Historic Preservation


Is amenity STILL at the heart of historic preservation?

Amenity (n)­ (1) something that makes life easier or pleasant; (2) the attractiveness and value of real estate or of a residential structure; (3) a feature conducive to such attractiveness and value; (4) something that conduces to comfort, convenience, or enjoyment A long time ago, back in the mid-1900s, historic […]


#SHA2014- Lessons Learned from the Conference at the European Village on the Planet Hoth

The 2013–2014 Polar Vortex drastically altered the travel plans for dozens of attendees of the recent Society for Historical Archaeology conference (#SHA2014). Set in beautiful, friendly Quebec City, the reputation of this conference will be forever marked by memories of delays, unexpected hotel layovers, lost luggage, and icy streetscapes. I […]


Does CRM archaeology mean whiteness?

Last week, I was listening to the Episode 20 of the CRM Archaeology Podcast (Women in Archaeology, Part II). In the first few minutes of the podcast, the panelists were discussing how acknowledging the prevalence of male privilege in CRM archaeology could give way to a larger discussion of other […]


Looks like archaeologists are promoting crowdfunding after all

Two weeks ago, I wrote a post highlighting the dangers of soliciting other archaeologists for crowdfunding archaeology projects. I have previously stated that crowdfunding could quickly become an important means to pay for a variety of archaeology projects. I also felt it could be a good way for me to […]


Crowdfunding and archaeological research: should we do it?

A few months ago, I wrote about the new opportunities to be had through crowdfunding archaeological research. It seemed like a solid approach to cover some of the costs of conducting an archaeology or historic preservation project, especially if the crowdfunded project paid dividends to the local economy and community. […]


Crowdfunding and community archaeology

Thanks to thankless activism on the part of a dedicated Congressional lobby, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States just approved crowdfunding for small businesses. This privilege is enshrined as part of the recently signed JOBS Act. I read the Entrepreneur magazine article (June 2013:32–40) about how […]


Crisis in CRM archaeology is actually a changing of the guard, Part 3 2

This is the third and final post in a 3-part series on three articles written by Lawrence E. Moore. These three articles focus on the decline of CRM archaeology, the future of this industry in the United States, and they were published in the SAA Archaeological Record in 2005 and […]


Developing Independent Research Topics from CRM Projects

 With the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) conference just behind us and the call for papers for the 2014 Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) conference just around the corner, I started thinking about all the CRM archaeology projects I’ve worked on that I turned into academic presentations at these two […]


Why do Archaeologists Care about Looters, Part 2

(In Part 1 of this series, I discussed how the field of archaeology is negatively affected by its portrayal in the national media, specifically on NatGeo’s Diggers and Spike TVs Savage Family Diggers. I also addressed some relevant questions regarding why archaeologists may be angry with these “archaeology looter” shows—coming […]


10 unwritten rules for professional archaeology

Why do archaeologists care about looters?–Part 1 2

Recently, I read Paul Mullins’ blog post “Historical Archaeology will be Televised” on the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) Blog. Among other salient topics the SHA has chosen to address, this article discusses efforts taken to revise/ alter the new popular shows that glorify archaeological site looters: NatGeo’s Diggers and […]