Technical Brief 9: TRAINING and USING VOLUNTEERS in ARCHEOLOGY: A Case Study from Arkansas

Introduction Involvement of the public in archeology can and has taken many forms. The quote from McGimsey above reflects the philosophy of public archeology that he espouses, and which has led many, both professional and avocational archeologists, into cooperative endeavors of mutual benefit. There are pros and cons to such programs for both sides. There are professional archeologists who condemn any archeology done by anyone without an advanced academic degree and several years of training. There are avocational archeologists (and I use this term to mean people who do scientific archeology as a hobby not as a profession) who have met with the above mentioned kind of professional and as a consequence think all professional archeologists are mean spirited and want all the sites and artifacts for themselves. There are also people of all persuasions, all degrees of training and experience, who wish to cooperate to record and preserve information from the past in a way that will be personally satisfying and rewarding, as well as scientifically appropriate. The Field And Laboratory Training Program The Certification Program Some Particulars The Upside Of The Program The Downside Of The Program Logistics Summary References Cite