ASV

ARCHEOLOGICAL TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

White Paper

 

Archeological Society of Virginia—Council of Virginia Archaeologists—Virginia Department of Historic Resources

 

April 2007, v. 1

 

Background

The Archeological Technician Certification Program is designed to give individuals the opportunity to obtain recognition for formal, extended training in the techniques and goals of archeology without having to participate in an academic degree program. Certification students are provided technical training in both the field and the laboratory in conjunction with rotational lectures, workshops, and required readings.

The program is sponsored by the Archeological Society of Virginia (ASV), the Council of Virginia Archaeologists (COVA), and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR). 

 

Web addresses for the sponsoring groups:

Archeological Society of Virginia: http://asv-archeology.org

Council of Virginia Archaeologists: http://cova-inc.org

Virginia Department of Historic Resources: http://www.dhr.virginia.gov

We are very fortunate that individual field and laboratory opportunities are sponsored by a wide variety of organizations involved in Virginia archeology, including federal and state agencies, universities, museums, and historic sites.

The program is overseen by a board appointed by the three sponsoring organizations. Following is a list of current board members:

Co-chairs: Bruce Baker (ASV) and Carole Nash (COVA)

Faye Wade, Cynthia Hansen, Kathleen Baker (ASV)

George Tolley and Kay McCarron (COVA)

Michael Barber and Chris Stevenson (VDHR)

Ex-Officio: Mike Wilke (ASV), Esther White (COVA), Kathleen Kilpatrick (VDHR)

 

As of April 2007, more than one hundred students are enrolled in the Certification Program. Since its revitalization in the late 1990s, the program has graduated twenty-five students, most of whom continue to be involved with the program and act as mentors to students.

Program Administration: What You Need to Do to Enroll and Stay Current!

1.  You must be at least 16 years old. 

2. There is a one-time fee of $40 (check payable to ASV) that is sent, along with your mailing address, email address, ASV chapter affiliation (where applicable), and phone number, to

Bruce Baker
10290 Reed Rock Road
Amelia, VA 23002

If you have questions, you may contact Bruce at
(804) 561-0420
bakerbw@tds.net

3.  You are required to be an ASV member in good standing while you're in the program (which means renewing membership each year). You may download a membership form here: http://asv-archeology.org/.

4.  Bruce will send you the Blue Book (the logbook that helps you keep track of your progress), as well as a statement of ethics to sign and mail back. Once accepted into the program, each student must abide by the code of ethics of the Archeological Society of Virginia. 

5.  The one-time fee also gives you free admission to all program lectures and workshops, as well as basic materials and handouts. 

6.  We encourage students to work at a steady pace and complete the program in two years; however, we understand that some students will need more time. We will assist you in every way possible to help you finish.

7. All work undertaken in the program must be done under the supervision of a professional archeologist who is either a member of, or eligible for full membership in, the Council of Virginia Archaeologists.

8. If you have done archeology under the supervision of a professional archeologist during the five years prior to joining the program, the Certification Committee will consider, on a case-by-case basis, counting the work toward your program requirements.

9.  You need to keep a journal that details your work in the program—lab, lecture, readings. You will also be sent instructions on keeping a field journal. Both of these are turned in with your final exam for review by the Certification Committee.

10. We strongly encourage you to have a professional mentor who can help you find readings, get needed lectures, oversee your progress, etc. The Certification Board can assist you in finding one.

Program Structure

The program has three components: classroom lecture/reading, laboratory work, fieldwork.

The eleven lectures range from overviews of Virginia archeology to lithics analysis to metal object analysis and conservation—a wide range of topics that cover both the theoretical and methodological aspects of archeological practice. These lectures are conducted by professionals at various times during the year. You are regularly notified of lectures and workshops taking place around the state. Lecture topics consist of the following:

  • Program overview/general orientation
  • Virginia archeology/prehistoric and historic overviews
  • Archeological laws and ethics
  • Anthropological archeology
  • Basic laboratory procedures
  • Lithic analysis
  • Native American ceramic analysis
  • Historic ceramic analysis
  • Glass analysis
  • Metals analysis
  • Ethnozoological/ethnobotanical analysis

The readings are selected to introduce you to the major themes of the discipline. Readings include lab manuals, field manuals, artifact identification books, etc. Each local ASV chapter will have a full set of each reading; if you’re not affiliated with a chapter, please let us know. Readings are incorporated throughout the program to complement both lectures and practical experiences.

