Patrice L Jeppson | Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (original) (raw)

Papers by Patrice L Jeppson

Research paper thumbnail of Computer Vision Technologies and Historical Archaeology's Ceramic Typologies

Society for Historical Archaeology, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Researching an African American Founder With the Help of One of Historical Archaeology’s Founders

Society for Historical Archaeology, 2017

Research paper thumbnail of “Leveling the playing field” in the contested Territory of the South African past: A “public” versus a “people’s” form of historical archaeology outreach

Historical Archaeology, Sep 1, 1997

In South Africa, the legacy of colonialism and apartheid includes a history of partisan concepts ... more In South Africa, the legacy of colonialism and apartheid includes a history of partisan concepts of ethnic and social identity. The long charged, sociopolitical context has also affected research questions, as well as public interpretations, about the past. Today, there are calls for a new past for the new South Africa. Historical archaeology can provide both a methodology and raw materials which South Africans can use to form their own interpretations of their past helping, in turn, to engender pride through a historical consciousness emancipated from colonial and apartheid ideology. This article presents an overview of this com plex and changing research context and its implications for a historical archaeology study of South African frontier identity. Research and "public" archaeology effo rts concerning material and mythical perspectives of ethnicity are discussed. Employed in a cross-context com pariso n with Africa n-American rese arc h, this study highl ights the need for decolonized historical archaeology outreach.

Research paper thumbnail of African American Archaeology on Display at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of The Dynamics of Inclusion at the Dynamics of Inclusion in Public Archaeology Workshop Public Event

Archaeologies, Dec 1, 2011

This paper describes, analyzes and critiques a public archaeology event created to demonstrate th... more This paper describes, analyzes and critiques a public archaeology event created to demonstrate the methodologies of a dialogic archaeology. Collaboratively produced by the Wenner-Gren-sponsored Dynamics of Inclusion in Public Archaeology Workshop and the African Burial Ground National Monument, this event drew a capacity crowd representing diverse communities from the New York City region for a program dedicated to exploring public archaeology as it is, and has been, practiced in New York City. The on the ground actions involved in designing the event are explored here for insight into how communities form in, around, and with archaeology, while participant observation data gathered during the event is used to demonstrate the facilitating role archaeology and archaeologists play when a community uses the past for needs in the present. Feedback from several of the audiences attending the event, including the Workshop participants and other archaeological colleagues who were present, provide reflection on the aims and goals of public archaeology. ________________________________________________________________ Résumé: Cet article décrit, analyse et critique un événement d'archéologie publique créé afin d'exposer les méthodologies d'une archéologie dialogique. Produit en collaboration par l'Atelier de Dynamique d'inclusion dans l'Archéologie publique (Dynamics of Inclusion in Public Archaeology Workshop) parrainé par Wenner-Gren et l'African Burial Ground National Monument, cet événement a attiré une foule comble représentant différentes communautés issues de la région de la Ville de New York pour un programme ayant vocation à explorer l'archéologie publique telle qu'elle est, et a été pratiquée à New York. Les initiatives sur le terrain ayant contribué à la conception de l'événement sont étudiées ici pour recueillir un savoir sur la manière dont les communautés se constituent dans, autour de et avec l'archéologie, alors que les données d'observation des RESEARCH ARCHAEOLOGIES Volume 7 Number

Research paper thumbnail of Virtual reconstruction of archaeological vessels using convex hulls of surface markings

This paper presents a 3D computer vision method that assists the tedious procedure of manually re... more This paper presents a 3D computer vision method that assists the tedious procedure of manually reconstructing ceramic vessels from fragments unearthed in an archaeological excavation. This computational method relies on vessel surface markings combined with expert feedback (via the archaeologist) to form a generic model of a vessel that the excavated fragments might have originated from. Prior expert information (i.e., the generic vessel model) is usually based on a host of factors ranging from historical knowledge from the period in question to the provenience of the excavation, etc. The generic model need not be exactly identical to the excavated vessel, but rather within the allowable class (i.e., within a geometric transformation of it in most of its parts). The ceramic vessels we deal with here have surface markings. We exploit the 3D convex hull associated with the surface markings as they are preserved under the allowable set of transformation (between the generic expert model and the excavated vessel). We align these using a novel set of discrete cross weighted moments. The morphing transformation (affine or higher order morphing function) is computed from these corresponding convex hulls and their corresponding vertices, and distance error metrics are introduced to access the fitness of the alignment of a fragment to a given vessel. The methods are tested on a subset of ceramics excavated from Independence National Historical Park (INHP) created through 3D scanning of prospective generic bowls and their pieces.

