Curation of the John and Phil Palmquist Archaeological Collection

The 2018 SAA statement encouraging collaboration between archaeologists and “responsible and responsive stewards” included recommendations epitomizing decades of established practice at the University of Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA), a research center housing the State Archaeological Repository of Iowa. At the time the SAA statement was published, OSA staff were actively implementing a grant supporting transfer to the State Repository of the John and Phil Palmquist Archaeological Collection. This grant was designed to provide hands-on research experience for undergraduate students interested in archaeology and collections management while recording improved site locational data and artifact specific documentation, including on relatively rare (for the area) red pipestone artifacts. Although modest by some standards, the Palmquist Collection includes 860 artifacts from 26 locations recorded through 40 years of surface survey by the family in a portion of Iowa that is rarely the focus of professional archaeologists. This article provides a case study of responsible archaeological practice implementing SAA recommendations, including treating collector-collaborators with respect, encouraging collector assistance in the recording of finds, capturing research data from a private collection, and facilitating curation of privately owned materials. We include brief consideration of the impact of the Palmquist Collection on the understanding of southwestern Iowa archaeology.

Getting Your Feet Wet

There is a lack of broad representation in archaeology generally, and in a specialized field such as underwater archaeology, this issue is only exacerbated. Underwater archaeological sites are often “out of sight, out of mind,“” creating a general lack of awareness of underwater cultural heritage and career prospects in many communities. Coupled with a lack of education and the additional demands of working in a submerged environment (e.g., scuba diving), there is a striking lack of diversity in underwater archaeology. Overall, underwater archaeologists are a largely homogeneous group, particularly along the lines of race and wealth—categories that often overlap. In the context of asking broader questions such as “Why are there so few underwater archaeologists of color?” and “How can we do better?” this article outlines the barriers to inclusivity writ large in underwater archaeology and provides solutions for increasing diversity and accessibility in the field, including specific opportunities and resources for underrepresented groups to “get their feet wet.”

The Potential and Pitfalls of Collector Collaboration in Southeast Arizona

ABSTRACT In locales where much of the archaeological record has been destroyed or heavily impacted by pothunting and development, engaging with collector informants—including those who legally excavated sites on private property in the 1980s—can help fill crucial information gaps. However, such collaboration can pose ethical, and potentially legal, challenges. In this article, I outline research goals and results from a survey project in southeast Arizona's York-Duncan Valley, discuss the legal and ethical implications involved in working with former pothunters, and offer a critical evaluation of project practice. Finally, I offer a set of recommendations for those considering similar collaborations. I argue that the rejection of individuals who are knowledgeable about damaged or destroyed archaeological sites effectively silences the sites forever. Data acquired from former pothunters led to the identification and recording of 25 of 87 archaeological sites in the York-Duncan Valley. These individuals also served as interlocutors with others in the local community, helping us foster the trusted relationships necessary to promote site preservation on private property. A long-term engagement strategy that incorporates an assessment determining whether collector informants are responsible or responsive and that nurtures community involvement in preserving local archaeology offers a more productive course of action.

How Archaeologists Can Effectively and Ethically Cultivate Responsible and Responsive Stewards

The objective of this article is to share how professional archaeologists can leverage their knowledge and influence to develop collectors and amateur archaeologists into responsible and responsive stewards (RRS). This approach furthers the primary purposes of the National Historic Preservation Act as well as the ethics of the Society for American Archaeology. I share my own journey about finding artifacts in the Texas Panhandle, yearning to understand more about them, and how a poster in a gas station led me to visiting a local Stone Age Fair where I met a professional archaeologist. This archaeologist mentor was willing to answer my questions and guide me to greater understanding of archaeological ethics and practice, which prompted me to document everything I had found. In turn, I have shared my experience with many other nonprofessionals. Archaeologist mentors can have great influence if they are willing to meet collectors and amateur archaeologists on their level. Ultimately, collectors and archaeologists share a love of artifacts and a passion for the history behind them.

Foregrounding Daily Data Collection on Archaeological Fieldwork

Overview Daily data collection during archaeological fieldwork forms the basis for later interpretation and analysis. Across the world, we observe a wide variety of digital data collection methods and tools employed during fieldwork. Here, we detail the daily practices at four recent survey and excavation projects in the South Caucasian country of Armenia. As archaeology continues to become ever more digital, it is useful to consider these day-to-day recording processes at a typical field project. We provide details on both the types of data collected and the ways they are collected so as to foreground these topics. Finally, we reflect on how our work is currently impacted by digital changes and how it may continue to change in the future.

