Location(s)

Being an archeologist is a great job, and today I get to do one of my favorite parts of that job -- I'm talking to a bunch of kids!

Today I'll be at the Hollidaysburg (PA) Public Library at 3 PM to participate in the summer reading program. I'm going to share some of my adventures with the kids, and I'm going to give them a chance to analyze some artifacts. If you're in the neighborhood, come on by!

I'm often asked where to find information about archeology. Well, the best place to start is your library, of course! In the days before the World Wide Web (seems hard to believe there ever was such a time!), that's were I started learning about archeology. I checked out every book on the topic in the St. Marys (PA) Public Library. I recommend reading about all kinds of archeology before you focus into a particular type of archeology (yes, there are many different types of archeology -- see, you've already learned something!). Some subjects to research:  archeology, historical archeology, classical archeology, industrial archeology, prehistoric archeology, underwater archeology, American Indians, artifacts. That should get you started. And, don't forget -- "archeology" is spelled TWO ways, and both are correct, so make sure you also look for "archaeology." Why are there two spellings? Good question. It's just the way this particular word has evolved. I've noticed that archeologists who work for universities tend to use the spelling with the extra "a" in the middle. Also, archeologists in countries other than the United States also spell it with the extra "a."

There are some really fun websites where you can explore archeology. (Click on the red, underlined words to go right to these websites.) The National Park Service has a great site called Archeology for Kids that takes you from the dig site to the lab.

If you want to learn about the people who lived here before us, one of my favorite sites is the Carnegie Museum's online exhibit, American Indians and the Natural World. I especially like the section on the Iroquois.

The grandmother of all archeology website is ArchNet. This site is for all archeologists of all ages, so you may find that some of the material here may be a little advanced for beginning archeologists. But there's a ton of great stuff, and it's a great place to explore the topic.

You can also learn about the archeology of some special places online. In New York City, archeologists have been working in a neighborhood known as Five Points. The work that the archeologists and their buddies, the historians, did here has helped to tell the story of a neighborhood that had been lost as the city grew and grew. It's fascinating.

The Plymouth Archaeological Rediscovery Project is a really neat excavation, but their website is pretty lousy. Lots of ads and pop-ups, and you have to click through tons of pages to get to any real information. But, if you're willing to do the work, you can eventually learn something here, but be you must be very patient. It's sort of like digging in hard clay -- you keep digging even though it's hard because you just might find something.

Of course, you'll want to check out the archeology scene here in good old Pennsylvania. We've got plenty of stuff going on in our Commonwealth. The Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology has a great website that will bring you up to date. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is the state agency responsible for taking care of the state's archeological sites, so make sure you check out there website, too.