For me Public Archaeology is a way to bring history and maybe a sense of identity to a community. I never thought I would be involved in a project like this and so far it has been an experience I won’t forget. Combining professional archaeology with the community has helped identify some graves at HCPC that had been unidentifiable due to a lack of a grave marking. Having Archaeologists engaging with the community has also helped students get a better understanding of some items encountered at HCPC. For example, we have found many religious materials that we didn’t understand their meaning. Fortunately after asking a few local friends from the area, we were able to know the meanings for some of the materials observed.
This project so far has been very inspiring and I have been enjoying being a part of something that is giving back to the community. Some families have come forward and have asked if we could find a lost relative. Having that type of goal for me is what I am looking for. I am hoping to pursue a career in forensic anthropology to be able to identity human remains and give families closure. I intend to remain active with this project for as long as possible so that I can continue gaining the experience I’ll need in the future. In this class we don’t just learn how to use the equipment and collect data; we learn how to engage with the community through the media, social media and scholarly conferences. Hopefully this fall we will be able to have some type of event with the community at HCPC as Dr. Rowe has suggested.
Hi, I thinks that it’s really cool that you want to pursue a career in forensic anthropology and your reason is amazing and nice. I also agree with you that helping people find their families and friends grave is a worthwhile goal in both this class and maybe beyond it. It’s also cool that you want to take the class for the fall semester and that you want to have activities for the project. The last part in the first paragraph had me wondering, what kind of religious material did you find that you didn’t understand? Also, do you have a personal definition of Public Archaeology because you just mentioned a way that it is used?