Voices of the Society for American Archaeology

By K. Kris Hirst, About.com Guide

Listen to Kathy Kamp.

I’m Kathy Kamp, and I teach at Grinnell College in the middle of Iowa. I think the meetings are incredibly important to people like me who are in a rather isolated context without a lot of other archaeological colleagues in my institution. There’s only one archaeology position and I share it with my husband. So, to go to the meetings and to hear what is on the forefront of research, things that won’t be published for a number of years in many cases, is important. And it’s invigorating.

With respect to the organization, I see its most important function is outreach and communication with a broader public. This could be on the level of making certain that the public understands what archaeology is and what archaeologists do, and what the latest discoveries are. Also, maybe even more importantly, understanding the value of cultural resources and why cultural resources should be protected. Why it’s worth the effort to put in good laws and why it’s worth the effort to try to keep construction activities away from important sites, or to find about sites if they can’t be avoided. And, I sometimes worry that the SAA as an organization doesn’t do a very good job on this. I think we can do a lot more communicating with everyday people and also communicating with legislators and others who are in policy-making positions who could have a big impact on the archaeological resources.