Past Events

Danielle M. Benden, M.S., RPA, Driftless Pathways, LLC 

Danielle M. Benden is owner of Driftless Pathways, LLC, a small museum consulting firm near Madison, WI. She designs new curatorial facilities and renovates existing ones; consults with museum personnel to improve collections care and management; facilitates consultation between Native Nations and other stakeholders on the development of interpretive content and exhibits; and provides professional development training in curation and collections management. Prior to starting Driftless Pathways, Ms. Benden served as the Senior Curator of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she taught museum courses, designed and managed collections facility upgrades, oversaw NAGPRA compliance, and carried out fieldwork in the Cahokian Hinterlands. She has published scholarly articles, book chapters, and reports, conducted preservation assessments of archaeological sites and collections, and enjoys educating the public about the past through presentations and archaeological tours.

Ms. Benden received her B.S. in Archaeology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and an M.S. in Museum and Field Studies (with an Archaeology emphasis) from the University of Colorado-Boulder. She has served on national committees and task forces including as chair of SAA’s Committee on Museums, Collections, and Curation (2016-2019), co-chair of SAA’s Task Force on Data Access and Archiving (2015-2016), co-chair of the Archaeological Collections Consortium (2014-2016), and member of the SAA Archive Committee (2021-present). Her practical and professional experience puts her at the forefront of the national curation discussion.

Are you interested in a career working with archaeological collections? Perhaps you’re drawn to preserving and organizing artifacts and associated records in a repository. Maybe conservation in the field most intrigues you. It could be broadening access to digital data, creating custom object mounts to meet the needs of Indigenous communities, or countless other tasks that collections personnel undertake daily. Whatever the case, this two-hour seminar will introduce participants to the types of collections jobs across archaeological sectors (cultural resource management, academic, government, and tribal) and provide a
framework to develop the necessary skills for different positions. It will offer guidance for selecting a training program(s) and finding professional development course(s) that are right for you.

Participants will learn how to develop practical skills and gain meaningful experience that will prepare them for archaeological collections jobs in the contemporary workforce. The session includes tips for preparing a resume and interviewing for a job. Whether you’re a student nearing graduation or considering enrolling in a graduate museum studies program, an emerging professional, or contemplating a new career path, this Deeper Digs seminar is for you. Participants will receive an electronic resource guide containing further information on the range of topics explored during the seminar.

1. Provide attendees with a framework to understand the range of archaeological collections jobs across sectors, and ways to develop necessary skill sets.
2. Teach participants how to find and select the “right fit” training program(s), workshop(s), or other professional development opportunities to refine skills and gain practical experience.
3. Offer tips and resources to create a standout resume and prepare for job interviews.

Benjamin Bellorado, PhD, RPA, Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona

Dr. Benajmin Bellorado is the Assistant Curator of Archaeology at the Arizona State Museum at the University of Arizona. He is an anthropological archaeologist specializing in the tree-ring sciences of dendrochronology and dendroarchaeology. Dr. Bellorado has conducted extensive fieldwork and laboratory research using tree-ring dating to date archaeological sites in the US Southwest, including a focus on documenting at-risk sites in the Bears Ears and Natural Bridges National Monuments, while developing new, minimal-impact sampling methodologies. He was trained in the dendrosciences and archaeological methods at the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research and School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona, where he received his doctoral degree. For over 20 years, Dr. Bellorado has used dendrochronology to study Ancestral Pueblo agricultural strategies, climate change, seriation of iconography, and the timing of the thirteenth century depopulation of the Four Corners area. His dissertation work focused on dating changes in building mural styles and ritual paraphernalia (i.e., yucca sandals and cotton blankets) using tree-ring dating. He is the author of articles, book chapters, and technical reports focused on dendrochronology. Throughout his career, Dr. Bellorado has worked with federal land management agencies, universities, and tribes, and instructed dozens of students including K-12, college, graduate students, and interns, as well as life-long learners in the basic and advanced field sampling and laboratory analysis using tree-ring dating methodologies.

This course will provide students with an overview of basic methods and practical applications of tree-ring dating in the archaeological and climate sciences with a focus on the US Southwest. Students will learn about the history of tree-ring dating, including its uses in the climate and social sciences, and get an overview of recent dendroarchaeology field and laboratory methods and techniques. Discussions of case studies from the Four Corners area of the US Southwest will focus on recent applications of tree-ring dating in projects geared towards documenting and preserving of at-risk archaeological sites on federal lands in the Bears Ears and Natural Bridges National Monuments in southeastern Utah.

1. Introduce students to the basic techniques and history of tree-ring dating.
2. Learn how tree-ring dating works and some of the diverse ways it has been used by the environmental and social sciences.
3. Gain awareness of current field and laboratory sampling and analysis techniques.
4. Gain a better understanding of recent applications of dendrochronology and the advantages and weaknesses of using tree-ring dating alone or in concert with other dating methods.

