**Module II: Subject Matter Training**

This section presents an overview of the topics and information
presented in *Module II: Subject Matter Training.* The subject matter
training course is to be taken by individuals through two online,
interactive, distance learning programs developed by the National Park
Service.

**Goals**

This module is designed to provide archeologists with information on the
basic methods and techniques of interpretation and to provide
interpreters with the basic methods and techniques of archeological
research.

**Content**

The two online training programs are:

-   Archeology for Interpreters: A Guide to Knowledge of the Resource\
    (http://www.cr.nps.gov/aad/AFORI/index.htm)

-   Interpretation for Archeologists: A Guide to Increasing Knowledge,
    Skills, and Abilities (http://www.cr.nps.gov/aad/IFORA/index.htm)

Each of these courses of study require approximately 20 hours of time to
complete, depending on each participant's prior level of training and
current knowledge of the respective subject matter.

**Lessons to Learn**

Both archeology and public interpretation have long histories in the
National Park Service, yet each discipline has largely developed
independently of the other. This module will describe how both
disciplines help fulfill the Park Service mission, how to identify
universal concepts and interpretive themes, develop compelling stories,
and how interpretation encourages stewardship of cultural resources.

**The Role of Archeology**

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="1.6069444444444445in"
height="2.0229166666666667in"}The National Park Service is steward of a
diverse cultural legacy. From cliff dwellings in the Southwest to Civil
War battlefields in the East, this legacy represents a continuum of
American heritage---its people, places, objects, and traditions.
Archeologists throughout the National Park system conduct research on a
range of sites that continually produce new information about our
national past. An essential part of the archeological effort is ensuring
that visitors, thieves, erosion, and other forces do not disturb or
destroy archeological resources.

**The Role of Interpretation**

The public experiences the vast resources of our National Parks through
the work of interpreters. Whether through guided tours, costumed
interpreters, wayside signs, brochures and maps, or some other means,
the art and science of interpretation brings information about the past
into the present to provide visitors with opportunities to make
emotional and intellectual connections with park resources. Interpreters
accomplish this task by identifying universal concepts and developing
interpretive themes on our nation's history that are presented to the
public through a variety of media.

**The Practice of Archeology**

![](media/image2.wmf){width="1.9131944444444444in"
height="5.370833333333334in"}

Archeology is the study of ancient, historic, and modern cultures
through their material remains. Material remains include not just
*artifacts* (such as stone tools, historic ceramics, and the like) but
also *built resources* (including buildings, monuments, and ruins),
*landscape features* (earthen mounds, historic agricultural field
patterns, transportation routes, and the designed landscapes of public
parks, among others), and natural resources (such as pollen, seeds,
bone, and shell). Thus, archeology involves the study of every aspect of
human endeavor that left some form of physical remains.

To accomplish such a daunting task, archeological research in national
parks consists generally of one or more of the following steps:

-   Identification

-   Evaluation

-   Treatment

*Identification* of archeological resources combines any number of
research techniques, including the use of oral history, documentary
resources, field survey and mapping, surface collecting of artifacts,
probing soils with a variety of simple to complex scientific equipment,
including soil resistivity meters and ground penetrating radar, and
limited test excavation. The goal of this research is simply to locate
and identify sites and archeological features and record/map their
locations along with a limited amount of information about the sites.

*Evaluation* involves more in-depth investigation of a single site,
perhaps a group of sites, or even several sites together with the
landscape features that connect them. The process of evaluation involves
comparing what is known about the archeological sites and features in
the *broader context* of local, regional, and national historical
research themes. A key component of the evaluative stage is determining
what could be learned from further research through excavation or other
methods of archeology. The *research potential* of the site (or group of
sites) figures strongly in determining appropriate treatments.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="1.229861111111111in" height="1.93125in"}

*Treatment* of the site, group of sites, and/or landscape features can
range from simply monitoring condition (for sites that may be protected
by a combination of natural factors, such as being situated in an
extremely isolated location) to full-scale excavation and analysis of
the retrievable archeological remains. Most treatment alternatives fall
somewhere between these extremes. Limited excavation is often employed
to explore research questions about the site while leaving remaining
areas of the site untouched (but protected) for future generations.
Treatment includes the long-term care of artifacts collected from sites
as well as the associated records of archeological investigations.

