Community Engagement

Gorgets, a form of beautiful pendant, were very popular forms of adornment among Native Americans as early as 3,000 years ago. These pendants were typically made out of lightning whelk shell and were carved with many different designs and images. Some of them depicted designs important to Native religions while others told important mythological stories and others still told important stories about the community a person lived in. In each case, these gorgets were important to the identities of the people that wore them. In this activity, participants will make their own gorget using a paper plate, yarn, and colored pencils.

Pottery is one of the most ubiquitous artifacts we find at archaeological sites around the world. It was used in myriad different ways, from cooking, to processing paints, to smoking pipes, even to making effigy statues. Yet, even in such mundane uses like cooking, pottery was often symbolic and was decorated to be even more so. This symbolism was often tied to a specific community and its identity. While community is very important, it is comprised of multiple individual identities, all of which are equally important to the community identity. In this activity, we take a whole pot, representing the community identity, and break it into smaller pieces. Participants will each get to paint their own piece of pottery to represent their individual identity. Following the event, we will reconstruct the pots and 3D scan them so they can be accessed online by any participant. Participants will then be able to examine the reconstructed pots online and find their piece, their identity, within the larger framework of the community identity. This will also let them see what other did for their pieces.

Chunkey stone is an open-air game that dates back thousands of years among the Native American cultures of the Southeast. This fun game, involving a stone ring (or a hoop) and a spear-like stick with leather strips on it, is essentially the precursor to bocce ball. Two people play at once, with one rolling the stone ring and the other tossing the stick to land inside the ring, or as close to the ring as possible. This fun and challenging game can be played by anyone in a small open area.

We are able to bring an archaeology table display that draws students in and prompts discussions about what archaeology is, why it’s important, and what we can learn from it. This table setup is essentially a hands-on tabletop museum exhibit, and it shows the process of archaeology because that process represents the much of what the Waring Center does in its day-to-day operations. This will involve multiple small displays ranging from what the archaeological record looks like and can tell us about the past, to the field methods and tools we use to excavate it, to the laboratory processes involved in analyzing and caring for the artifacts, and ending with a digital component. This digital component includes a 3D scanner (e.g., structure scanner) attached to an iPad. Not only does this provide a neat talking point about the future of curation and conservation and the accessibility of collections, but it allows us to wow the kids by creating 3D scans of the participants so they can see what they look like as a 3D model.

An important type of hunting technology that predates the bow-and-arrow is the atlatl, which is a spear thrower. This technology may seem like a simple notched stick, but it allows hunters to throw a small spear, typically called a dart, over very long distances and with a high degree of accuracy (with practice of course!). We use a set of replica atlatls and darts (with rounded plastic safety tips) to teach visitors about this ancient technology as well as teach them how to use it themselves!

We provide guided tours of the laboratory facility to show visitors where our operations take place and give them a taste of what we do at the Waring Center. This involves showing them the curation work area, where students talk about the types of curation projects they are working on; the curation stacks, where the collections get stored/curated; and the research room, where we have active projects in community engagement, VR, digitization, and experimental archaeology.

Archaeology is known as a down-in-the-dirt discipline, which fascinates many people because you can literally dig anywhere and have the potential to find something hidden just beneath the surface. The Waring Center has a large mock excavation pit to teach visitors the methods of field archaeology in a fun, hands-on mini workshop on how to dig like an archaeologist. Hidden just beneath the surface in this pit is a reconstructed historic home site for visitors to find, complete with replica pottery, tools, and even a collapsed chimney!

The Larson Volunteer Program is divided into Junior Volunteer (ages 10-17) and Senior Volunteer (ages 18-up). Volunteers can be students (secondary education or college students) and members of the local community. Whether you are still in school, in college, or just seeking a chance to further develop your skills, volunteering might be for you.

• Have an interest in anthropology, archaeology, education, forensics, and other sciences.
• Must be at least 10 years of age. Ages 10-17 qualify as Junior Volunteers. Ages 18-up qualifies as Senior Volunteers.
• Must be able to work during normal operating hours.
• Work a minimum of 2 hrs/week for most positions (preferred) or 5 hrs/month. Some work may be done from home.
• Must work 5 rhs/month to remain active.

Email waringcenter@westga.edu for an application and procedure manual. Note: Junior Volunteers must have a parent or legal guardian sign the application.

Bring in or mail the completed application to: Volunteer Program, Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Archaeological Laboratory, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA 30118

The Applicant will be contacted by the Curator of Collections to schedule an interview. The interview is required to clarify the application, discuss expectations, and identify potential areas to volunteer.

Volunteers are chosen based on experience and need of the supervisor. If hired the applicant and the immediate supervisor will develop a written or oral contract of work.

All volunteers, regardless of assignments, must complete Block I (Orientation) as part of the interview process and before being allowed to start. This orientation includes a tour of the Waring Centeroratory, the Anthropology Building, and BAFL.

Senior Volunteers must complete Quiz 1-9 of Managing Archaeological Collections: Technical Assistance (National Park Service) with scores of 80% or better an must read the Block II Training Packet.