The Benefits and Challenges of Active Excavations as Tools for Interpretation and Public Outreach: Examples from Blackwater Draw Locality 1

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Touching the Past: Public Archaeology Engagement through Existing Collections" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Blackwater Draw Locality 1 is one of few archaeological sites in North America open to the public with exposed cultural deposits on permanent display and protected by an enclosed structure. With deposits spanning the last 13,000 years, the locality provides a unique opportunity to interpret in situ past human behavior as well as environmental change through time from the perspective of a field archaeologist. The site continues to be excavated by archaeologists and students from Eastern New Mexico University and interpretations continue to evolve as new discoveries are made. We share these interpretations with the public through guided tours, class field trips, and special events. The site also serves ENMU as a non-traditional classroom providing students with firsthand perspectives of archaeology in action as well as hands-on experience with prehistoric technologies. However, there are many difficulties associated with operating an archaeological site as an exhibit, including long-term preservation and curation of cultural and geological deposits outside of a controlled museum setting. This paper addresses the challenges and benefits of public outreach at one of the most significant archaeological sites in North America.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Touching the Past: Public Archaeology Engagement through Existing Collections   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24924