Past Seminars

Fred Limp has been involved in the application of geomatics methods to archaeology for more than three decades. He was the founder and director of the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies for 18 years. He has served as PI or Co-PI on four major NSF projects applying geomatics to archaeology and heritage management and in 2013 he was appointed by Interior Secretary Salazar to the Board of the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training.  He has taught numerous undergraduate and graduate and short courses on the topic. He is a past-President of the SAA and was a founding Director of the Open Geospatial Consortium. OGC is the international body that developed spatial data interoperability specifications.

More than 60 years ago, Gordon Willey famously stated that the objectives of archaeology are “approached by the study and manipulation of three basic factors: form, space and time.” Since then, we have seen the huge impact that improved technologies for the measurement of time have had on the field. We are currently in the midst of a similar revolution in the methods for the measurement of space and form. This lecture updates one first offered by SAA in 2014 and is designed as a state-of-the-art introduction to these developments, specifically for archaeology students.

As a two-part series, Part I of this course provides an accessible review of such methods as high-resolution GNSS, “laser scanning,” close range photogrammetry, and related methods for the measurement of space and form of landscapes, sites, structures, and objects.

1. Define characteristics and archaeological and heritage management uses of new technologies and methods in High-Density Survey and Measurement (HDSM);
2. Demonstrate the basic operation characteristics of (a) the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) (b) “laser scanning” (and other related technologies) (c) close range photogrammetry and structured light measurement systems; and
3. Compare their strengths and weaknesses in recording and analyzing landscapes, sites, structures and objects using UAVs and terrestrial systems.

Alexandra Jones is the Executive Director of Archaeology in the Community. She has been creating and facilitating community archaeology programs for just over 9 years.  Jones has been an educator for over 15 years and uses this experience to create informal archaeology education programs for students of all ages.

This two-hour online seminar will provide archaeologists with basic advice on how to create engaging and innovative community archaeology projects. The intended audience is those who are beginning to develop these projects or are facing difficulties. The seminar will highlight a number of archaeology programs that are using different techniques to energize community interest and strive toward community empowerment. It will provide examples of informal education, classroom settings, and partnering with local organizations. Participants are encouraged to share their experiences or problems for discussion at the end of the seminar.

1. The range of community programs being conducted and how archaeologists use them to successfully engage the public;
2. How to develop an archaeology education program tailored to local stakeholders; and
3. The constraints, limitations, and obstacles in creating these programs.

Amilcar Vargas is a PhD Candidate at the University of Barcelona with a research focus on social participation in archaeological World Heritage Sites in Mexico. He completed an MA in Cultural Heritage Management and Museology (2015) and an MA in Management of Cultural Institutions and Businesses (2013), both at the University of Barcelona, Spain. He has a BA in Archaeology at the University of Veracruz, Mexico (2007).

His experiences abroad include an internship at the UNESCO HQ in Paris, research stays in Canada and Germany, participation in conferences and courses in Japan, Qatar, Poland, the Netherlands, UK, Italy, Romania, France, Germany, and Canada. To fund his international experiences, he has been awarded scholarships from DAAD (Germany), European Commission (Europe), CONACYT and FONCA (Mexico), and Fundació Montcelimar (Spain). In addition, his work as a consultant for World Heritage Sites in Spain has helped him to keep in contact with cultural heritage managers and academic and non-academic professionals.

Amilcar Vargas es candidato a doctor por la Universidad de Barcelona con una investigación enfocada en la participación social en sitios arqueológicos Patrimonio Mundial en México. Estudió una Maestría en Gestión del Patrimonio Cultural y Museología (2015) y una Maestría en gestión de Instituciones y Empresas Culturales (2013), ambas en la Universidad de Barcelona, España. Estudió la licenciatura en arqueología en la Universidad Veracruzana, México (2007).

Sus experiencias en el extranjero incluyen una estancia en la sede de la UNESCO en París, estancias de investigación en Canadá y Alemania, participación en conferencias y cursos en Japón, Qatar, Polonia, Holanda, Reino Unido, Italia, Rumania, Francia, Alemania y Canadá. Para financiar sus experiencias internacionales, ha ganado becas de la DAAD (Agencia Alemana de Intercambio Académico, Alemania), la Comisión Europea (Europa), el Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT, México), el Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (FONCA, México) y la Fundación Montcelimar (España). Además, su trabajo como consultor para sitios Patrimonio Mundial en España le ha ayudado para mantenerse en contacto con gestores del patrimonio cultural y profesionales del ámbito académico y no académico.

This seminar will be presented entirely in Spanish.
From strict academic and institutional discourse to a personal approach, this seminar will introduce students from Latin America to the opportunities for personal and scientific enrichment through international experience. This international experience will broaden an individual’s perspective and future possibilities. Based on the instructor’s experience as an archaeologist from Mexico studying in Spain, he will share his experience and lessons learned with participants. Students from developing countries often encounter challenges while trying to travel abroad and this seminar will discuss funding options and ways to overcome these challenges. International institutions, forums, conferences, and universities where Latin American students can engage in fieldwork will also be highlighted.

