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Public archaeology should be something that not only includes the community, but also benefits it. Ideally, the community should be interested and actively engaged. Public archaeology is important because it allows people to take an active role in preserving, and in many cases, discovering their history. It can also serve to strengthen the bond of community.

Our project on the Hidalgo County Pauper Cemetery will allow us to recover lost history that is very important to the community. We will hopefully be able to pinpoint lost or forgotten graves and create a comprehensive map that the community can access. Although the community is not really physically engaged with the project, the work that we accomplish will benefit them. Our project will not only give us hands on experience, but it will also give us the opportunity to contribute to the community, which is what Public Archaeology is all about.

As do many individuals, I consider public archaeology to be a very broad and debated topic. Prior to signing up for a course in the field, I had little to no knowledge of what exactly public archaeology entailed. Upon reading Lorna-Jane Richardson and Jaime Almansa-Sanchez’s “Do You Even Know What Public Archaeology Is?”  and Barbara J. Little’s Public Benefits of Public Archaeology, as well as learning from class lecture and notes, I have come to a more developed understanding.  I can only hope this will deepen upon completion of the semester. Based on the perspective of my minimal understanding, I would say public archaeology refers to the sub-field of archaeology which encompasses the growing need to educate, involve and inspire a community (the ‘public’) with the projects and findings of which said community may be involved, directly or indirectly.

Our ‘Hidalgo County Pauper Cemetery Project’ aligns with this on multiple levels. For one, in the process of mapping and identifying within the Hidalgo County Pauper Cemetery, we will not only be educating ourselves, but the public as well. While the cemetery itself may be known within Hidalgo County and surrounding areas, little is known about the extent of its inhabitants. Some graves are marked and many are not, creating an opportunity for exploration and data collection. This information may prove to be useful, if not meaningful, for many, including family and friends of the deceased. This brings me to community involvement. It is not difficult to see how archaeological knowledge has often been confined to professionals.  By use of a public blog, which is accessible to all, the participants involved on the exploration end will be able to openly share information and updates with anyone who is interested in being informed. If non-archaeology professionals or students within Hidalgo County become inspired by the project and techniques used within the anthropological process, this would only be beneficial to these individuals, UTRGV and the field  itself. In my humble opinion, the beauty of public archaeology lies in the opportunity to reach out to a community, without which public archeology would be impossible, and thus educate, involve and inspire. Richardson and Almansa-Sanchez’s article describes several theories/models behind public archaeology, though I will limit this particular post to the personal and early interpretation I have formed.

The lines of investigation I wish to pursue during this project include, but are not limited to: mapping, data collection, photography, archiving, communication within the media and community feedback. My educational background does not include mapping or archiving, so I am very excited to learn more about these techniques, as they may become essential to me one day. As an aspiring anthropologist, I am enthusiastic to learn the techniques behind specific data collection as well. As an aspiring author, I feel motivated to build a stronger social media presence and practice communication and feedback.  I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this project, led by Dr. Rowe, and share the findings of myself and my classmates.

Public archaeology involves professionals and non-professionals (archaeologists, community members that show interest, local and state governments) come together for the preservation and excavation of archaeological sites. The archaeology must be of importance to the community because even though it may be of importance to the professionals, if the public does not share that view of the site it loses some of its meaning if not all. Public archaeology is for the people and is only possible with their involvement.
Out project, Public Archeology and Hidalgo County Pauper Cemetery Project, will also involve all different types of people from professionals, students, community members among others. Although we will not be excavating in this project it does involve recording grave locations and identifying the people buried there. Identifying the buried may lead to the inclusion of the family members who could share some of the history of their deceased.
I hope that our work will allow us to help identify those buried and investigate some of deceased with the permission of the families (to record/collect their history) giving us a glimpse of the past, connecting it to the present and the community.