The United States Forest Service's Passport In Time program is designed to
involve the public in archaeology on National Forest land. Three of the program's goals
are: 1) allow archaeologists to conduct research they would not otherwise have the time
or the budget to conduct; 2) teach the public about history and prehistory, as well as how
and why archaeologists study them; and 3) create a constituency of advocates for
archaeology. This study evaluates these three goals based on interviews with volunteers
who worked on excavation projects and archaeologists who led excavation projects.
Research is not a priority for archaeologists leading excavation projects. PIT
accomplishes the latter goals by physically involving volunteers in archaeological work.
The volunteers become a labor force as well as students for the archaeologists. The
archaeologists teach the volunteers effectively through a combination of experiential and
more traditional classroom techniques. The volunteers gain an understanding of what
archaeological resources are and why they are important. They take this knowledge away
with them and share it with their friends and family. This increased knowledge in the
public achieves the goals of federal legislation to reduce damage to archaeological
resources through public education. PIT could greatly enhance the effect of volunteer
enthusiasm by providing them with other appropriate outlets for their energy. / Graduation date: 1998
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/28338 |
| Date | 19 June 1997 |
| Creators | Dickson, Catherine E. |
| Contributors | Brauner, David R. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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