USDA-UNL Artifacts Roadshow: The Development of a 2D Archive of Great Plains Projectile Points

The Archaeological Survey is primarily concentrated through Federal and State lands. Nebraska like much of the Great Plains is overwhelmingly privately owned. As a consequence less than 1% of the state has been subject to professional survey. Private land owners, however, know of many archaeological sites that have not been documented. Engagement with the public about sites and about collected artifacts thus has the potential to greatly increase knowledge of the past. Over the past three years the University of Nebraska and the USDA Forest Service have conducted “Artifacts Roadshows” to talk with land owners about private artifact collections. These events seek to educate about archaeological site documentation, preservation, stewardship, and best practices for maintaining collections. Part of these efforts concern documenting collections for the completion of a digital archive.This project describes the digitization of artifacts and their display on a website hosted by the Center for Great Plains Studies.. The purpose of this project is to display the wide variation of projectile points that are representative of the differing flaking techniques used by different populations who have inhabited Nebraska