Event Details

In 2017, Danielle Benden launched Driftless Pathways, LLC, a museum consulting business.  As owner of Driftless Pathways, she develops collections assessments, provides guidance on collections planning and rehabilitation projects, and offers professional development training for small museums and historical societies.  She has taught Archaeological Curation and Field Methods courses at the university level for over ten years. In addition, Ms. Benden has instructed a variety of professional development trainings including SAA online seminars for archaeologists, and tailored curatorial programs for small museum staff. She has more than 15 years of archaeological fieldwork experience, ten of which have been directing field projects.  She received a Bachelor of Science in Archaeology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a Master of Science in Museum and Field Studies with an archaeology emphasis from the University of Colorado-Boulder. She served as the Senior Curator in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2007-2016.

She is the current Chair of SAA’s Committee on Museums, Collections, and Curation and serves on the Archaeological Collections Consortium. This work puts her at the forefront of the most current issues involving archaeological curation.

Archaeological collections stewardship begins before an archaeologist steps foot into the field, and continues well after the recovered collections reach the repository. This two-hour online seminar provides participants with an understanding of the curation crisis and the responsibilities that archaeologists have to the collections they generate. Participants will learn about preventive conservation and the real costs of long-term curation, and gain practical skills in project development, culling and sampling strategies, deaccessioning, and preparing collections for the repository to ensure their long term care, access, and use. This seminar is especially designed for those who work in the CRM industry.

1. Develop a strong understanding of the curation crisis in American archaeology, from both historical and current perspectives and use this information to inform their future decision-making processes.
2. Understand the responsibilities that archaeologists have to the collections they generate, be conversant in the guidelines and procedures outlined in the Federal Curation Regulations, 36 CFR 79, and utilize this information when making choices about curation.
3. Apply the concepts to address issues of curation in their work places.