From Bones to Insights: Identifying, Analyzing, and Applying Faunal Data in Archaeological Research [Deeper Digs]
When: October 31, 2024 2:00-4:00 PM ET
Duration: 2 hours
Certification: RPA-Certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: $99 for SAA members; $149 for non-members
Group Registration: $139 for SAA members; $189 for non-members
Arianne Boileau is an Assistant Professor of Anthropological Archaeology at Mount Royal University. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Florida, an M.A. in Anthropology from Trent University, and a B.A. in Archaeology from Université Laval. With over 12 years of experience as a zooarchaeologist, Dr. Boileau has conducted research in Belize, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, France, and the United States. Her research focuses on understanding how and why Indigenous peoples procured, used, and discarded animal resources in the pre-Columbian and post-European contact Mesoamerica. Her current project investigates the sustainability of Indigenous practices related to freshwater turtles in Mesoamerica, employing zooarchaeology, ancient DNA analysis, isotope analysis, and ethnohistory. Her broader research interests include quantification methods in zooarchaeology, the development of socio-political complexity, and the resilience of socio-ecological systems.
2. Distinguish among the main classes of animal skeletons.
3. Integrate zooarchaeology into the design of a larger archaeological project.
Ground–Penetrating Radar Applications to Archaeology [Deeper Digs]
When: November 15, 2024 2:00-4:00 PM ET
Duration: 2 hours
Certification: RPA-certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: $99 for SAA members; $149 for non-members
Group Registration: $139 for SAA members; $189 for non-members
Dr. Leslie is a geoarchaeologist and lithic specialist, whose work focuses on the pre-contact and historical period archaeology of Northeastern North America. While much of his archaeological work has included a focus on southern New England pre-contact archaeology, he also regularly conducts geophysical and remote sensing archaeological investigations throughout the United States. In addition to his work with TerraSearch Geophysical, where he is the Principal and co-owner, Dr. Leslie is also the Director of
Archaeological Research at Heritage Consultants, LLC, a Principal Investigator with R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, and a Research Scientist with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut. Through this work in Cultural Resource Management, and with academic partners, Dr. Leslie's work includes numerous cemetery investigations, as well as magnetometry, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) surveys, soil coring, and geochemical applications to historic preservation projects.
2. Participants will learn appropriate methods of GPR survey, and sediments/field conditions amenable to survey.
3. Participants will gain understanding of various archaeological and geological features that can be imaged through GPR survey.
Indigenous Archaeology in Practice [Foundational Skills]
When: November 22, 2024 1:00-2:00 PM ET
Duration: 1 hour
Certification: RPA-certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: Free to SAA members; $69 for non-members
Group Registration: Free to SAA members; $89 for non-members
John A. Torres has been a professional anthropologist and archaeologist for over 30 years. The bulk of his research has been in Southern California, the Great Basin and the American Southwest. Professor Torres is of Chicano and Navajo descent and is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. Since his return to Southern California in 2014 he has been teaching in the Inland Empire and is currently full-time Associate Professor of Anthropology and Indigenous Archaeology at Mt. San Jacinto College. He is also the Supervisory Archaeologist for the Kizh Nation, Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians.
resources. These new Tribal Cultural Resources not only include, archaeological sites, features and objects, but also tribal stories, landscapes, medicine collection areas, hills, caves, waterways, etc. The impact has not only added to the interpretation of archaeological data, but some tribes have created their own CRM enterprises to collect, analyze, and curate the material culture of their ancestors directly. This program will explore how this reborn paradigm has impacted archaeology, tribe vs archaeologist relations and the resources themselves.
- Recognize what Indigenous Archaeology is.
- Identify potential conflicts between archaeological methods and Indigenous cosmologies.
- Formulate ways that Indigenous knowledge can better our interpretation of the archaeological record.
From Principles to Practice: Ethical Foundations and Training in Archaeology [Deeper Digs]
When: December 04, 2024 2:00-4:00 PM ET
Duration: 2 hours
Certification: RPA-certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: $99 for SAA members; $149 for non-members
Group Registration: $139 for SAA members; $189 for non-members
Katherine (Katie) Chiou is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama. Her research spans foodways past and present, social inequality, plant domestication, applied ethics, and responsible conduct of research. Her current ethics project, funded by the NSF Ethical and Responsible Research Program, probes the effectiveness of case-study-based training in developing ethical decision-making competencies and works to diversify ethics education. Since 2017, she has served on the SAA Committee on Ethics, organizing the SAA Ethics Bowl. She also serves as the current Chair of the RPA Ethics Committee.
