Getting Involved: The Benefits of Archaeological Awareness through Public Outreach

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Outreach and Education: Examples of Approaches and Strategies from the Pacific Northwest" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeologists that engage in public outreach have the ability to fulfill several important objectives, both for the general public and for themselves. The act of informing non-archaeologists what professionals do, and why, has the potential to decrease unlawful looting, provide a better sense of place, promote cultural awareness, and dispel misconceptions. For the archaeologist, it gives them better understanding of outside perspectives, and an opportunity to justify why archaeology is important. As examples, important objectives of archaeological awareness may involve deterring students from later non-malicious collection of artifacts they may encounter, or from the path of unlawful looting itself. It may also involve providing the public with a greater understanding of the deep history of their community, facilitating a desire to become better stewards. It can also dispel misconceptions by explaining what archaeologists actually do, how they do it, and why it is important. Archaeological awareness through public outreach gives archaeologists real-time practice justifying archaeology, while exposing them to different perspectives and feedback from the public. Engaging in archaeological awareness through public outreach also has the potential to give archaeologists a better understanding of broader contexts to expand their ability to message their areas of interest.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Outreach and Education: Examples of Approaches and Strategies from the Pacific Northwest   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37488.0