In a Box or in the Ground: A Case Study on Legacy Collections Excavated from Tribal Lands

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeology is conducted with the hope that the artifacts unearthed through excavation will have enduring value as archaeological collections housed in institutions. However, this perceived value has been called into question as the field increasingly engages with descendant communities who often do not value Western-style museums and with the archaeological curation crisis at institutions across the country. This paper shares how the legacy collections of the La Jara site on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation were evaluated through multiple methodologies to provide the Nation with an understanding of the potential research value of its excavated artifacts. This research was undertaken as the Nation considered whether to house the collections in an institution or reinter them. The case study of the La Jara collections demonstrates how the combination of ethnographic interviews and preliminary artifact analysis can support holistic management recommendations and decision-making regarding legacy collections within Tribal cultural resource management settings.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52390