Research paper thumbnail of 2010 Black History Showcase Features African American Archaeology

African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter, 2010

The Black History Showcase is an annual exposition mounted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its sta... more The Black History Showcase is an annual exposition mounted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its stated missionis reinforcing African American pride and fostering tolerance and respect through promoting a greater awareness for and appreciation of African American history. Held each February in celebration of Black History Month, this event draws upon "real people, real artifacts, and real stories" to highlight African American history and achievement. Now in its seventh year, the Showcaseattracts thousands of African American members of the general public for an "'edutainment' (education + entertainment)" experience. This year, for the first time, African American archaeology was featured among theShowcase exhibits. Students and faculty from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (the nation's oldest Historical Black College or University (HBCU)), teamed with a National Park Service Archeologist (Jed Levin) to present information about Philadelphia-area African American historical archaeology.

Research paper thumbnail of Public Archaeology and the us Culture Wars

Oxford University Press eBooks, Sep 18, 2012

United States archaeologists often appear to function as part of society's progressive fa... more United States archaeologists often appear to function as part of society's progressive faction. Their interests and efforts stem from a nexus of social and economic elements regularly cursed in conservative circles. This article describes the implications of the wars in terms of public archaeology, especially public archaeological practice that intersects with public education in the United States. It explains the reasons that these culture wars are important in terms of formal education in the United States and discusses why archaeology is relevant to social studies as it is practised in the formal education sphere. The study also examines the negative attitudes that US archaeologists have about outreach to formal education in general, and describes some recent shifts within professional archaeology societies which indicate that some of these attitudes may be changing. Finally, it argues that archaeology's lack of engagement with education's needs has served to work against those promoting a more inclusive democracy.

Research paper thumbnail of Which Benjamin Franklin—Yours or mine? Examining responses to a new story from the historical archaeology site of Franklin court

Archaeologies, Aug 1, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeological Heritage of “We the People”: Public Archaeology at Independence National Historical Park

Anthropology News, Nov 1, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of A Semantic Analysis Approach to Thin-Shell Ceramic Fragment Classification

International Journal of Heritage in the Digital Era, Jun 1, 2013

In this paper we introduce the Independence National Historical Park dataset, a freely-available ... more In this paper we introduce the Independence National Historical Park dataset, a freely-available collection of thin-shell ceramic fragments, images and metadata for these images. We describe the contents of this dataset and its possible uses in vessel and decorative pattern classification of thin-shell ceramic artifacts. We will employ computer vision algorithms to help automate the ceramic classifications used in archaeological vessel reconstructions. This methodology promises significant time and cost savings for the laboratory mending of ceramic objects, freeing scarce human resources to focus on the analyses of objects needed to produce new history insights. We propose a vector space model of pyramid histogram of visual words (PHOW) that can, in turn, be used by a supervised learning schema for decorative pattern classification. Inspired by explicit semantic analysis of textual documents using term frequency-inverse document frequency (tf-idf), a tf-idf model is proposed to represent thin-shell ceramic artifacts. The effectiveness of this representation is then demonstrated in decorative pattern classification using various machine learning classification algorithms, including support vector machines (SVMs) and k-nearest neighbor clustering.

Research paper thumbnail of Classification of archaeological ceramic fragments using texture and color descriptors

The application of digital technologies to culture history preservation and interpretation is a r... more The application of digital technologies to culture history preservation and interpretation is a rapidly growing field that has captured the imagination of many. In this work, we explore the application of image classification systems for use in the reconstruction of archaeologically excavated ...

Research paper thumbnail of Considering the Possibilities of an 'Urban Public Archaeology': The Findings of a 60-Year Retrospective of Public Archaeology in the City of Philadelphia

Society for Historical Archaeology, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeology for Education Needs: An Archaeologist and an Educator Discuss Archaeology in the Baltimore Country Public Schools

Springer eBooks, 2007

Public Outreach in archaeology generally operates with a disciplinary lens calling for stewardshi... more Public Outreach in archaeology generally operates with a disciplinary lens calling for stewardship—namely the preservation of archaeological sites through enhanced public awareness. This disciplinary-based goal, while important and relevant, represents the minimum role that archaeology can play in formal school education. An alternative approach for school outreach advocates the use of archaeology for education’s needs. Notably, this approach is in

Research paper thumbnail of Public Archaeology Via Skyscraper: Outcome and Experience

AP : Online Journal in Public Archaeology, Dec 29, 2016

A recent archaeology awareness campaign projected Public Service videos featured animated 3D arti... more A recent archaeology awareness campaign projected Public Service videos featured animated 3D artifact reconstructions alongside an done in an unusual way but public archaeology conducted toward an unusually broad end: the processes involved in creating the PSAs served many masters, not just archaeology's needs. This paper reports on this make use of the past for their own needs in the present.

Research paper thumbnail of Computational Science, Convergence Culture, and the Creation of Archaeological Knowledge and Understanding

One world archaeology, 2019

The NSF-grant funded, 3D Philadelphia Project—Digital Restoration of Thin-Shell Objects for Histo... more The NSF-grant funded, 3D Philadelphia Project—Digital Restoration of Thin-Shell Objects for Historical Archeological Research and Interpretation (NSF no. 0803670), brought together computer scientists, a computer engineer, a media researcher, and archaeologists to work on computer vision technologies in aid of a vast assemblage of mass-produced, industrial age ceramics excavated from Independence National Historical Park—a prominent, urban, cultural history unit within the US Department of the Interior National Park Service. The overall research aims for the project involved community participation, collaboration, and outreach beyond both the federal agency and the field of archaeology to advance development of novel computer vision technologies that would allow machine-based reconstructions of 3D objects. Such technology promised to be a boon for archaeologists in terms of collections management and interpretation needs—once fully developed and accessible. But in the short term, it directly contributed to other research communities active in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area: a team of computer scientists and engineers and a team of media arts researchers. For the media arts community, the computational image data produced in the collaborative study could be leveraged as digital assets useful for populating virtual environments being developed as academic research and training projects. For the computer scientists and engineers, the research engaged with artifact shapes and designs useful for their needs of writing mathematical algorithms central to computer vision and pattern recognition development needed for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML) (namely decision tree learning, inductive logic programming, clustering, reinforcement learning, and Bayesian networks used in mimicking of the biological structure of the brain). The project was not something done in collaboration as we (archaeologists) knew it, but rather represented the emergence of a new creative space created beyond the realms of all the participants’ disciplinary (and federal agency) silos. The resulting entirely new community space was possible only through non-archaeologist participation in the planning and carrying out of the research project’s design. Here we examine the interplay of these differing, contributing, knowledge communities in a case study in heritage studies that both refines our understanding of the concept of heritage while reminding us of the necessity and benefits of sharing archaeological knowledge through engagement with “others.” We draw upon Pierre Levy’s ideas of “Collective Intelligence” and Henry Jenkins’ notion of “Convergence Culture” to explore the relationships, communications, learning, and opportunities that evolved in this “collaboration” between archaeologists and non-archaeologists applying computer vision technology to cultural heritage.

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeology as a Building Block for Popular Memory

Transforming Heritage Practice in the 21st Century

The construction of an archaeological identity within the US archaeological profession has long d... more The construction of an archaeological identity within the US archaeological profession has long determined how significance is constructed as part of US preservation law and regulatory policy. In this chapter, this codified framework guiding professional practice is set aside to examine instead a determination of significance by a living community, and their construction of common memory at and with an archaeological site overtime. This study involves local public involvement with the ruins of the President’s House Site, 1790–1800, located in Independence National Historical Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA), which are central to a commemoration memorializing the story of freedom and slavery at the birth of the USA. The public’s activity with and at the site begs heritage resource specialists to more broadly interpret professional guidelines so as to account for that which society may value as significant rather than what the heritage profession privileges.

Research paper thumbnail of Public Outreach Efforts at SAA: collaborating for effective community engagement

The SAA archaeological record, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of All of the Above: Public Archeology and Outreach at Independence National Historical Park

Society for Historical Archaeology, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of September 2007 Newsletter Digging Up the Past: An Exhibit Review

Archaeology should-and sometimes does-serve as a resource for community needs. An excellent examp... more Archaeology should-and sometimes does-serve as a resource for community needs. An excellent example of this is the new exhibit 'Digging Up The Past: First African Baptist Church Burial Grounds' which opened in July, 2007 at the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP). Two cultural resource studies conducted in the 1980s and 1990s are drawn upon for a presentation about African American life and death in 19th century Philadelphia. Created by AAMP with assistance from the First African Baptist Church of Philadelphia and one of the museum's partners, the Khepera Charter School of Philadelphia, this is public history at its best. The interpretation conveys rare levels of immediacy. It is homegrown and notably heartfelt. The Archaeology of the Exhibit The exhibit draws on the findings of two cultural resource studies conducted a quartercentury ago in Center City, Philadelphia by archaeologists and physical anthropologists from John Milner and Associates, Inc., a professional consulting firm specializing in historic preservation and archaeological and historical investigations. The work rediscovered two lost

Research paper thumbnail of Computer Vision Technologies and Historical Archaeology's Ceramic Typologies

Society for Historical Archaeology, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Researching an African American Founder With the Help of One of Historical Archaeology’s Founders

Society for Historical Archaeology, 2017

Research paper thumbnail of “Leveling the playing field” in the contested Territory of the South African past: A “public” versus a “people’s” form of historical archaeology outreach

Historical Archaeology, Sep 1, 1997

In South Africa, the legacy of colonialism and apartheid includes a history of partisan concepts ... more In South Africa, the legacy of colonialism and apartheid includes a history of partisan concepts of ethnic and social identity. The long charged, sociopolitical context has also affected research questions, as well as public interpretations, about the past. Today, there are calls for a new past for the new South Africa. Historical archaeology can provide both a methodology and raw materials which South Africans can use to form their own interpretations of their past helping, in turn, to engender pride through a historical consciousness emancipated from colonial and apartheid ideology. This article presents an overview of this com plex and changing research context and its implications for a historical archaeology study of South African frontier identity. Research and "public" archaeology effo rts concerning material and mythical perspectives of ethnicity are discussed. Employed in a cross-context com pariso n with Africa n-American rese arc h, this study highl ights the need for decolonized historical archaeology outreach.

Research paper thumbnail of African American Archaeology on Display at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of The Dynamics of Inclusion at the Dynamics of Inclusion in Public Archaeology Workshop Public Event

Archaeologies, Dec 1, 2011

This paper describes, analyzes and critiques a public archaeology event created to demonstrate th... more This paper describes, analyzes and critiques a public archaeology event created to demonstrate the methodologies of a dialogic archaeology. Collaboratively produced by the Wenner-Gren-sponsored Dynamics of Inclusion in Public Archaeology Workshop and the African Burial Ground National Monument, this event drew a capacity crowd representing diverse communities from the New York City region for a program dedicated to exploring public archaeology as it is, and has been, practiced in New York City. The on the ground actions involved in designing the event are explored here for insight into how communities form in, around, and with archaeology, while participant observation data gathered during the event is used to demonstrate the facilitating role archaeology and archaeologists play when a community uses the past for needs in the present. Feedback from several of the audiences attending the event, including the Workshop participants and other archaeological colleagues who were present, provide reflection on the aims and goals of public archaeology. ________________________________________________________________ Résumé: Cet article décrit, analyse et critique un événement d'archéologie publique créé afin d'exposer les méthodologies d'une archéologie dialogique. Produit en collaboration par l'Atelier de Dynamique d'inclusion dans l'Archéologie publique (Dynamics of Inclusion in Public Archaeology Workshop) parrainé par Wenner-Gren et l'African Burial Ground National Monument, cet événement a attiré une foule comble représentant différentes communautés issues de la région de la Ville de New York pour un programme ayant vocation à explorer l'archéologie publique telle qu'elle est, et a été pratiquée à New York. Les initiatives sur le terrain ayant contribué à la conception de l'événement sont étudiées ici pour recueillir un savoir sur la manière dont les communautés se constituent dans, autour de et avec l'archéologie, alors que les données d'observation des RESEARCH ARCHAEOLOGIES Volume 7 Number

Research paper thumbnail of Virtual reconstruction of archaeological vessels using convex hulls of surface markings

This paper presents a 3D computer vision method that assists the tedious procedure of manually re... more This paper presents a 3D computer vision method that assists the tedious procedure of manually reconstructing ceramic vessels from fragments unearthed in an archaeological excavation. This computational method relies on vessel surface markings combined with expert feedback (via the archaeologist) to form a generic model of a vessel that the excavated fragments might have originated from. Prior expert information (i.e., the generic vessel model) is usually based on a host of factors ranging from historical knowledge from the period in question to the provenience of the excavation, etc. The generic model need not be exactly identical to the excavated vessel, but rather within the allowable class (i.e., within a geometric transformation of it in most of its parts). The ceramic vessels we deal with here have surface markings. We exploit the 3D convex hull associated with the surface markings as they are preserved under the allowable set of transformation (between the generic expert model and the excavated vessel). We align these using a novel set of discrete cross weighted moments. The morphing transformation (affine or higher order morphing function) is computed from these corresponding convex hulls and their corresponding vertices, and distance error metrics are introduced to access the fitness of the alignment of a fragment to a given vessel. The methods are tested on a subset of ceramics excavated from Independence National Historical Park (INHP) created through 3D scanning of prospective generic bowls and their pieces.

Research paper thumbnail of 2010 Black History Showcase Features African American Archaeology

African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter, 2010

The Black History Showcase is an annual exposition mounted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its sta... more The Black History Showcase is an annual exposition mounted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its stated missionis reinforcing African American pride and fostering tolerance and respect through promoting a greater awareness for and appreciation of African American history. Held each February in celebration of Black History Month, this event draws upon "real people, real artifacts, and real stories" to highlight African American history and achievement. Now in its seventh year, the Showcaseattracts thousands of African American members of the general public for an "'edutainment' (education + entertainment)" experience. This year, for the first time, African American archaeology was featured among theShowcase exhibits. Students and faculty from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (the nation's oldest Historical Black College or University (HBCU)), teamed with a National Park Service Archeologist (Jed Levin) to present information about Philadelphia-area African American historical archaeology.

Research paper thumbnail of Public Archaeology and the us Culture Wars

Oxford University Press eBooks, Sep 18, 2012

United States archaeologists often appear to function as part of society's progressive fa... more United States archaeologists often appear to function as part of society's progressive faction. Their interests and efforts stem from a nexus of social and economic elements regularly cursed in conservative circles. This article describes the implications of the wars in terms of public archaeology, especially public archaeological practice that intersects with public education in the United States. It explains the reasons that these culture wars are important in terms of formal education in the United States and discusses why archaeology is relevant to social studies as it is practised in the formal education sphere. The study also examines the negative attitudes that US archaeologists have about outreach to formal education in general, and describes some recent shifts within professional archaeology societies which indicate that some of these attitudes may be changing. Finally, it argues that archaeology's lack of engagement with education's needs has served to work against those promoting a more inclusive democracy.

Research paper thumbnail of Which Benjamin Franklin—Yours or mine? Examining responses to a new story from the historical archaeology site of Franklin court

Archaeologies, Aug 1, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeological Heritage of “We the People”: Public Archaeology at Independence National Historical Park

Anthropology News, Nov 1, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of A Semantic Analysis Approach to Thin-Shell Ceramic Fragment Classification

International Journal of Heritage in the Digital Era, Jun 1, 2013

In this paper we introduce the Independence National Historical Park dataset, a freely-available ... more In this paper we introduce the Independence National Historical Park dataset, a freely-available collection of thin-shell ceramic fragments, images and metadata for these images. We describe the contents of this dataset and its possible uses in vessel and decorative pattern classification of thin-shell ceramic artifacts. We will employ computer vision algorithms to help automate the ceramic classifications used in archaeological vessel reconstructions. This methodology promises significant time and cost savings for the laboratory mending of ceramic objects, freeing scarce human resources to focus on the analyses of objects needed to produce new history insights. We propose a vector space model of pyramid histogram of visual words (PHOW) that can, in turn, be used by a supervised learning schema for decorative pattern classification. Inspired by explicit semantic analysis of textual documents using term frequency-inverse document frequency (tf-idf), a tf-idf model is proposed to represent thin-shell ceramic artifacts. The effectiveness of this representation is then demonstrated in decorative pattern classification using various machine learning classification algorithms, including support vector machines (SVMs) and k-nearest neighbor clustering.

Research paper thumbnail of Classification of archaeological ceramic fragments using texture and color descriptors

The application of digital technologies to culture history preservation and interpretation is a r... more The application of digital technologies to culture history preservation and interpretation is a rapidly growing field that has captured the imagination of many. In this work, we explore the application of image classification systems for use in the reconstruction of archaeologically excavated ...

Research paper thumbnail of Considering the Possibilities of an 'Urban Public Archaeology': The Findings of a 60-Year Retrospective of Public Archaeology in the City of Philadelphia

Society for Historical Archaeology, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeology for Education Needs: An Archaeologist and an Educator Discuss Archaeology in the Baltimore Country Public Schools

Springer eBooks, 2007

Public Outreach in archaeology generally operates with a disciplinary lens calling for stewardshi... more Public Outreach in archaeology generally operates with a disciplinary lens calling for stewardship—namely the preservation of archaeological sites through enhanced public awareness. This disciplinary-based goal, while important and relevant, represents the minimum role that archaeology can play in formal school education. An alternative approach for school outreach advocates the use of archaeology for education’s needs. Notably, this approach is in

Research paper thumbnail of Public Archaeology Via Skyscraper: Outcome and Experience

AP : Online Journal in Public Archaeology, Dec 29, 2016

A recent archaeology awareness campaign projected Public Service videos featured animated 3D arti... more A recent archaeology awareness campaign projected Public Service videos featured animated 3D artifact reconstructions alongside an done in an unusual way but public archaeology conducted toward an unusually broad end: the processes involved in creating the PSAs served many masters, not just archaeology's needs. This paper reports on this make use of the past for their own needs in the present.

Research paper thumbnail of Computational Science, Convergence Culture, and the Creation of Archaeological Knowledge and Understanding

