In 1974, cultural resource management legislation spurred the organization of a conference at the Airlie House retreat in Warrenton, Virginia. The report from the conference, published in 1977, helped shape federal archaeology and cultural resource management over the next four decades. 

You can read essays on the original Airlie House by some of its participants here:

Alice Kehoe

William Lipe

Michael Morratto

But in a rapidly changing world, archaeology needed a new Airlie House-like conference in order to address such issues as improving engagement and partnerships with descendant communities, climate change impacts, decolonizing archaeology, and academic training that supports and advances compliance with our nation’s historic preservation laws. 

A working group was convened, consisting of individual archaeologists and experts in related fields, as well as persons representing sponsoring organizations such as the SAA, the National Park Service, Metcalf Archaeology and Desert Archaeology, Inc. In 2022 and 2023 this coalition met on a regular basis and held several events to solicit input on how to structure the conference. Between October 16 and October 28, 2022, we asked archaeologists working in the United States to prioritize nine preliminary topics for the conference in an online survey. We also posted essays by some of the participants of the original Airlie House conference so that people could learn about the impact that report had on the profession. There was also a webinar on February 8, 2023, and an in-person conversation at the SAA 88th Annual Meeting in Portland. 

View the survey results here.

Watch the webinar here.

At the 2024 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, the SAA hosted a presidential-sponsored forum titled AIRLIE HOUSE REVISITED: ENVISIONING NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CRM ARCHAEOLOGY to highlight the “new challenges” facing the rapidly-changing profession, including “newer laws and regulations, technological innovations, a curation crisis, and social issues such as climate change, environmental justice, the rights of Indigenous and descendant communities, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge.”  By doing so, the working group was able to finalize the agenda for the conference. 

The Airlie House 2.0 conference was held at the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia from May 19-23, 2024 to discuss its groundbreaking set of topics.

Conference Agenda

The conference was proudly sponsored by:

A group of logos Description automatically generated

Metcalf Archaeological Consultants
National Park Service https://jonesarchaeology.com/
Jones Archaeology Consulting
Society for American Archaeology
Algonquin Consultants, Inc.
Desert Archaeology, Inc.
SRI
Society for Historical Archaeology

Following the meeting, in October 2024 the working group published an update on the outcome of the conference, and the progress made since that time. 

Update on Airlie House 2.0 Progress October 2024

To provide greater detail on the findings and plans of the conference, working group participants published a comprehensive article in the January 2025 edition of the SAA Archaeological Record.

Update in the SAA Archaeological Record

On Thursday, April 24, during the upcoming SAA annual meeting in Denver, another president-sponsored forum titled “Airlie House 2.0, Envisioning New Directions for CRM Archaeology: Results of the 2024 Workshop and Future Developments” will be held at 8:00 AM to “summarize the major topics discussed and recommended action items proposed by the Airlie House 2.0 workshop.” 

Please be sure to join us in Denver for an informative conversation on the future of archaeology!

Archaeologists Share What they Do

The Archiving the Archaeologists series is an oral history project of video interviews of archaeologists near retirement or already retired. Listen to real archaeologists reflect on their careers, how and why they became archaeologists, and their contributions to the discipline on the SAA YouTube channel.

Is the Past in Your Future?

Aimed at high school students, the Is the Past in Your Future?  [PDF 1.1 MB] brochure from the SAA provides brief information about a career in archaeology.

The National Historic Preservation Act

The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 is a federal law that protects archaeological resources in the United States. The What is the NPHA? [PDF 1.3 MB] fact-sheet from SAA helps explain the NHPA. It includes common misconceptions about the law and explains the Section 106 review process, which is particularly important to historic preservation.

Be an Archaeology Education Coordinator

If you are an SAA member interested in serving as your area's Archaeology Education Coordinator, please contact [email protected].

SAA Education and Outreach Awards

SAA gives out several archaeology education and outreach-related awards each year: the Distinguished Achievement in Public Archaeology Award, the Excellence in Public Archaeology Programming Award, the Outstanding Public Archaeology Initiative Award, the Binford Family Award for Teaching Scientific Reasoning in Archaeology, the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology Award for Archaeology And Education. Learn more about these awards, nominate a worthy individual or project, and view the past honorees!


Archaeology Education Newsletter Archive
1990-Present

SAA's archaeology education newsletter started as the Public Education Committee's print newsletter Archaeology & Public Education (A&PE). Running from 1990 to 1998, it featured news, events, and K-12 lesson plans aimed at expanding awareness of archaeology and heritage issues. It switched to a web format from 2000 to 2004. After a hiatus, it returned as Public Archaeology Notes (PAN) in 2016, managed by SAA's Archaeology Education Coordinators as a way to share news across regions.

Educational Videos

Looking for video content for your classroom? The SAA YouTube channel has short informational videos on a wide variety of topics, long-form interviews with archaeologists, and publicly-available online seminars.

State Archaeology Celebration Poster Contest

Does your state have an annual archaeology celebration? Submit a poster to the SAA State Archaeology Celebration Poster Contest! Learn more about the award and the submissions process.

SAA Committee on Repatriation

The Committee on Repatriation tracks national legislation, testifies at hearings when necessary, and represents SAA in discussions and negotiations on repatriation issues.

JOIN TODAY!

Join to lend your voice and your numbers to our efforts to ensure the archaeological record will exist for future generations.


Race, Inequality, and Decolonization

Please visit a selection of items on topics of race, inequality, and decolonization from The SAA Archaeological Record, Advances in Archaeological Practice, American Antiquity, and Latin American Antiquity.


Online Learning Archive

SAA members, log into the Member Center to access 30+ hours of free continuing education recordings. This is an exclusive member benefit.

Publicly-Available Recordings

Everyone can enjoy and learn from these events. See SAA's Continuing Education playlist on YouTube for publicly-available recordings of past lectures.

Have a Request?

The seminars we offer on-demand will change over time. If there is a past online seminar recording you'd like to view, please let us know at [email protected]. We can't guarantee that we can meet your request, but your input will help us make decisions about what to offer next.

Download the SAA Principles of Archaeological Ethics

In 1996, the SAA Executive Board adopted its Principles of Archaeological Ethics, and in 2016, membership voted to add a Principle No. 9. In 2018, the SAA Board created a series of task forces which culminated in a 2024 update to the Principles, which were adopted overwhelmingly by members on the January 2024 ballot. Download the most current SAA Principles of Archaeological Ethics [PDF 183 KB] to print or use for classrooms or training.