Bringing Public Archeology HOME: Reflections on Citizen Science at Homestead National Monument of America

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Archeology, Citizen Science, and the National Park Service" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Although citizen science in its current form is perhaps most associated with biological disciplines, archeologists have harnessed this powerful tool for some time. Yet citizen science in archeology presents its own challenges, including the need for more direct supervision with most data collection and the need to balance practicality and ease of project management with the goal of creating a meaningful project. This paper reflects on a recent public archaeology project at Homestead National Monument of America, which provided citizen science opportunities for over 100 participants. Students from Lincoln Public Schools’ Science Focus Program helped perform geophysical surveys, screened for artifacts, and documented finds. Other members of the public volunteered to assist with ongoing excavations and a limited coring program. We will discuss positive outcomes from the project as well as examine what we may do differently in the future.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archeology, Citizen Science, and the National Park Service   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 394