Envisioning New Directions for CRM Archaeology
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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:
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.
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:
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!