*Effective interpretation* of archeological sites must be based on an
understanding of the ways in which sites were identified, evaluated, and
treated. Past conservation decisions affect in a culturally significant
way which sites have been preserved and which ones will be protected for
future study. These factors directly affect the position of
archeological resources in our national story and directly influence the
kinds of interpretive programs that should be developed.

**Archaeologists and Interpretation**

![](media/image4.wmf){width="1.5854166666666667in" height="4.58125in"}

Public interpretation of archeological resources involves selecting
different aspects of the past and different perspectives to reach a
greater understanding of past human behavior. Interpreters also have a
wide range of formats available for public programs. Through these
efforts, interpreters seek to:

-   *Inform/educate* park visitors how and what has been learned from
    archeological study

-   *Provoke* visitors to establish their own intellectual and emotional
    connections with archeological resources

-   *Inspire* public awareness of and appreciation for cultural
    resources stewardship

A Harris poll commissioned by the Society for American Archaeology
revealed great interest in archeology by the public along with
misconceptions about what archaeologists do and why. These findings
emphasize the importance of more effective interpretation of
archeological resources.

Advances in archeological method and theory over the past 30 years have
made the field of archeology more specialized. Archeological reports
often are highly technical and written to satisfy legal requirements
under environmental review and historic preservation laws. Furthermore,
despite legislative and professional requirements to promote the public
benefits of archeology, many archeologists lack the resources and
appropriate training to convert technical reports into "user-friendly"
documents. Instead, archeological information often is available in
forms that many interpreters, not to mention the public, find difficult
to muddle through.

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="1.6111111111111112in"
height="2.2465277777777777in"}The specialized, technical, and academic
basis of archeological research also has led many an archeologist to
cringe at the prospect of presenting archeological information in the
form of a "historical narrative" or using "first person" accounts to
elicit emotional connections with the past. Thus, interpreters generally
lack readily available information on cultural resources in forms that
are directly presentable to the public.

Archeological research in the United States is increasingly funded in
part with public monies as a result of the inclusion of cultural
resource reviews under environmental and historic preservation laws.
Thus, archeologists, too, have initiated training and development in
public outreach within the ranks of the profession through the National
Park Service and in professional associations (although academic
training in public interpretation still lags behind). Thus, interpreters
should find increasingly willing partners amongst archeologists to
develop effective means to reach the public about the importance and
meaning of cultural resources.

Building on increasing interest by archeologists in promoting the public
benefits of archeology, archeologists and interpreters can achieve
effective interpretation of archeological resources by training and
working together.

**Effective Interpretation of Archeological Resources**

![](media/image6.jpeg){width="1.6006944444444444in"
height="2.2881944444444446in"}With archeological resources, effective
interpretation involves two steps:

1.  The *systematic interpretation* of archeological evidence by
    archeologists to reach scientifically valid, defensible conclusions,
    and

2.  The *interpretation of the results* to the public in an informative,
    educational, and more readily understood manner.

With both steps appropriately accomplished, interpretation of
archeological resources then provides visitors the opportunity to make
intellectual and emotional connections to those resources. These
connections serve to promote a sense of stewardship.

Other issues for public interpreters to consider concern the unique
nature of archeology. These issues include

-   Special legislation regarding archeological sites, artifacts, and
    research;

-   The fragility and finite number of archeological sites; and

-   Considerations of cultural sensitivity

These special issues figure into most, if not all, archeological sites
in one manner or another.

**Archeology for Interpreters: Online Training**

This online course helps interpreters learn about archeological methods,
how archeological interpretations are made, and how to encourage concern
for the preservation and protection of archeological resources. Through
this course, interpreters may gain the basic knowledge needed to carry
out effective interpretation of archeological resources. This course
covers interpreting archeological resources in all kinds of places, such
as national parks, museums, and the classroom. This course is one of
several additional developmental opportunities available to NPS
interpretive rangers.

This course creates the opportunity for participants to:

-   ![](media/image7.jpeg){width="1.7569444444444444in"
    height="1.4131944444444444in"}Learn about archeological methods;

-   Explore how archeological interpretations are made;

-   Ascribe meaning to archeological resources;

-   Identify ways interpretation of archeological resources can provide
    opportunities for visitors to make emotional and intellectual
    connections to those resources; and

-   Increase public understanding and concern for the preservation and
    protection of archeological resources.

Archeological resources are actively interpreted in hundreds of national
parks, monuments and recreation areas across the nation.

