural resource information across the state. To collect data for this plan, the NeSHPO Archaeology division conducted two independent, online surveys that targeted both Nebraska citizens interested in archaeology and professional archaeologists living or working in Nebraska. Separating the survey populations allowed for a greater definition in which to gauge the unique and sometimes conflicting opinions of both groups regarding their knowledge, experiences, and priorities for how Nebraska archaeology and archaeological resources should be administered by the NeSHPO. This paper will present the methodology of both surveys, compare and contrast the results, and offer suggestions for future surveys that can be models for other SHPOs.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24293