Accommodating Disabilities in Archaeological Field Schools, Through Trowel and Error

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Physically disabled people are vastly underrepresented in the field of professional archaeology. This is likely in part due to the inaccessibility of field school and an unwillingness to build in accommodations. This paper proposes that accommodating physical disabilities in field schools is possible and worthwhile. This research includes three case studies using the author’s experience in archaeological field schools as an amputee who uses crutches and a wheelchair, as well as those of fellow students with disabilities. These case studies include two local field schools, one in an urban setting and the other in the mountains, and one international field school. Through these three field schools, this paper demonstrates ways that have been found to accommodate various disabilities. It is necessary to find ways to accommodate disabilities in field schools in order to the open door for physically disabled people in discussions of archaeology, especially archaeology of disability.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow