Exploring Applications of 3-D Printing in Archaeology for Education, Public Outreach, and Museum Exhibits
When: June 02, 2022 1:00-3:00 PM
Duration: 2 hours
Certification: RPA-certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: $99 for SAA members; $149 for non-members
Group Registration: $139 for SAA members; $189 for non-members
Dr. Means's scholarly pursuits include reconstructing American Indian village spatial and social organizations, the research potential of archaeological collections, and the history of archaeology across the Americas, especially during the Great Depression. Dr. Means is also director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory, which is creating three-dimensional (3-D) digital models of historical, archaeological and paleontological objects used for teaching, research, and public outreach from across the Americas as well as northern India. He has 3-D scanned Ice Age animal bones from across North America, including some that were collected by Thomas Jefferson and a mastodon tooth that belonged to Ben Franklin and found in Philadelphia. Dr. Means is the author of Circular Villages of the Monongahela Tradition (2007) and editor of and contributor to the Shovel Ready: Archaeology and Roosevelt’s New Deal for America (2013), as well as numerous articles on the Monongahela tradition, New Deal archaeology, and applications of three dimensional (3-D) scanning and printing to archaeology, especially public outreach.
Three-dimensional (3-D) printing is increasingly infiltrating all aspects of society, from manufacturing and medicine to STEM education on K-12 levels. This seminar will explore the basics of 3-D printing and how archaeologists can integrate 3-D models and printed materials into all aspects of their discipline, from the field to the laboratory, and into the classroom and the museum. Particular attention will be paid to the following areas:
- how digital 3-D models enhance identification of artifacts and ecofacts in the field and laboratory over 2-D drawings or photographs
- how 3-D printed replicas expand opportunities for teaching and research at all levels of education, but especially for undergraduate teaching
- how 3-D printed replicas can be incorporated into public outreach programs, maximizing access to the past, while minimizing risks to fragile heritage
- how 3-D printed replicas can be integrated into museum exhibits to create a more interactive and tactile element
The 3-D printed past is not something from the far-off archaeology future, but should be seen as very much a part of the archaeological present.
2. Explain where to find or how to create your own digital 3-D archaeological models for printing
3. Explore ways to integrate 3-D printed replicas into all aspects of archaeological pedagogy and outreach

Registration Opening Soon!
Story Maps for Public Archaeology
When: September 06, 2022 1:00-2:00 PM
Duration: 1 hour
Certification: RPA-certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: Free to SAA members; $69 for non-members
Group Registration: Free to SAA members; $89 for non-members
Tonya Fallis received her MA in Archaeology from Eastern New Mexico University in 2002. She specializes in geospatial and database applications in archaeology and created her first GIS-based predictive model back in the 90s, when 30-meter Landsat data was still considered pretty cool. She was an archaeologist and GIS Specialist at New Mexico's Archaeological Records Management Section for twelve years. In the private sector, she worked with GIS in natural and cultural resource conservation, including the design of an archaeological site management system for the City of Santa Fe. She currently works as a Senior GIS Analyst for the City of McKinney, Texas, where she uses GIS to support public history and heritage education.
2. Review the options available for Story Maps based on free, low-cost, and full-priced Esri accounts.
3. Outline best practices behind production, design and maintenance of a Story Map, including issues of special interest to archaeologists.
Archaeology of Cremation: From Big Questions to Archaeological Excavation and Bioarchaeological Analysis
When: September 29, 2022 2:00-4:00 PM
Duration: 2 hours
Certification: RPA-certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: $99 for SAA members; $149 for non-members
Group Registration: $139 for SAA members; $189 for non-members
Dr. Cerezo-Roman received her master’s degree in Biological Anthropology from the
Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City, and her doctoral degree in Anthropology from the University of Arizona, Tucson. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. Her academic and professional trajectory has allowed her to study the human body and mortuary customs from fascinating ancient, historic, and modern contexts, using cutting edge methodological and theoretical archaeological approaches. She has designed archaeological projects employing innovative and diverse methods and social theories by marrying and reworking processual and postprocessul approaches. One of her technical strengths is her expertise with human remains, particularly highly burned and fragmented human remains, for reconstructing posthumous treatments of bodies to answer broader anthropological questions. She is one of the leading experts on studying ancient cremation in North America. Dr. Cerezo-Roman has worked with more than 2,200 cremation burials associated with Prehispanic populations in the Americas from Arizona, Northern Mexico, and Belize, and from Gallo-Roman contexts from Belgium, Archaic contexts from Greece, Neolithic contexts from China, and Late Stone Age hunter-and-gather and Neo-Punic contexts from Africa.
1. Different anthropological research questions related to cremation mortuary ritual from an archaeological and bioarchaeological point of view;
2. Fundamental archaeological excavations techniques and data that can be reconstructed from pyres and secondary deposits of cremated remains;
3. Essential osteological methods and techniques to reconstruct the biological profile of the
individuals and thermal alterations.
Characterization of Obsidian and Course to Fine-Paste Ceramics with Handheld XRF
When: November 15, 2022 10:00-12:00 PM
Duration: 2 hours
Certification: RPA-certified
Pricing
Individual Registration: $99 for SAA members; $149 for non-members
Group Registration: $139 for SAA members; $189 for non-members
Dr. Johnson's research at Caracol, Belize began in 2010 and initiated his training and application of ED-XRF on over 2,000 ancient Maya obsidian artifacts. Through this geochemical and technological analysis, he learned the basics of XRF physics, the importance of source reference material, and advanced statistical methods used to assign artifacts to known sources to assess ancient regional trade through time. Concurrent with this project, he worked with an international team to characterize obsidian artifacts from two project locations in Ethiopia. Through these projects, he established relationships with XRF specialists and developed a deeper knowledge of portable XRF instruments. Currently, as a practicing archaeologist in cultural resource management, he is expected to apply XRF analysis to obsidian, other volcanic rocks, and potentially other materials in conventional and in often creative ways. As a member of a laboratory team at Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc. and working toward advancing technical reports and research papers, he has stayed current with XRF literature describing analyses of various materials, taught other lab staff the fundamentals of XRF, and trained them to use an XRF instrument.
Marc Marino, MA, RPA, University of Arkansas
Marc Marino’s archaeological training with pXRF as an undergraduate student began with Dr. Lucas Johnson at the University of Central Florida Archaeology Laboratory in 2011. Subsequent training with Dr. Wesley D. Stoner, in both pXRF analysis and statistical analysis of data obtained with Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA), built on that foundation at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. His internship at the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) with Dr. Brandi Lee MacDonald focused on the trade and exchange of decorated ceramics and obsidian in Aztec Period Mexico (specifically on the independent Tlaxcallan State). While his dissertation research was accomplished using NAA, XRF, and pXRF of obsidian, ceramics, clays, and sediments, Dr. MacDonald also introduced him to other applications of chemical analysis, including the analysis of ochres and pigments. Combined, these experiences have provided exposure to a wide range of projects across broad geographic areas.
- Introduce the method of XRF to those who may or may not have access, but are interested in using XRF to answer anthropological questions relating to obsidian and ceramics.
- Present case studies by which attendees may learn how to perform a specific analysis.
- Outline what is required for XRF analysis of a given material and the limitations of XRF in analyzing certain materials.
- Describe the fundamental physics of XRF and how software transforms XRF spectral to analytical units (i.e., calibrations).
- Explain the basics of analyzing parts per million or weight percent versus untransformed photon peak counts (i.e., statistical procedures).