Upcoming Seminars

Sara Rivers-Cofield has been the Curator of Federal Collections at the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory (MAC Lab) for 14 years, working alongside conservators to develop a survey and x-radiography strategy that allows the MAC lab to comply with the requirements of 36 CFR Part 79: Curation of Federally Owned and Administered Archaeological Collections. Rivers Cofield specializes in the identification and interpretation of metal artifacts. She is the Chair of the Curation and Collections Committee for the Society for Historical Archaeology, a member of the Society for American Archaeology’s Curation Interest Group, and Co-Chair of the Archaeological Curation Consortium, a cooperative group comprised of collections professionals from SAA, SHA, and ACRA.

Kerry S. González has been involved with collections management for over a decade, primarily serving as Dovetail’s lab manager where she ensures quality control throughout the entire curation process, assists with detailed analysis of archaeological collections and authors a monthly ‘Featured Fragment blog’ on artifacts recovered from Dovetail excavations. For the past few years she has worked towards creating awareness among CRM professionals of the utility of x-radiography for assessing and interpreting archaeological collections through presenting papers at conferences, authoring a chapter in an edited volume on the utility of x-ray, as well as being an instructor for two x-ray workshops. She is a member of the collections management committees for Society for Historical Archaeology, the Council for Virginia Archaeologists, and the American Cultural Resource Association.

Archaeologists are in need of better strategies for managing assemblages of corroded metal artifacts, especially nails. There is an affordable middle ground between storing artifacts that will never be properly identified or conserved, and discarding without proper documentation and identification. X-radiography is a cost-effective method for identifying artifacts obscured by corrosion, documenting diagnostic attributes, and helping collections managers and conservators work together to prioritize artifacts for treatment. This seminar will cover the applications of x-radiography for archaeological collections managers, with a specific focus on cost savings. The program instructors will share their experiences using x-rays to create more accurate artifact catalogs and craft responsible discard strategies which reduce curation fees and result in cost savings for the overall project budget. Disclaimer: we are not conservators, so when it comes to the technical side of x-ray, like what settings to use, etc., you need to work with someone who has that expertise. We do not do the x-rays, but we are all about the applications of x-rays for metals.

1. Participants will learn how to “read” an artifact x-ray (how much core metal is present, what kind of metal is it, what do artifacts look like in two dimensions, etc.)
2. Participants will learn how to use x-rays as documentation of bulk metals (i.e. nails) so that these can be discarded with minimal loss of important analytical information.
3. Participants will learn about the availability of x-radiography services, the costs of these services, and how obtaining x-rays can lead to cost savings for CRM projects.

Both instructors are employed as full time permanent CRM archaeologists, with different backgrounds, years of experience, and regional specializations. Sarah Herr has 20+ years of CRM experience in the US Southwest and has a Ph.D. level education. LK Schnitzer has 5+ years of CRM experience in the US Southeast and an M.A. level education. Their different backgrounds will allow the instructors to cover topics from multiple perspectives for a well-rounded seminar.

This seminar provides a crash course in how to prepare for a job in CRM archaeology. It will begin by defining Cultural Resources Management, the laws that regulate it, and the types of archaeology jobs it necessitates. The seminar will then split into separate discussions about temporary vs. permanent jobs in CRM, with a focus on educational and professional prerequisites, technical skills, where to look for employment, how to attract an employer’s attention, and how CRM archaeology varies across the country and by phase.  The instructors will also provide resources on the importance of non-technical or “soft” skills and safe and respectful workplaces.

1. Introduce anthropology/archaeology students to the field of CRM
2. Help students decide if CRM is a career path they are interested in
3. Provide information about education and skills necessary to attain a job in CRM

Danielle Benden is owner of Driftless Pathways, LLC, a small museum consulting company near Madison, Wisconsin.  She provides guidance on collections planning and rehabilitation projects including the design/redesign of curation facilities, develops interpretive exhibits, and offers professional development training for small museums and historical societies. From 2007-2016, she served as the Curator of Anthropology at UW-Madison, where she taught Archaeological Curation and Field Methods courses and managed the departmental collections. Ms. Benden has nearly 20 years of archaeological fieldwork experience, and currently serves as co-director of the Trempealeau Archaeology Project.  She received a Bachelor of Science in Archaeology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a Master of Science in Museum and Field Studies with an archaeology emphasis from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Ms. Benden is the current Chair of SAA’s Committee on Museums, Collections, and Curation and serves on the Archaeological Collections Consortium. This work puts her at the forefront of the most current issues surrounding archaeological curation.

Orphaned collections are groups of objects and/or associated records with unclear ownership that have been abandoned.  Some may have been left with limited documentation upon retirement in academia; others were collected as part of a CRM project; yet others may result from a museum shutting its doors or an agency that does not know it is the rightful owner of a particular collection. Whatever the case, orphaned collections affect every sector of archaeology. This seminar will provide practical, step-by step guidance for reconciling orphaned collections and will focus on how we can prevent creating new ones. A resource guide that outlines specific criteria and procedures for determining ways to resolve orphaned collections is provided to participants.

This online seminar is intended for students who are nearing graduation, entering the professional world of archaeology, or considering a job managing archaeological collections; CRM firm employees including management who bid on, supervise, and provide oversight of archaeological projects as well as those who are specifically charged with managing collections after excavation; individuals who care for  collections in museums, universities, and other curatorial facilities; and government/agency personnel who are tasked with oversight of collections in Federal and non-Federal repositories.

1. Provide attendees with a framework by which to understand, discuss, and remedy problems associated with orphaned archaeological collections.
2. Teach participants about their roles, responsibilities, and rights as they relate to orphaned collections.
3. Offer solutions and resources for resolving issues and concerns associated with orphaned collections.

As a professor at Boston University, John M. Marston has designed and taught a formal course for advanced doctoral students titled “Proposal Writing for Social Science Research,” in which students write from scratch actual research proposals for their doctoral research (e.g., NSF Dissertation Improvement Grants). Dr. Marston has taught a number of workshops on grant writing at Boston University and UCLA, and at UCLA served as a graduate writing consultant for the Graduate Writing Center, at which he designed and taught several workshops on writing graduate fellowship proposals. He has been the sole author or co-author of grants funded by a number of leading granting agencies and organizations, including the NSF, SSHRC, National Geographic, American Philosophical Society, and others.

This two-hour online seminar will provide archaeologists with basic advice on how to craft successful grant proposals to funding agencies (e.g., NSF) and organizations (e.g., National Geographic). The intended audience is those who are applying to such organizations for the first time or who are attempting to improve their success at attracting public funding for their research. The seminar will highlight a number of strategies for reading and responding to proposal calls, to structuring effective project narratives of varying lengths, to strengthening a proposal with supplementary information, and to revising a proposal based on reviewer feedback. It will provide examples of application strategies appropriate to funding opportunities available at multiple career stages, from those open to doctoral students to those intended for senior scholars.

1. Be able to read a call for proposals to understand what is required for a given funding opportunity;
2. Be familiar with what is expected for typical components of grant applications;
3. Be able to apply a tailored strategy to craft a strong project narrative for a variety of funding opportunities;
4. Gain strategies for successful revision and reuse of proposals, following review.