One world archaeology, 2019

The NSF-grant funded, 3D Philadelphia Project—Digital Restoration of Thin-Shell Objects for Histo... more The NSF-grant funded, 3D Philadelphia Project—Digital Restoration of Thin-Shell Objects for Historical Archeological Research and Interpretation (NSF no. 0803670), brought together computer scientists, a computer engineer, a media researcher, and archaeologists to work on computer vision technologies in aid of a vast assemblage of mass-produced, industrial age ceramics excavated from Independence National Historical Park—a prominent, urban, cultural history unit within the US Department of the Interior National Park Service. The overall research aims for the project involved community participation, collaboration, and outreach beyond both the federal agency and the field of archaeology to advance development of novel computer vision technologies that would allow machine-based reconstructions of 3D objects. Such technology promised to be a boon for archaeologists in terms of collections management and interpretation needs—once fully developed and accessible. But in the short term, it directly contributed to other research communities active in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area: a team of computer scientists and engineers and a team of media arts researchers. For the media arts community, the computational image data produced in the collaborative study could be leveraged as digital assets useful for populating virtual environments being developed as academic research and training projects. For the computer scientists and engineers, the research engaged with artifact shapes and designs useful for their needs of writing mathematical algorithms central to computer vision and pattern recognition development needed for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine-learning (ML) (namely decision tree learning, inductive logic programming, clustering, reinforcement learning, and Bayesian networks used in mimicking of the biological structure of the brain). The project was not something done in collaboration as we (archaeologists) knew it, but rather represented the emergence of a new creative space created beyond the realms of all the participants’ disciplinary (and federal agency) silos. The resulting entirely new community space was possible only through non-archaeologist participation in the planning and carrying out of the research project’s design. Here we examine the interplay of these differing, contributing, knowledge communities in a case study in heritage studies that both refines our understanding of the concept of heritage while reminding us of the necessity and benefits of sharing archaeological knowledge through engagement with “others.” We draw upon Pierre Levy’s ideas of “Collective Intelligence” and Henry Jenkins’ notion of “Convergence Culture” to explore the relationships, communications, learning, and opportunities that evolved in this “collaboration” between archaeologists and non-archaeologists applying computer vision technology to cultural heritage.

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeology as a Building Block for Popular Memory

Transforming Heritage Practice in the 21st Century

The construction of an archaeological identity within the US archaeological profession has long d... more The construction of an archaeological identity within the US archaeological profession has long determined how significance is constructed as part of US preservation law and regulatory policy. In this chapter, this codified framework guiding professional practice is set aside to examine instead a determination of significance by a living community, and their construction of common memory at and with an archaeological site overtime. This study involves local public involvement with the ruins of the President’s House Site, 1790–1800, located in Independence National Historical Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA), which are central to a commemoration memorializing the story of freedom and slavery at the birth of the USA. The public’s activity with and at the site begs heritage resource specialists to more broadly interpret professional guidelines so as to account for that which society may value as significant rather than what the heritage profession privileges.

Research paper thumbnail of Public Outreach Efforts at SAA: collaborating for effective community engagement

The SAA archaeological record, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of All of the Above: Public Archeology and Outreach at Independence National Historical Park

Society for Historical Archaeology, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of September 2007 Newsletter Digging Up the Past: An Exhibit Review

Archaeology should-and sometimes does-serve as a resource for community needs. An excellent examp... more Archaeology should-and sometimes does-serve as a resource for community needs. An excellent example of this is the new exhibit 'Digging Up The Past: First African Baptist Church Burial Grounds' which opened in July, 2007 at the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP). Two cultural resource studies conducted in the 1980s and 1990s are drawn upon for a presentation about African American life and death in 19th century Philadelphia. Created by AAMP with assistance from the First African Baptist Church of Philadelphia and one of the museum's partners, the Khepera Charter School of Philadelphia, this is public history at its best. The interpretation conveys rare levels of immediacy. It is homegrown and notably heartfelt. The Archaeology of the Exhibit The exhibit draws on the findings of two cultural resource studies conducted a quartercentury ago in Center City, Philadelphia by archaeologists and physical anthropologists from John Milner and Associates, Inc., a professional consulting firm specializing in historic preservation and archaeological and historical investigations. The work rediscovered two lost

Research paper thumbnail of Can Evaluation Be More? Principles of evaluation and the relationship between materiality and social existence

Outreach at the President's House site (INHP, Philadelphia, PA) has generated intensive public in... more Outreach at the President's House site (INHP, Philadelphia, PA) has generated intensive public interest including blog entries, discussion threads, and news headlines that allow for qualitative Public Archaeology evaluation. These developments present a point of entry for examining meanings ascribed by our publics after the archaeological message is delivered-as it moves through different hands into different uses and contexts. Exploring how material culture transforms and constructs everyday life is, of course, the purview of archaeology. This presentation will argue that this principle should hold for evaluation in public archaeology as well.