A few times each year, the SHA Technology Committee hosts Tech Week, an entire week devoted to certain technologies used in historical archaeology. This week, archaeologist Duane Quates was asked to gather blog posts about the use of technology in mortuary analysis. Fort Drum, New York has a surprisingly rich history and the 13 historic...Read More

Dear Colleagues, The following books are available for review. If any of them pique your interest do let me know. Rich Veit–SHA Book Reviews Editor rveit@monmouth.edu All the King’s Horses: Essays on the Impact of Looting and the Illicit Antiquities Trade on Our Knowledge of the Past Paula K. Lazrus and Alex W. Barker, eds....Read More

In 1996, former SHA Curation Committee Chair Bob Sonderman (Museum Resource Center, National Park Service) argued that archaeologists’ commitment to preserve an astounding volume of artifacts has fostered “an overwhelming sense of primal fear when the thought of deaccessioning archeological material is raised.”  Archaeologists do indeed have an emotionally charged approach to collection and curation...Read More

The preliminary call for papers is now available for the 47th Annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology, to be held in Québec City, Canada, from January 8–12, 2014. The Call for Papers will open on May 1, 2013. The organizing committee proposes the theme “Questions that count, a critical evaluation of historical archaeology in...Read More

In 2012 the SHA has been active on a number of fronts, and this month I want to examine two of those that I think are exceptionally important to the SHA in the coming years: one revolves around the diversity of the discipline in general and SHA in particular, and the other is the representation...Read More

Under the collaborative umbrella of the Archaeology Education Clearinghouse (AEC), representatives from the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA), Society for American Archaeology (SAA), and Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), came together at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) conference to share archaeology education resources with social studies educators from around the nation. NCSS is...Read More

The Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA), with the assistance of Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC (CHP), is leading the charge for legislation to protect the Titanic wreck to become law, and we hope it will be passed during the upcoming lame duck session of Congress. In March 2012, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced legislation co-sponsored by...Read More

Every historical archaeologist has at some point defined the discipline to the visitors at an archaeological site, a roomful of students, or a colleague or community member.  Most of us have a pretty clear notion of what distinguishes historical archaeology, and while it may diverge from what our teachers once told us, the conventional definitions...Read More

Historical archaeologists have long recognized that some of the most compelling biographical and historical tales can be told about prosaic folks, and we understand that many of those people who we think we know best have complicated and even challenging biographies.  Imagine the complex accounts of American life that could be spun around the life...Read More

Once again, the SHA is hosting a slate of workshops at our annual conference. In Leicester, we are pleased to be able to offer five workshops that provide numerous different training opportunities. If you’re going to Leicester, take a look at these workshops, which we be held on the Wednesday preceding the start of the...Read More