Este seminario será presentado únicamente en español.
Desde el discurso académico e institucional hasta una aproximación personal, este seminario introduce a los estudiantes de América Latina en las oportunidades de enriquecimiento personal y científico a través de la experiencia internacional. Esta experiencia internacional ampliará una perspectiva personal y futuras posibilidades. Basado en la experiencia del instructor como arqueólogo originario de México estudiando en España, compartirá con los asistentes su experiencia y lecciones aprendidas. Los estudiantes de países en desarrollo habitualmente enfrentan retos cuando tratan de viajar al extranjero y este seminario presentará las opciones de financiamiento y los medios para sobrepasar estos retos. En el seminario se resaltarán las instituciones internacionales, foros, conferencias y universidades donde los estudiantes de América Latina pueden implicarse en el campo de trabajo.

1. Raise the awareness of the importance of international experiences in the field of archaeology among students and professionals in Latin American countries;
2. Present examples of international institutions for archaeological practice, research, and fieldwork as well as funding opportunities; and
3. Offer participants a professional strategy model for international experience success.

1. Incrementar la concienciación de la importancia de las experiencias internacionales en el campo de la arqueología entre los estudiantes y profesionistas en países de América Latina;
2. Presentar ejemplos de instituciones internacionales para la práctica arqueológica, investigación y campo de trabajo, así como oportunidades de financiación; y
3. Ofrecer a los participantes un modelo estratégico profesional para tener éxito en experiencias internacionales.

A professional archaeologist with 30 years’ experience, Ruth Van Dyke is a Professor of Anthropology at Binghamton University, where she regularly teaches a graduate seminar entitled, “Archaeologies of Landscape.” Her research is focused on the greater Chaco landscape, which encompasses not only monumental and domestic structures, roads and agricultural fields, but also viewsheds, soundscapes, and mountain peaks. Her landscape research has employed methods ranging from ArcGIS viewshed analysis to phenomenological investigation. She is the author of numerous publications on the Chaco landscape, including The Chaco Experience: Landscape and Ideology at the Center Place (SAR Press, 2007). Together with colleagues, she is currently working with the National Park Service to help develop long-term goals and strategies for managing and preserving the greater Chaco landscape.

In recent decades, landscape research in archaeology has progressed considerably beyond the study of settlement patterns, natural resources, and land use.  Landscape has become a unifying concept for the study of meaningful places and sensory dimensions of human experience.  Archaeologists working on monumental landscapes think about ancient ideologies, cosmologies, performances, and Foucaultian surveillance.  Archaeologists working with Indigenous peoples on cultural landscapes are weaving together oral histories, migrations and traditional land use.  The goals of this seminar are: (1) to provide participants with a clear understanding of the historical development of diverse approaches to landscape; (2) to provide participants with a strong foundation in current theoretical and interpretive approaches to archaeological landscapes; and (3) and to provide participants with tools in the form of case studies and examples that may assist them in landscape research and management.  The seminar will cover a range of topics intersecting with landscape, including social order, cosmography, political landscapes, ideologies, natural places, memory and the body.

1. A clear understanding of the historical development of diverse approaches to landscape;
2. A Strong foundation in current theoretical and interpretive approaches to archaeological landscapes; and
3. Tools in the form of case studies and examples that may assist them in landscape research and management.

Dr. Erik Otárola-Castillo is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Purdue University. He specializes in Computational Anthropology/Archaeology. He has been a developer of geometric morphometric methods (GM) since 2008. At Purdue University, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on statistical and computational methods. He is a founding co-developer of “geomorph,” a popular GM software in the R programming environment. He is the main developer of “GUImorph” a GM software that allows users to conduct GM analyses in R through an easy to use Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Melissa G. Torquato is a graduate student in Anthropology at Purdue University, specializing in data management and modeling and geometric morphometrics. Since 2014, she has used computational methods to answer questions related to behavioral and morphological variation in humans.

Morphology is the comparative study of form and it is fundamental to archaeological inquiry. Increasingly accessible 3D-scanning technology has allowed digital models of artifacts to have a prominent role in archaeological analyses. Modern landmark-based geometric morphometrics (GM) has become a staple analytical toolbox to evaluate archaeological hypotheses of artifact form across space and time. This seminar provides participants with examples of innovative 3D geometric morphometric analysis in the R programming environment. Instructors will work through archaeological examples to import, digitize, manipulate, analyze, and display 3D data using “GUImorph”, a user-friendly Graphical User Interface to R. No coding experience is necessary.

1. Collect 3D morphometric data
2. Conduct a limited range of analyses
3. Visualize morphometric patterns