A Dan Josselyn Memorial Publication
This collection elucidates the key role played by the National
Research Council seminars, reports, and pamphlets in setting an
agenda that has guided American archaeology in the 20th
century.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the fascination that Americans had for
the continent's prehistoric past was leading to a widespread and
general destruction of archaeological evidence. In a drive toward
the commercialization of antiquities, amateur collectors and "pot
hunters" pillaged premier and lesser-known sites before the
archaeological record could be properly investigated and
documented. Adding to the problem was a dearth of professionals and
scholars in the field to conduct professional investigations and to
educate the public about the need for preservation and scientific
research methods.
In stepped the National Research Council, a division of the
National Academy of Sciences, the Committee on State Archaeological
Surveys. The CSAS initiated an enormously successful outreach
program to enlist the aid of everyday citizens in preserving the
fragile but valuable prehistoric past. Meetings held in St. Louis,
Birmingham, and Indianapolis provided nuts-and-bolts demonstrations
by trained archaeologists and laid out research agendas that both
professionals and amateurs could follow.
"Setting the Agenda" contains the complete reports of the three
NRC conferences, a short publication on the methods and techniques
for conducting archaeological surveys, and a guide for amateur
archaeologists. An extensive introduction by the editors sets these
documents in context and provides insight into the intentions of
the NRC committee members as they guided the development of
American archaeology.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!