April 28, 2026
The Athens (Georgia) Society was awarded a grant for their upcoming September outreach event. They will be hosting a guided tour of two prehistoric rock effigy mounds located in Putnam County, Georgia. Society President Erv Garrison and some of his colleagues from the University of Georgia will guide the group to enter both enclosures with tour participants to facilitate a more intimate experience, and on-site drone-based mapping of an effigy will be demonstrated.
The Central PA (University Park) Society was awarded a grant for their upcoming October outreach event. To celebrate International Archaeology Day, they will coordinate a panel of archaeologists from different departments at Penn State and Bucknell to hold a public discussion about their work and career paths for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students and members of the general public. Currently, they have a slate of seven tentative speakers available for the panel. After, they will have an open house at the Matson Museum of Anthropology at Penn State to learn about the process of creating a display of ancient objects in their galleries. There will be a couple of object-specific presentations, as well as opportunities to handle objects from the teaching collection.
The East TN (Knoxville) Society was awarded a grant for their outreach event in April 2027. The Society is planning to screen The Odyssey (2026) with a panel of experts providing introductory and conclusory commentary. They will be partnering with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, which has recently begun a “Movies at the Museum” series.
The Princeton Society was awarded a grant for their September outreach event. The event will consist of a guided tour of the historic Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood in Princeton. They plan to work with a representative from the Historical Society of Princeton or a graduate student from Princeton University to define the scope of the tour. This event was suggested by a participant of the Society’s recent spring outreach event, during which they held guided tours of the Princeton Cemetery to offer attendees an opportunity to learn about history of the Princeton Cemetery and some of its residents.
The San Joaquin Valley Society was awarded a grant for their upcoming October outreach event. The Society works in conjunction with the Fresno County Archaeological Society (FCAS), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The centerpiece of the program will be a symposium organized into two sessions. The first session will feature scholarly presentations on the archaeology of California, with three invited speakers sharing their latest research. The second session will take the form of a roundtable discussion reflecting on the past, present, and future of the FCAS, offering an opportunity for dialogue among the Society’s elders, current members, and the broader community. Between these sessions, attendees will be invited to participate in a basket-weaving workshop led by Indigenous weavers, highlighting traditional knowledge and craftsmanship. The event will conclude with a violin concert.
The Walla Walla Society was awarded a grant for their upcoming May outreach event. The Society will be hosting a public screening of the award-winning film, La Chimera (2023). Before the screening, attendees will have an opportunity to snack and mingle, and after, there will be opportunities to mingle and discuss with some suggested conversation topics. Professors from Whitman College and Walla Walla University will circulate to discuss the film, its themes, and its intricate details regarding Etruscan culture and antiquities trafficking.
