The Archaeological Conservancy's Preservation Efforts in the East: from the Paleoindian through 20th-Century Industrial Sites

Kelley Berliner, MA, The Archaeological Conservancy

For the past 43 years The Archaeological Conservancy has been the only national nonprofit organization dedicated to the permanent preservation of archaeological sites across the country. These sites range in diversity from the Thunderbird site, which contains the remains of one of the earliest Paleoindian structures discovered in the country, to the Pamplin Pipe Factory, a manufacturing facility that grew from an early cottage industry of making pipes from local clays. Across the country the Conservancy has preserved Ancestral Puebloan villages, Haudenosaunee/Iroquois sites, petroglyphs, Hopewell earthworks, mounds, prehistoric quarries, Chaco outliers, French and Indian War fortifications, plantation sites, and more. These sites are protected through fee-simple ownership or, less frequently, easements, and are maintained as permanent open-space archaeological research preserves that are open to professional archaeologists and for educational purposes.  This talk will highlight some of the important sites protected by the Conservancy.

Kelley Berliner began working with The Archaeological Conservancy in 2013 and currently serves as the Eastern Regional Director, managing over 70 properties containing prehistoric and historic sites from Maine south through North Carolina, all while working to preserve additional sites. Previously she worked as a field archaeologist in the CRM Industry, educator, and museum interpreter in the Eastern United States, Michigan, and Canada. She has a BA in Anthropology from the University of Toronto and a MA in Historical Archaeology from The College of William and Mary. Her interests include public archaeology, community engagement, preservation, and archaeology of the northeastern United States and Canada.

We are excited to announce that the June monthly lecture will be hosted in person as well as virtually. This will be our first face-to-face meeting since April 2020 and we are looking forward with great anticipation to seeing many of you again at the Sumner School, located at M and 17th Streets, NW, in Washington, D.C.

For those of you who cannot make it to the Sumner School in person, the lecture will be live streamed but you must pre-register to attend virtually. Click HERE to register.

All monthly lecture meetings of the Pre-Columbian Society are free and open to the public. Doors to the in-person meeting will open around 6:30 PM.