Making Archaeology Relevant and Inclusive in a Local Park System

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Thousands of people are employed by Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County, but only two of them are full-time archaeologists. These professionals are supported by a small part-time staff and are responsible for the stewardship of hundreds of sites, in addition to management of two archaeological parks, a paleontological park, a circa 1880 African American cemetery, and a collection of over one million artifacts and fossils recovered from park property. Despite this extensive portfolio, the team must perpetually develop creative tactics to promote the relevance of archaeological and paleontological resources. This paper will discuss these methods, including creating inclusive programming for residents in our majority-minority county and developing innovative partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, including descendant communities, natural resource managers, and marketing professionals.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Public Lands, Public Sites: Research, Engagement, and Collaboration   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36696.0