- Understand the historical development and core principles of archaeological ethics.
- Develop skills in ethical reasoning and decision-making through scenario analysis and case studies.
- Cultivate strategies for promoting ethical cultures within professional archaeological practice.
Consultation Partnerships: Lessons Learned at DoD [Foundational Skills]
When: February 06, 2025 2:00-3:00 PM ET
Duration: 1 hour
Certification: RPA-Certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: Free to SAA members; $69 for non-members
Group Registration: Free to SAA members; $89 for non-members
Dr. Rush has a BA from Indiana University Bloomington, an MA and PhD from Northwestern University, and is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome. Her research specialty is Native Americans of the Great Lakes, and she is an Army Archaeologist who serves as Cultural Resources Manager and Native American Affairs Coordinator for the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum. Dr. Rush is a Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institution, a University of Pennsylvania Consulting Scholar, and Secretary of
the US Committee of the Blue Shield. She initiated the consultation program at Fort Drum, NY over 20 years ago and is proud of the partnerships the Installation has established with the Oneida Indian Nation, the Onondaga Nation, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.
After consulting with Native American Tribes from coast to coast, the US Department of Defense developed the American Indian and Alaska Native Policy in 1998. This consultation policy takes the form of official guidance, but when read carefully, you will find a road map for establishing meaningful partnerships between US government agencies and the other sovereign nations of North America. This course will offer step-by-step instructions for building consultation partnerships based on the policy, with additional details about lessons learned over the course of the last 20 years from establishing government to government and staff to staff partnerships at a US Army installation.
- Understand how to initiate and implement a meaningful consultation program for your agency.
- Understand the two levels of consultation relationships – government to government vs staff to staff.
- Understand the importance of context for effective meetings.
- Understand the goals for establishing meaningful consultation partnerships.
- Opportunities to benefit from lessons learned.
A Practical Guide for Prioritizing Archaeological Collections [Deeper Digs]
When: February 20, 2025 2:00-4:00 PM ET
Duration: 2 hours
Certification: RPA-Certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: $99 for SAA members; $149 for non-members
Group Registration: $139 for SAA members; $189 for non-members
Danielle M. Benden is owner of Driftless Pathways, LLC, a small museum consulting firm near Madison, WI. She designs new curatorial facilities and renovates existing ones; consults with museum personnel to improve collections care and management; facilitates consultation between Native Nations and other stakeholders on the development of interpretive content and exhibits; and provides professional development training in curation and collections management. Prior to starting Driftless Pathways, Ms. Benden served as the Senior Curator of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she taught museum courses, designed and managed collections facility upgrades, oversaw NAGPRA compliance, and carried out fieldwork in the Cahokian Hinterlands. She has published scholarly articles, book chapters, and reports, conducted preservation assessments of archaeological sites and collections, and enjoys educating the public about the past through presentations and archaeological tours.
Ms. Benden received her B.S. in Archaeology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and an M.S. in Museum and Field Studies (with an Archaeology emphasis) from the University of Colorado-Boulder. She has served on national committees and task forces including as chair of SAA’s Committee on Museums, Collections, and Curation (2016-2019), co-chair of SAA’s Task Force on Data Access and Archiving (2015-2016), co-chair of the Archaeological Collections Consortium (2014-2016), and member of the SAA Archive Committee (2021-present). Her practical and professional experience puts her at the forefront of the national curation discussion.
research, education, and exhibition or the most urgent needs like NAGPRA compliance requirements?
Assessing ‘significance’—or put another way, prioritizing collections— in consultation with stakeholders is a powerful tool that can facilitate the use of collections while ensuring that their preservation and compliance needs are accounted for. This two-hour seminar provides a how-to guide for assessing collections. The resulting data informs how repositories can best direct their often limited financial and human resources to collections with the most needs and highest priorities.
This seminar is for collections caretakers and their supervisors who work across sectors: at a tribal cultural center, a government repository, a CRM firm with a related curation facility or a university department, to name a few. Participants will receive a resource guide with practical information for implementing the assessment process.
- Provide attendees with a framework for evaluating archaeological collections in the
repository. - Teach participants how to develop an assessment tool for the physical condition,
intellectual control, and compliance needs of collections. - Offer tips and resources for developing meaningful consultation with stakeholders to
prioritize collections in the repository.