Many parks offer a variety of ways for visitors to learn about
archeology: tours, pamphlets, interpretive trails and roadside displays,
films, and book sales in the visitors center. In most National Parks
archeologists are not directly involved with the public but provide
essential information to the \"front-line\" interpretive staff who then
convey it to visitors. Less frequently, visitors see actual excavation
in progress and get to talk to actual archeologists.

The course provides examples of how archeological resources may be
effectively interpreted in national parks through web links and
suggested interpretive strategies offered in the following boxes
included throughout the online guide:

-   **[FOR YOUR INFORMATION]{.smallcaps}**

-   **[CASE STUDY]{.smallcaps}**

-   **[TRY IT YOURSELF]{.smallcaps}**

-   **[FUN FACT]{.smallcaps}**

-   **[USE WHAT YOU KNOW]{.smallcaps}**

![](media/image8.jpeg){width="1.6006944444444444in"
height="1.7986111111111112in"}This online course is designed for those
who are interested in or need to learn more about interpreting
archeological resources for the public. Since the National Park Service
developed this course, participants are expected to include the
archeologists, interpreters, cultural resources managers, educators,
planners, museum staff, and other NPS staff who investigate, interpret,
preserve and share with the public information regarding archeological
resources.

This course is primarily designed for self-motivated learning. The goal
is to increase each participant's base of knowledge about the effective
interpretation of archeological resources during repeated visits to the
online course. The course will be updated periodically as relevant new
materials about and methods for effectively interpreting archeological
resources are developed.

**Interpretation for Archeologists: Online Training**

This online course helps archeologists to examine the art and science
through which public interpretations are made. It also addresses the
archeologist\'s obligation to provide public interpretation of our
cultural heritage. By working through this course and associated
materials archeologists may gain a firm foundation in and understanding
of the purpose, philosophy, and techniques of interpretation.

This course helps archeologists develop a basic foundation in the art
and science of interpretation. It addresses the archeologist\'s
obligation to provide public interpretation and education opportunities
to the increasingly common global visitor to ensure protection of
America\'s archeological record now and into the future. It provides
archeologists with tools to help offer visitors opportunities to make
intellectual and emotional connections with archeological resources,
their meanings, their significance, and their stories. Also addressed is
the archeologist\'s responsibility to work with interpreters to provide
interpretation and educational opportunities to increase public
awareness of and concern for the protection of America\'s archeological
resources.

This course addresses several topics of interest to archeologists:

-   How interpretation and education meet the NPS and park mission and
    objectives;

-   Identifying universal concepts and interpretive themes associated
    with the archeological record;

-   Identifying and presenting multiple perspectives;

-   Basic skills and techniques for developing effective interpretive
    presentations;

-   Developing various interpretive media to present Park archeological
    themes; and

-   Examples of how NPS archeologists and interpreters encourage
    stewardship by facilitating visitors\' experience with and
    relationship to archeological resources.

![](media/image9.jpeg){width="1.5798611111111112in"
height="1.4638888888888888in"}The course provides examples of how
archeological resources may be effectively interpreted in national
parks. These examples are provided through web links and suggested
interpretive strategies offered in the following boxes included
throughout the online guide:

-   **[FOR YOUR INFORMATION]{.smallcaps}**

-   **[CASE STUDY]{.smallcaps}**

-   **[TRY IT YOURSELF]{.smallcaps}**

-   **[FUN FACT]{.smallcaps}**

-   **[USE WHAT YOU KNOW]{.smallcaps}**

This course is designed for archeologists who are interested in or need
to learn more about interpreting archeological resources for the public.
Since the National Park Service developed this guide, course
participants are expected to include archeologists, cultural resources
managers, and other NPS staff who investigate, interpret, preserve, and
share with the public information about archeological resources.

**Online Training Assistance**

The online training courses are designed for participants to use at
their own pace in line with their own schedules. Participants enrolled
in the four-module program presented in this manual, however, are
expected to complete this course within a specified time frame during
winter months. During this period, participants will have online
assistance available to them at regularly scheduled times as part of the
course program. Assistance will be available electronically from faculty
members selected specifically for these modules.

The two different online training programs are intended for
archeologists and interpreters to gain knowledge of and insight into the
purpose, methods, and techniques of each other's disciplines. It would
be useful, however, for each participant to peruse the online training
program for his or her own discipline. Doing so would facilitate joint
participation by archeologists and interpreters throughout the remaining
courses.