About C.A.P.I.
Summary:
The Center for Archaeology in the Public Interest (C.A.P.I.) has recently been revived by faculty and graduate students at Indiana University. C.A.P.I. promotes archaeology which focuses on modern contexts of archaeological resources and the professional practice of archaeology. Our objectives include acting as a central repository of information and an active research base for professional archaeologists interested in the topics of ethics, public outreach, the impact of archaeology on local communities, and the interaction between archaeologists and the public. Center members participate in outreach and education activities within the discipline and in the public to disseminate and accomplish these goals. Recent activities have included participation in the Society for American Archaeology Ethics Bowl, community education at a field-school in Crooked Tree, Belize, and participation in Archaeology Month at the Hovey Lake Site in Indiana. C.A.P.I. is associated with the unique “Archaeology and Social Context” PhD track offered through the department of Anthropology at Indiana University. Several graduate students are currently pursuing advanced degrees on research topics related to C.A.P.I.’s principles and objectives. In the future, C.A.P.I. hopes to advance the discipline’s knowledge and awareness of social-context archaeology and continue working with the public in educational activities. The Center is also planning the inaugural C.A.P.I. Conference on the methods and theories of public interests archaeology. For more information on C.A.P.I., please read below or visit other areas of our website.
C.A.P.I. Principles
C.A.P.I. Mission Statement
C.A.P.I. has five primary objectives:
1) Research: on archaeological projects around the world to gather information on their impact on the material and cultural well-being of living people. This includes both comparative studies of published examples, and ethnographic studies of selected cases through site visits and interviews.
2) Outreach and Education: within the discipline to promote social context assessments as necessary and ethical parts of all archaeological projects. Through publications, organizing symposia and conferences, and communication with professional organizations and funding agencies, the Center will encourage research and debate about the social obligations of archaeologists toward the communities within which they work.
3) Outreach and Education: for the public, to promote positive public awareness of public archaeology and local heritage. This includes outreach to community organizations, such as museums and schools, to individuals, and to government administrative officials involved in the excavation permit and regulation process.
4) Demonstration Projects: archaeology and community development projects, such as the field-school in Crooked Tree, Belize, as both an experiment in methods for social involvement, and a project for training students and publicizing the goals of the Center.
5) Documentation: to act as an information center and clearing house, in which all available literature on the topic of social context archaeology is gathered, synthesized and distributed. The field is very new, and no such collection exists anywhere.
C.A.P.I. History
The Center for Archaeology in the Public Interest was founded in 1992 at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to act as a central repository of information and a research base for professional archaeologists interested in the topics of ethics, public outreach, the impact of archaeology on local communities, and the interaction between archaeologists and the public. In Fall 1993, the Center began publishing the Public Archaeology Review (PAR) as a forum for discussion of public archaeology, archaeological ethics, looting, and education. Dr. April Sievert edited the Review, which included articles and editorials from many leading scholars in public archaeology. The Review was published three times a year until 1996, when it was retired. Throughout this time, the Center continued to pursue its goals of building collections of relevant publications and other resources, and initiating a field-school in Crooked Tree Village, Belize, which served then, and continues to serve, as a demonstration project for training students and publicizing the goals of the Center.
In 1998, faculty in the Anthropology Department of Indiana University, Bloomington, including Dr. K Anne Pyburn, Dr. Richard Wilk, and Dr. K.D. Vitelli, launched a new PhD track program titled “Archaeology and Social Context.” These faculty members renewed their commitment to public-interest archaeology by educating graduate and undergraduate students in classes like “Archaeological Ethics,” “Issues in Archaeology and Social Context,” and seminars in “Public Archaeology.” Since 1998, four graduate students have received their PhD through this unique program. Today, seven graduates continue in this tradition with widely ranging topical and area interests including the relationship between housing and development projects and archaeology in Kenya, and the systems of heritage produced and enacted in small towns in the Midwest.