Members of the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges are currently working on a new online text — Traces: An Open Invitation to Archaeology. This book follows in the footsteps of two successful OER: Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology and Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology.
Traces is designed for a general introduction to archaeology class, focusing on the methods and theory of archaeological research and interpretation. The text begins with a consideration of how and why we do archaeology, addressing both social impact and practical concerns. We continue with an exploration of field methods (ex: survey and excavation) and archaeological analyses. Different chapters introduce mapping and dating techniques that consider the vast space and time depth of archaeological inquiry as well as what we can learn from the smallest artifacts and ecofacts. The book will be supplemented by case studies that could be used in classes that have a focus on world prehistory. There will also be supplementary materials including instructor resources and virtual labs.
At this stage, we have polished drafts of several chapters and are reaching out to professionals who would be willing to provide Peer Reviews for the work. We hope to attract reviewers from a wide variety of backgrounds and identities, including academics, contract archaeologists, students, and members of descendant communities that are often the subjects of archaeological research. We especially welcome feedback from BIPOC, Queer, and neurodiverse scholars as well as scholars with a disability. Unless you request to remain anonymous, reviewers will be thanked in the forward to the text.
If you would be interested in contributing to our goal of creating free, accessible, high-quality OER to introductory archaeology students, please contact us at archaeologyoer@gmail.com
John Donahue (Harford Community College)
Ian Ray (Community College of Aurora; Red Rocks Community College; University of Denver)
Isabel Scarborough (Parkland College)
Jennifer Zovar (Whatcom Community College)