Archaeological Stewardship in North Carolina: What? Why? and How?

I. Randolph Daniel, Jr., Professor & Chair, Department of Anthropology, East Carolina University

The archaeological record represents the material remains of the history of the human species. It is irreplaceable. Acknowledging that fact, professional archaeologists have adopted “stewardship” as the core principle of archaeological ethics. Following that core principle, professional archaeologists are both caretakers of and advocates for the archaeological record. In this presentation, Dr. Daniel will define archaeological stewardship, discuss why it is important, and encourage its continued development in North Carolina. Regarding this last point, good stewardship involves the cooperation of professional archaeologists and the general public — particularly including descendant communities and the artifact-collecting community alike.

About our presenter

Randy Daniel is Professor and Chair of the anthropology department at East Carolina University where he has worked since 1996. He received his PhD in 1994 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include the archaeology of prehistoric hunter-gatherers in the Southeastern United States, particularly hunter-gatherer adaptations at the end of the last Ice Age. His methodological specializations include stone tool analysis, spatial analysis, and hunter-gatherer settlement systems. Publications related to that research have appeared in three books, several book chapters, and in journals including American Antiquity, Current Research in the Pleistocene, Southeastern Archaeology, and North Carolina Archaeology. He is also the recipient of the 1999 C.B. Moore Award for Excellence in Archaeology by a Young Scholar in Southeastern Studies by the Lower Mississippi Survey & Peabody Museum, Harvard.

This lecture is presented in partnership with the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology (OSA). The OSA serves all North Carolinians by recording and preserving information on more than 55,000 archaeological sites. These sites represent all cultural groups and time periods of the state’s 14,000 years of human history.

This program is appropriate for ages 12 and older.