Ann Arbor just got a little more historic – the University of Michigan has officially opened the doors to its new Center for Community Archaeology and Heritage (CCAH). According to an announcement from the university’s Kelsey Museum of Archaeology and Museum of Anthropological Archaeology (UMMAA), the center, situated right on the campus, aims to fuse archaeological research with community engagement, in an attempt to carry the discipline out of the ivory tower and into the hands of the public.
The CCAH isn’t just a concept – it’s set to become a vibrant community hub supporting an array of initiatives. Its mission? "To more widely share the knowledge and benefits from archaeological work and research on heritage," as Dr. Geoff Emberling, the center’s inaugural director and research scientist at the Kelsey Museum, told Click on Detroit. It seems they’re determined to not only enhance the quality of archaeological research and heritage protection but to also bolster the field’s standing in the time where humanities are scrambling to prove their worth.
The services offered by the center are anything but light. As reported by UMich Record, it includes backing students and faculty on collaborative projects, opening up resources for community-focused archaeological practices, and injecting some much-needed funding into student fieldwork and bringing field collaborators to campus. It's not just about the contemporary either – the CCAH plans to hold conferences every two years to keep the academic dialogue fresh and ongoing.
Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Assistant Curator at UMMAA, Tiffany Fryer, sees the potential for the center to grow into a beacon for those looking to weave community perspectives into their work. "What we’re proposing to do in the center isn’t new, but it has been seen as fringe until quite recently," Fryer stated. The center stands to significantly deepen the theoretical and practical aspects of heritage studies and become a rallying point for teaching, research, and community involvement.
