Blog

The hallmark of digital democracy may well be C-SPAN (Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network), the network that provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of the US Congress.  One 2009 poll indicated that 20% of Americans watch the non-profit channel, which provides oppressively thorough and largely unfiltered coverage of the Congress and American political events.  C-SPAN aspires to present unmediated...

Federal legislation and regulatory policy is responsible for the majority of historical archaeology that occurs in the United States.  From compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for federal undertakings to research support at universities to public lands management, the federal government touches the lives of historical archaeologists throughout their careers.  Ensuring...

The current issue of Historical Archaeology presents the results of broad-ranging archaeological research from Central and South America.  From Spanish cities sacked by pirates, to English ceramics in Venezuelan households, to African scarification and pottery manufacture and marking, to plantation settlements and indigenous populations, to mining landscapes and beyond, this volume provides a fascinating look at a...

Every year on the last Saturday of the Society’s annual meeting we open our doors to the public, in one form or another.  Since the 1996 annual meeting in Cincinnati some Public Days have taken place at historical sites, museums, or ballroom of the conference venue.  For the 2013 Public Day the University of Leicester...

Whenever I meet someone for the first time, inevitably the question of what I do for a living comes up. When I tell them that I work for the U.S. Army as a Federal Archaeologist I am usually asked the question “why would the U.S. Army need an archaeologist?” My mischievous side usually comes out...

UPDATE: This post by Charlie Ewen has received a great deal of response, both here on the blog and in backchannels. Because the SHA Blog is a space for dialogue and discussion, we have modified this posting to include a dissenting opinion from Archaeologist Dan Sivilich, as well as a commentary by SHA President Paul Mullins...