NPS Archeology Program: Archeology for Interpreters

Who is this guide for?

This guide is designed for those who are interested in or need to learn more about interpreting archeological resources for the public. Since the National Park Service developed this guide, an important audience includes the archeologists, interpreters, cultural resources managers, educators, planners, museum staff, and other NPS staff who investigates, interpret, preserve and share with the public information regarding archeological resources.

(photo)

An archeologist interprets artifacts with students at Petersburg National Battlefield. (Gail Brown, University of Maryland)

This guide is primarily designed for self-motivated learning. Our goal is to increase your base of knowledge about the effective interpretation of archeological resources each time you visit. We planned this guide to allow you to tailor your visit to what you want to learn today. In other words, you can come back as frequently as you want and learn at your own pace.

In the end, we hope you find a number of valuable resources for further exploration in this guide, particularly through the numerous links we provide to other significant sources of on-line activities, case studies and related information. We plan to periodically update those links as we discover relevant new materials about and methods for effectively interpreting archeological resources.