Community Archaeology in the Jemez

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Over four weeks in the early summer of 2023, a community-based archaeological project was conducted to re-record Whan·hang·kya·nu Pueblo in fulfillment of a Masters project in Public Archaeology at the University of New Mexico. Whan·hang·kya·nu Pueblo is a prehistoric site located in the Jemez District of Santa Fe National Forest and has been continuously monitored for decades. However, it is still subject to interest and visits from the general public and, as such, is vulnerable to looting and social trails. Volunteers drawn from the local community were able to record and assess these impacts over the course of the project through pedestrian survey. In this way, community members were exposed to a variety of archaeological methods and were able to experience the importance of archaeology and site protection first-hand. There were several key takeaways from this project, such as best practices for communicating archaeological significance to the general public and what is necessary to recruit and sustain volunteer involvement in a community-based project. Ultimately, the continued integrity of Whan·hang·kya·nu Pueblo was confirmed after a decades-long break in recording.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39661.0