There is a requirement of sixty (60) hours of lab work: thirty (30) with historic artifacts and thirty (30) with prehistoric artifacts.  You can pull these hours together from various projects—as long as they add up to a total of sixty.

The fieldwork requirement includes sixty (60) hours of survey (thirty [30] at historic sites and thirty [30] at prehistoric sites) and sixty (60) hours of excavation (thirty [30] hours each on a historic and a prehistoric site). While in the field, you are also given instruction in specific methods (e.g., survey and excavation techniques, understanding the use of a transit and grid, reading topographic maps, understanding stratigraphy, use of GPS,  etc.). Twenty-four (24) excavation hours must be completed at an approved field school. Each April we post a full listing of fieldwork opportunities on the ASV website, and we regularly notify students of field and laboratory opportunities.         

Finally, you must record two site forms with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, for both a prehistoric and a historic site. These forms are completed in a computerized format using a specialized database (Data Sharing System), and your mentor will work with you to help you complete them.

You will take both practical (laboratory) and written exams at the end of the program—these are basic exams designed to reflect what you've learned in the program. They are graded by the Certification Committee.

We recognize program graduates at the annual meeting of the Archeological Society of Virginia, which takes place each October. After graduation, Certification Program students regularly continue in the lab and the field.    

Certification Program Graduates through 2007 (with chapter affiliations)

These ASV members, listed in alphabetical order, have completed all the requirements of the ASV-COVA-VDHR Certification Program. Congratulations, graduates!

Key: GRAC=Greater Richmond Area Chapter; HC=Highlands Chapter; MPC=Middle Peninsula Chapter; NVC=Northern Virginia Chapter; NSVC=Northern Shenandoah Valley Chapter; UJRC=Upper James River Chapter; NC=Nansemond Chapter; MC=Massanutten Chapter; RC=Roanoke Chapter

  • Baker, Bruce (GRAC)
  • Baker, Kathleen (GRAC)
  • Barker, Beverly (GRAC)
  • Brown, Dale (NVC)
  • Evans, Randy (NSVC)
  • Fischer, Carl (GRAC)
  • Fridley, Harrison (UJRC)
  • Frye, Robert (NSVC)
  • Fuller, Pat (NVC)
  • Hansen, Cynthia (NC)
  • Heuser, Robert (NVC)
  • Hon, Edgar (NVC)
  • Imlay, John (NVC)
  • LeMasters, Marcus (NSVC)
  • Lofton, Laura (NSVC)
  • McPherson, Chandra (GRAC)
  • McWhorter, Preston ()
  • Monken, George (NVC)
  • Pearsall, Joyce (NVC)
  • Pfeffer, Al (GRAC)
  • Reblitz, Howard (NVC)
  • Schweikart, Karen (NVC)
  • Sharrer, Joe (MC)
  • Shonyo, Dave (NVC)
  • Silva, Gene (NVC)
  • Summerson, Marsha (GRAC)
  • Thomas, Steve (GRAC)
  • Townes, Valerie ()
  • Veith, Kay (MC)
  • Wade, Faye (GRAC)
  • Weddle, Billy (RC)
  • Weddle, Regina (RC)
  • Welch, Barbara (NVC)
  • Wilke, Mike (HC, MC, UJRC)
  • Wood, Ann (NVC)
  • Zuckerman, Ian (NSVC)
  • Zuckerman, Linda (NSVC)

For further information, please contact either of the following people:

Carole Nash
Geographic Science Program
MSC 4102
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
(540) 568-6805
Email: nashcl@jmu.edu

Bruce Baker
10290 Reed Rock Road
Amelia, VA 23002
(804) 561-0420
Email: bakerbw@tds.ne