About Archeology Month

Arkansas Archeology Month is an annual celebration commemorating Arkansas’s cultural heritage as revealed through the archeology of both prehistoric and historic eras. Exhibits, lectures, demonstrations, tours, open houses, workshops, and other activities are scheduled throughout the state at museums, historic sites, state parks, libraries, and colleges. The event began as “Arkansas Archeology Week” in 1991 and was expanded to cover a month in 2002. It has been held in both the spring and the fall, but since 2003 Arkansas Archeology Month is held in March.

Each year, Arkansas Archeology Month features a different theme to provide ideas for interpreting Arkansas’s archeology, prehistory or early history. Programs can be tailored to fit the theme, or may focus on the methods of archeology, information about particular sites, or general information on the state’s archeology or history. A colorful poster advertising the event is usually produced each year as well. A printed Events Brochure is distributed and late submissions are also posted on this web site.

Both Prehistory and History Featured
The prehistory of Arkansas covers thousands of years that Native Americans made their homes here. Prehistoric archeological sites fit into four broad periods: Paleoindian (9500 to 8000 B.C.), Archaic (8000 to 500 B.C.), Woodland (500 B.C. to A.D. 900), and Mississippian (A.D. 900 to 1541). Prehistoric sites include villages, mounds, cemeteries, bluff shelters, and stone quarries.

The Historic era begins in A.D. 1541 with Hernando de Soto’s trek through Arkansas. This period includes the first contact between Native Americans and Europeans, as well as later Euro-American settlement in the state. Historical archeology also adds information to nineteenth-century Arkansas sites, such as the historic towns of Old Washington or Old Davidsonville, boat wrecks on the Mississippi River, and even the Old State House.

Tips for Teachers
Using Archeology Month in your classroom provides a way to make general lessons relevant and to help students appreciate their state’s heritage. Each year’s different theme permits new and fresh ways to approach the subject. Teachers can take advantage of scheduled events located nearby, or feature an exhibit or unit within their own classrooms. Information available on this web site can be used any time throughout the year, not just during Archeology Month, to add to lessons on Arkansas history.

For More Information

• To see summaries and posters of Archeology Months from previous years, and for ideas on how to participate in Archeology Month,check out the Archives & Past Posters pages.
  
  
• To present an event or exhibit for Archeology Month and have it listed in the Events Brochure, fill out the Submission Form, or contact Mary Kwas, Archeology Month Coordinator, at 479-575-6549.