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| Maine Archaeological Society | |
|---|---|
| Name | Maine Archaeological Society |
| Formation | 1930s |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Headquarters | Maine |
| Region served | Maine, New England |
| Leader title | President |
Maine Archaeological Society
The Maine Archaeological Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the study, preservation, and public interpretation of Maine prehistory, Native American heritage, and archaeological resources across Maine. It serves as a nexus connecting avocational archaeologists, professional archaeology institutions, and state agencies to coordinate fieldwork, collections curation, and outreach. The Society collaborates with museums, universities, and federal programs to promote stewardship of sites from the Paleo-Indian through the Historic period.
The Society traces roots to early 20th-century antiquarian interests that paralleled national movements such as the Archaeological Institute of America and local chapters in New England like the Connecticut Archaeological Society and New Hampshire Archaeological Society. Founders included amateur collectors and scholars influenced by figures associated with the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, and regional academics connected to the University of Maine. The organization evolved through mid-century debates over artifact collecting, state-level regulation exemplified by laws like the Antiquities Act precedent in federal policy, and the professionalization driven by state agencies such as the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and the Maine State Museum.
Membership encompasses avocational archaeologists, municipal historians, museum staff, academic researchers from institutions such as Bowdoin College, Colby College, Bates College, and the University of New England, and staff from federal agencies such as the National Park Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Leadership typically includes a president, board members, and committees similar to governance structures at the Society for American Archaeology and the Archaeological Conservancy. The Society maintains relationships with regional organizations including the New England Antiquities Research Association and tribal entities like the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe to coordinate site access and consultation.
The Society sponsors field schools, public lectures, and artifact identification workshops modeled after programs at the Peabody Essex Museum and outreach initiatives like those of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. Regular activities include community digs, site surveys, and educational collaborations with K–12 partners and higher education programs at institutions such as the University of Maine at Orono and Colby College Museum of Art. The Society organizes annual meetings, often featuring speakers from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, and regional scholars who publish with presses such as the University Press of New England.
Research output ranges from site reports and technical bulletins to popular newsletters and peer-reviewed articles submitted to journals like the Journal of Field Archaeology, Northeast Anthropology, and the American Antiquity. The Society archives collections and records in partnership with repositories such as the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, the Maine State Museum, and university special collections at Colby College Special Collections and Archives. Collaborative research projects have involved grant funding from bodies including the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and state cultural agencies. The Society’s publications document lithic analysis, ceramic typologies, and paleoenvironmental reconstructions often involving specialists associated with the American Museum of Natural History and the Harvard University Department of Anthropology.
Conservation efforts follow protocols promoted by the Society for American Archaeology and the International Council on Monuments and Sites. The Society advocates site protection through partnerships with state land trusts such as the Maine Coast Heritage Trust and national organizations including the Nature Conservancy. It works on looting prevention, curation standards for artifacts aligned with the Museum Collections Management guidelines, and repatriation consultations under frameworks influenced by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Collaboration with tribal governments including the Wabanaki Confederacy ensures culturally appropriate stewardship and access.
Major projects coordinated or supported by the Society include regional surveys of coastal shell middens and inland lithic scatters, salvage excavations associated with Federal Emergency Management Agency projects, and underwater investigations in collaboration with maritime programs at the Mystic Seaport Museum and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Noteworthy excavations have involved sites connected to Paleoindian occupations comparable to finds discussed in the Debra L. Friedkin Site literature and regional analogs studied alongside work at the Powder House Hill and other New England loci. The Society has aided in multidisciplinary studies incorporating paleoecology from collaborators at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and isotope specialists from the Geological Society of America network.
Category:Archaeological organizations in the United States Category:History of Maine