Ramiro Barberena, PhD, Universidad Católica de Temuco

Licenciado en Ciencias Antropológicas (2001) y Doctor en Arqueología (2008) por la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina). Es Investigador Adjunto de la Universidad Católica de Temuco (Chile), Investigador Independiente del CONICET y Profesor Asociado en la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Argentina). Ha dictado cursos de posgrado en Argentina y Chile y dirigido proyectos de investigación financiados por National Geographic Society, Wenner-Gren Foundation, CONICET y Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (Argentina). Tiene amplia experiencia en la aplicación de isótopos a problemas arqueológicos desde sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras a agropastoriles, incluyendo trabajos pioneros con isótopos de estroncio en los Andes.

Se desarrollará una introducción teórica, metodológica y aplicada al uso de isótopos de estroncio (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) en Arqueología, incluyendo los campos de Bioarqueología y Zooarqueología, para el tratamiento de preguntas paleogeográficas enfocadas en las historias de vida.

*Seminar will be given in Spanish*

1. Conocer la base metodológica de las aplicaciones de los isótopos de estroncio.
2. Comprender aspectos clave para el diseño de líneas de base en escalas regional y macro-regional: tipos de muestras, construcción de isoscapes, etc.
3. Adquirir las competencias para incorporar esta línea de evidencia en el diseño de preguntas y proyectos de investigación.

Bernard K. Means, PhD, RPA, Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. Means's scholarly pursuits include reconstructing American Indian village spatial and social organizations, the research potential of archaeological collections, and the history of archaeology across the Americas, especially during the Great Depression. Dr. Means is also director of the Virtual Curation Laboratory, which is creating three-dimensional (3-D) digital models of historical, archaeological and paleontological objects used for teaching, research, and public outreach from across the Americas as well as northern India. He has 3-D scanned Ice Age animal bones from across North America, including some that were collected by Thomas Jefferson and a mastodon tooth that belonged to Ben Franklin and found in Philadelphia. Dr. Means is the author of Circular Villages of the Monongahela Tradition (2007) and editor of and contributor to the Shovel Ready: Archaeology and Roosevelt’s New Deal for America (2013), as well as numerous articles on the Monongahela tradition, New Deal archaeology, and applications of three dimensional (3-D) scanning and printing to archaeology, especially public outreach.

Three-dimensional (3-D) printing is increasingly infiltrating all aspects of society, from manufacturing and medicine to STEM education on K-12 levels. This seminar will explore the basics of 3-D printing and how archaeologists can integrate 3-D models and printed materials into all aspects of their discipline, from the field to the laboratory, and into the classroom and the museum. Particular attention will be paid to the following areas:

• How digital 3-D models enhance identification of artifacts and ecofacts in the field and laboratory over 2-D drawings or photographs
• How 3-D printed replicas expand opportunities for teaching and research at all levels of education, but especially for undergraduate teaching
• How 3-D printed replicas can be incorporated into public outreach programs, maximizing access to the past, while minimizing risks to fragile heritage
• How 3-D printed replicas can be integrated into museum exhibits to create a more interactive and tactile element

The 3-D printed past is not something from the far-off archaeological future but should be seen as very much a part of the archaeological present.

1. Describe the basic types of 3-D printers and finding a cost-effective solution to 3-D printing needs
2. Explain where to find or how to create your own digital 3-D archaeological models for printing
3. Explore ways to integrate 3-D printed replicas into all aspects of archaeological pedagogy and outreach

Stephen Dan Humphreys, PhD, RPA

Dr. Humphreys founded American Veterans Archaeological Recovery (AVAR), a 501c3 nonprofit, in 2016. AVAR provides American military veterans and service personnel with the opportunity and training to carry out archaeological fieldwork in a way that improves their mental health. Many of the individuals who have participated in the program have diagnosed mental health-related disabilities and as a result, the program has continuously adapted to better serve this population. He holds a Ph.D. in archaeology from Durham University (2020) as well as an MA in Archaeology and Biblical Studies and an MA in Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a National Geographic Explorer with excavation experience in Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Sicily, and the USA.

This seminar will provide practical measures that field excavation directors can implement with minimal additional financial commitment in order to better safeguard the mental health of project participants. The information presented is research-based, and the suggested measures have been gathered, implemented, and refined by American Veterans Archaeological Recovery in their work with military veterans and civilian students since the program's inception in 2016.

1. Understand the commonality of mental health issues in the fieldwork environment, and the need for change
2. Identify elements of the fieldwork environment that are potentially damaging to the mental health of all participants
3. Recognize reasonable, practical methods that can be implemented on field projects to mitigate or eliminate elements of the fieldwork environment that negatively impact mental health