The power of community archaeologists in uncertain times (original) (raw)

2020, Journal of community archaeology & heritage

COVID-19 has upended billions of lives; impacting our countries, communities, and each of us individually. Just a few months ago no one expected our rather routine lives could change so drastically. This global pandemic presents historic challenges for many of us, the field of archaeology included. For archaeologists, many of our projects have stopped, researchers have been pulled from their sites, and museums have closed to slow the spread of the virus. While necessary, these measures have severely impacted our ability to reach the communities we serve. We work with Archaeology in the Community (AITC), a non-profit organization exposing children to archaeology throughout the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. AITC runs about 20-30 youth programmes a year, all of which are free for our students. AITC is an organization rooted in accessibility of knowledge, with a mission to promote and facilitate the study and public understanding of archaeological heritage. Through informal educational programmes, we provide hands-on learning, professional development opportunities, and host community events. We aim to bring archaeology to anyone and everyone that wants to participate in the process. The reason for this is simple, the staff and volunteers of AITC believe in an equitable and equal archaeology, an archaeology that is accessible to and in service to all people, no matter their politics, beliefs, religion, class, or ethnicity. We believe in an archaeology of, for, and based in a love for the people who practice it, learn it, and experience it. When COVID-19 reached the United States we at AITC were just about to begin our most popular programme, The Young Archaeologist Club (YAC) which is funded by a Jack and Jill Foundation STEM Grant. YAC teaches 50 students aged 7-11 years old from the Washington, DC metropolitan area archaeology lessons once a week for six weeks. Our staff of professional archaeologists volunteer to work with the students each week to expose them to new archaeological disciplines, methods, and theories. In an effort to continue serving our students during the COVID-19 outbreak we strictly implemented CDC guidelines to help protect our students, parents, and staff. In two weeks time, DC and Maryland school closures prompted us to follow suit and cancel the programme. That same week we were bombarded by national, local, and social media news coverage reporting a new challenge: schools were not prepared to go digital so students were not learning. As community archaeologists dedicated to the students we teach, AITC staff decided that YAC would go virtual. In preparation for this move we spent a full day creating Virtual Archaeology Boxes to mail to our students. Each box contained materials for our 3 upcoming YAC virtual lessons: seeds from 10 plant varieties to teach archaeobotany; modified animal bones and magnifying glasses for zooarchaeology, and rulers for a maritime shipwreck documentation activity (Figure 1). We also included materials for two at-home projects parents could facilitate; a M&M cookie excavation and soil samples for a mini stratigraphy activity. Both students and parents received folders with additional archaeology activity sheets and worksheets to accompany the virtual lessons. Boxes were topped off with 'Love Archaeology' AITC t-shirts. Once complete, we notified unsuspecting parents that YAC would remain in full effect, and that Archaeology Boxes would soon be on the way. We were extremely moved by the