45-5 Envisioning the Future of Geoarchaeology Training for Cultural Resource Management

Session: Geoarchaeology

Presenting Author:

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Abstract:

In 2024, the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting hosted a symposium to address the rapidly changing landscape of Cultural Resource Management (CRM). The symposium included a vision for meeting the needs of descendant communities, addressing climate change, and supporting academic training for regulatory compliance, among other goals. Here, we argue for specialized academic training in geoarchaeology as fundamental for CRM training; we call for more rigorous soil and geomorphological training as integral to the future vision of Geoarchaeology and CRM. A strong foundation in geoarchaeology leads to more efficient and accurate pedestrian surveys and subsurface testing because it provides the core knowledge to determine the potential for encountering buried cultural resources at various depths. This work guides the implementation of project-specific survey and testing methods and provides geomorphic context for establishing the integrity of sites for regulatory compliance. Thus, understanding landform ages, landscape evolution, and soil development provides a means to estimate the geologic potential for cultural resources across a given landscape and provides the framework to assess site formation processes when sites are identified. However, most undergraduate programs in anthropology and archaeology lack geoscience curriculum for establishing core concepts in soil processes and geomorphology that impact archaeological site formation and preservation. We present effective laboratory and field-based geoarchaeological assignments and assessments that can be incorporated at the undergraduate or graduate student level or into the growing number of CRM certificate programs across the country. Assignments and field-based activities were developed through "backward design" where we link learning outcomes of academic coursework with the geoarchaeological skills we believe are needed for field archaeologists in CRM. We also present a model for hosting “weekend workshops” open to post-graduates and those already employed in CRM to develop their geoarchaeological skills. Finally, we address how geoarchaeologists generate data in CRM and explore the potential of integrating geoarchaeological knowledge with Traditional Ecological Knowledge through Tribal collaboration. 

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-10428

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