Considerations for Post-processing Parameters in Mixed-Method 3D Analyses

ABSTRACTThe production of three-dimensional (3D) digital meshes of surface and computed tomographic (CT) data has become widespread in morphometric analyses of anthropological and archaeological data. Given that processing methods are not standardized, this leaves questions regarding the comparability of processed and digitally curated 3D datasets. The goal of this study was to identify those processing parameters that result in the most consistent fit between CT-derived meshes and a 3D surface model of the same human mandible. Eight meshes, each using unique thresholding and smoothing parameters, were compared to assess whole-object deviations, deviations along curves, and deviations between specific anatomical features on the surface model when compared with the CT scans using a suite of comparison points. Based on calculated gap distances, the mesh that thresholded at “0” with an applied smoothing technique was found to deviate least from the surface model, although it is not the most biologically accurate. Results have implications for aggregated studies that employ multimodal 3D datasets, and caution is recommended for studies that enlist 3D data from websites and digital repositories, particularly if processing parameters are unknown or derived for studies with different research foci.

The Field School Syllabus

Research indicates that sexual harassment and assault commonly occur during archaeological field research, and students, trainees, and early career professionals are more frequently subjected to harassing behaviors compared to mid-career and senior scientists. Specific to archaeological education, the undergraduate educational requirement of a field school puts students and trainees in situations where harassment historically has been unchecked. We present the results of a systematic content analysis of 24 sets of field school documents. We analyzed these documents with attention to how field school policies, procedures, and language may impact students’ perceptions of their expected behaviors, logistics and means of reporting, and stated policies surrounding sexual harassment and assault. Coding was conducted using an a priori coding scheme to identify practices that should lead to a safe and supportive field learning environment. Our coding scheme resulted in 11 primary codes that we summarized as three primary themes: (1) field school organization and expected student behavior, (2) logistics of the course, and (3) stated policies surrounding sexual harassment and assault. Based on these themes, we provide recommendations to modify field school documents and practices to create a field school that provides safe opportunities for students to learn.

A Methodological Framework for Free and Open-Source UAV-Based Archaeological Research

Full-coverage pedestrian survey to record cultural features on unexplored archaeological landscapes is costly in terms of time, money, and personnel. Over the past two decades, researchers have implemented remote sensing and landscape data collection techniques using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to combat some of these burdens, but the initial cost of equipment, software, and processing power has hindered the ubiquitous implementation of UAV technology as an accessible companion tool to traditional archaeological survey. This article presents a free and open-source, technology-independent analytical framework for the collection and processing of UAV images to produce high-resolution digital terrain models limited only by the equipment available to the researcher. Results from the free and open-source protocol are directly compared to those produced using proprietary software to illustrate the capabilities of freely available data processing tools for UAV-collected images. By replicating the methods outlined here, researchers should be able to identify and target areas of interest to increase fieldwork efficiency, decrease costs of implementing this technology, and produce high-resolution digital terrain models to conduct spatial analyses that pursue a deeper understanding of cultural landscapes.

Experiences in Archaeology, Social Justice, and Democratic Principles

ABSTRACT From 2016 to 2019, the University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu conducted archaeological field schools at Honouliuli National Historic Site to teach our students basic archaeological skills. Because the site was the largest Japanese and Japanese American concentration camp on O‘ahu, the field school initiated a program related to social justice and democratic principles for the imprisonment of US citizens and legal residents based on racial and national profiling. The demography of O‘ahu created a special bond to the incarcerees’ stories and the students of Asian and Hawaiian descent. Through field trips, student discussion, and curriculum development, we focused on the pedagogical benefit of experiential learning. Field trips to the National Park Service's World War II Valor in the Pacific Park System on O‘ahu, King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center, and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i allowed the students to see and understand the historical context of the Japanese internment from the mid-nineteenth century, with the development of plantations and early colonialism, to the beginning of World War II and the internment of the more than 300 Japanese and Japanese American—as well as European and Okinawan—civilians and the imprisonment of over 4,000 prisoners of war.