Please see the below message from Rick Pettigrew, Archaeology Legacy Institute, regarding a new streaming service called Heritage.

"Heritage Broadcasting Service, or just plain Heritage, will launch formally on January 1, but our Beta Launch period has already begun. Developed by nonprofit Archaeological Legacy Institute (that’s us, the people who created The Archaeology Channel at archaeologychannel.org), Heritage features more than 100 outstanding film titles from many countries, on familiar subjects such as ancient Egypt, Stonehenge, Mesoamerica, and Peru, but also on diverse and rarer topics ranging from prehistoric astronomers to the only Japanese bombing of the US mainland in World War II. Many more titles are in the pipeline. Subscribers will be able to watch all the shows on their smart TVs with Roku (beginning January 4, 2021), as well as on their desktop computers, tablets and smartphones. See our short video about Heritage at https://youtu.be/e8md5evVUro.

You can check out the Heritage site now at HeritageTAC.org, where you can watch many trailers already before subscribing and read descriptions of the dozens of titles posted there so far. Subscriptions ($5.99 per month, with discounts for longer terms) are available now during Beta Launch, as we push the site to a public environment for the purposes of testing and feedback. Gift cards (at http://heritagetac.org/gift_cards/new) are available already for immediate redemption. You can support this nonprofit service now by reserving gift cards as presents or even for yourself.

We are working to spread the word widely about Heritage. Please help us do that! Thanks very much."

The Fall Meeting will be held this Friday, October 23rd starting at 9am. Like our Spring meeting, this meeting will be held via Zoom. All details regarding how to join the meeting have already been sent to members. 

If you have not yet received an email regarding the Fall Meeting, please check your spam folders and/or confirm that your membership is current by accessing your account on this website. 

We look forward to seeing you on Friday! 

The Fall 2020 Newsletter is now available! 

Each October, Texas Archeology Month (TAM) features events such as archeological fairs, lectures, exhibits, demonstrations, and tours in collaboration with the Texas Historical Commission (THC) and our partners across the state. TAM is a vital educational program that the THC will continue to promote and support even under current circumstances. However, in response to the pandemic, the THC is currently working to reorganize TAM to be safer and more accessible by promoting and facilitating virtual events and activities on the TAM website . Events can take place on many platforms including videos, virtual tours, live-streamed presentations, and printable activities, and more. Check out the TAM website for a list of ideas and best practices for suggested ways to participate and contribute!

CALL FOR TAM 2020 EVENT AND ACTIVITY SUBMISSIONS!!

We are now soliciting contributions from our TAM partners, and the 2020 Texas Archeology Month Event/Activity Form is live! Please complete and submit it as soon as possible. **We understand you may not have all the information yet (tentative dates/times, still searching for speakers, etc.), and that’s okay! Just submit what you have now and send the TAM coordinator updates as needed.** Like previous years, we will provide free archeology-related printable materials, which you can receive by submitting the Public Outreach Materials Order Form or emailing Donna McCarver (donna.mccarver@thc.texas.gov ). Please feel free to share this e-mail with anyone you know who might be interested in participating!

The THC understands there can be difficulties with organizing online events, and we’re here to help. We can act as moderators, locate speakers, and help with technological issues. For more information about our resources, support, and the new structure of TAM, visit our website at www.thc.texas.gov/tam or contact TAM Coordinator Maggie Moore at Maggie.Moore@thc.texas.gov .

We look forward to celebrating TAM with you!

The CTA is happy to announce that research funded through a CTA Student Research Grant was recently published by Dr. Crystal Dozier (Wichita State University). Dr. Dozier was the recipient of the Student Research Grant in 2017.  

You can read more about the research in this press release and free access to the article "Chemical Residue Evidence in Leon Plain Pottery from the Toyah Phase (1300-1650 CE) in The American Southern Plains" is also available for next 45 days:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X20302418?dgcid=author

Congratulations, Dr. Dozier! 

On Juneteenth, the Council of Texas Archeologists (CTA) expresses our commitment to fighting racism, protecting tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and creating a better world through our research. Texas has a wealth and diversity of cultural heritage that represents a wide range of people, experiences, and thought over the past 13,000-plus years. Our discipline has the ability to research and interpret the material remains of structural inequality and to work with descendant communities in interpreting these remains for the present and future. We stand united in promoting an anti-racist archeology in Texas and beyond.

How do we create an anti-racist archeology in Texas? First is to speak out against structural inequality and racism whenever possible and to undertake tangible change in our own thoughts and actions. Change begins with ourselves and the actions we take in promoting equity and equality.

We are committed to providing training and research opportunities for people of color. We rely on universities to provide education and training, but college is expensive. CTA member firms can support minority scholarships, research grants, and internships to help cover education costs. Graduate research is increasingly becoming more expensive and in Texas will probably only get worse in the next couple years as the economy recovers from COVID-19, so research grants and jobs are important. The CTA offers research grants for graduate students and we should work with universities and colleges in the state to promote these opportunities with people of color.

Training should lead to hiring more people of color. Archaeology has been a predominately white field and to increase the representations of people of color in archeology we need to make sure there are job opportunities and careers that include people of color. In addition, we should seek to hire and subcontract with minorities such as surveyors, backhoe operators, editors, illustrators, GIS specialists, insurance agents, etc. There are many structural hurdles in education and training that people of color face, so review your hiring practices so that they do not face these same structural hurdles in the job market.

We need to engage descendant communities in our archaeology. Descendant communities are often left out of archeology and we need to advocate with our clients and agencies to make sure these voices have a place in our research and in our regulatory compliance activities. And we should seek to make sure descendant communities are properly compensated for their time and efforts.

Lastly, it is important that we thoughtfully engage our own community on these issues. This includes our colleagues, project sponsors, governmental agencies, regulatory entities, and ourselves. Microaggressions against people of color build up over time and can be perpetuated by our reluctance to speak up against the status quo or prevailing viewpoints. It is important to understand and recognize how systemic racism works, and to be prepared to expend our efforts against it when and how opportunities arise.

Structural racism exists in archaeology and the CTA should be at the forefront in dismantling this system. Beyond our annual multi-cultural grant to the Texas Archeological Society that helps cover the cost of a Native American to attend the TAS field school, we will seek new actions to fight racism in Texas and our discipline. Our actions will speak louder than our words.

This year's winner of the E.Mott Davis Award for Public Outreach is the Kleb Woods Nature Center Public Archeology Project (Ashley E. Jones, Moore Archeological Consulting, Inc., Sharon Menegaz, Houston Archeological Society, Robert (Bob) Sewell, Houston Archeological Society, and Fred Collins, Kleb Woods Nature Center).

The public archeology program at Kleb Woods Nature Center is designed to educate the public on the history of northwest Harris County, to foster stewardship of both the park and the area's cultural resources, and to provide archeological data on the property to compliment archival and historical documentation. Kleb Woods is unique, as it is one of two parks in Precinct 3 that retains historic resources and disseminates information on the natural and historic resources in the area. This includes preserving the original house on the property (c. 1895) and a museum display with letters, receipts, and other documents that discuss the Kleb family's experiences on their farm after immigrating from Germany. Since 2017, the Houston Archeological Society, Harris County Precinct 3 Parks, and Moore Archeological Consulting, Inc. have worked to build a sustainable public archeology program that engages the community through hands-on educational activities. 

Please see this document for information from TARL, CAS, and CAR regarding curation during COVID-19. 

The 2020 CTA Spring Newsletter is now available!