New technical brief on Archeology and Civic Engagement. We are pleased to announce the availability of a new technical brief. Archeology and Civic Engagement, by Barbara Little and Nathaniel Amdur-Clark, is now online as technical brief #23. Archeology can play a role in efforts to strengthen communities and promote public dialogue, particularly as archeological projects increasingly involve the communities in which they occur and as archeologists recognize their ethical responsibilities to involve multiple stakeholders. This technical brief provides explanations of civic engagement and social capital as well as case studies and suggestions for ways that archeologists can participate in these efforts.

Assessment of Archeology Interpretation distance learning course launched. The Archeology program is pleased to announce the launch of a new distance learning course. Assessment of Archeology Interpretation is the final course planned in the curriculum, “An Inspiring Guide”: Effective Interpretation of Archeological Resources. This newest course is a brief introduction to both the Interpretive Analysis Model, used to evaluate the effectiveness of interpretation, and the NPS Evaluation Strategy. All four distance learning courses set out in The “Inspiring Guide” manual encourage archeologists and interpreters to work together to effectively interpret archeological resources to the public. The curriculum is adaptable to any geographic region and may be adapted by any agency or organization desiring to improve the quality of archeological presentation to the public. Link to each of the four courses from either the Inspiring Guide page or the distance learning page.

National Park Service Regional Survey Plans online. NPS regional plans provide overviews of archeological inventory needs in national parks across the United States and in U.S. territories and possessions. Plans are now online for all seven regions including Alaska, Intermountain, Midwest, National Capital, Northeast, Pacific West, and Southeast. Some plans cover all parks in the region while others cover clusters of parks in the region. Go to "links" on our Site Discovery and Evaluation page.

Archeology this month. We've collected our archeological mini-features linked from our home page into one page, Archeology this month. Find links to October's archeology month celebrations, American Indian Heritage Month, Archeoastronomy, archeological World Heritage Sites in the United States, and more, as we update our front page to highlight national commemoration months and archeological topics..

Fresh look and content for our home page. We invite you to to explore our latest mini-feature, reached by clicking anywhere on home page's banner image. We will be updating the front page regularly to highlight national commemoration months and current archeological topics. In January, we celebrate archeological World Heritage Sites in the United States. Upcoming features in future months will focus on the archeology of African American sites, Women's History, Travel to Archeological places, and more.

Vying for the New World. Two new research reports explore archeological evidence for the struggles of European colonizers against each other - and against both Native people and captive Africans. Both Spain and France sought control over La Florida. Archeology at Canaveral National Seashore has uncovered evidence shedding light on the 16th-century conflict between their settlers and the fate of defeated French survivors, some of whom did survive along the Florida coast for a number of years. Read more about the Oyster Bay Site. Archeology at Virgin Islands National Park explores the legacy of the culture born from contact between Native Americans, Europeans, and free and enslaved Africans. In defiance of both British and Spanish claims, Denmark sent settlers as early as 1672 to the island of St. John in the Virgin Islands. Read about this research and about the first successful slave revolt in the New World.

Battlefield Archeology at Kings Mountain National Military Park. A wildfire in 1984 that consumed the tall grass covering the Little Big Horn Battlefield provided a unique opportunity for an innovative archeologist and a group of metal detector hobbyists to establish a mutually beneficial working. This collaboration on the plains of Montana provided the basis for a whole new line of inquiry which came to be known as Battlefield Archeology. Learn how the NPS Southeast Archeological Center improved battlefield archeology methods to provide a new interpretation of the Revolutionary War battle at Kings Mountain NMP, South Carolina.

Archaeology at Nicodemus, Kansas. The story of Nicodemus is a story of ingenuity, pride and the struggle to survive in a harsh and punishing environment. Learn more about research into the settlement period and early occupation of Nicodemus. Explore our new "Research in the Parks" report on the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams farm site, located approximately four kilometers north of the town.

Secretary's Report to Congress on the Federal Archeology Program Expanded. Visit our expanded web pages to learn all about the Secretary of the Interior's Report to Congress on the Federal Archeology Program. The reports provide summary information about activities that Federal agencies carry out as part of their stewardship responsibilities as well as recommendations for the Federal Archeology Program. The web pages contain pdf documents of all of the Secretary's Reports from FY1985-2003, the questionnaires, and lots of data.

Crabtree Award announced. Congratulations to Jay Blaine, the 2007 recipient of the Society for American Archaeology's Crabtree Award, for his many years of service to the professional and avocational archaeological communities. Learn more about both Mr. Blaine's accomplishments and excellence in avocational archeology, which is recognized by the Crabtree award.

New technical brief on Archeological Site Stewardship Programs. We are pleased to announce the availability of a new technical brief. Developing and Implementing Archeological Site Stewardship Programs, by Sophia Kelly, is now online as technical brief #22. Archeological site stewardship programs can be a valuable component of protection plans for archeological resources on both public and private lands. This technical brief explores the necessary components of successful development and implementation of an archeological site stewardship program.

Ceramic Analysis at Fort Vancouver NHS. We've another new report on "Research in the Parks." Read about Ceramic Analysis at Fort Vancouver NHS, located in present-day Vancouver, Washington. This Hudson's Bay Company trading post and administrative center from 1825-1860 provides an ideal setting for archeologists to explore the complexity of culture, class, and identity through material culture.

Middle Ford Ferry Tavern Project, Monocacy National Battlefield, Highlighted. The NPS Archeology Program has added a new web page describing another archeological project in a national park. Adapted from an Archeology E-gram Projects in Parks story, this story describes the discovery of the Middle Ford tavern and ferry, both of which were in operation by the middle part of the eighteenth century on an important route through Frederick County, Maryland.

Newly Revised Technical Brief on Peer Review. Peer Review of Federal Archeological Projects and Programs, by Bennie Keel, Barbara J. Little, Martha Graham, Mary Carroll, and Francis P. McManamon, is now online as technical brief #21. We have updated our technical brief to describe procedures to conduct peer reviews in public archeology as a means of improving the effectiveness of projects and programs.

New technical brief on archeological damage assessment. We are pleased to announce the availability of a new technical brief on archeological damage assessment. Archeological Resource Damage Assessment: Legal Basis and Methods, by Martin E. McAllister, is now online as technical brief #20. This technical brief describes and explains the archeological resource damage assessment process, including the legal basis as well as procedures for field damage assessment, value and cost determinations, and report preparation. Archeologists involved in ARPA investigations must fully understand the archeological resource damage assessment process and how to carry it out correctly because the credibility of such damage assessments directly affects the outcome of these cases and the criminal or civil penalties imposed.

Research in the Parks. We've added two new pages detailing archeological projects in the parks, including:

• the loan agreement between Spain and the park for artifacts from Spanish shipwreck sites at Assateague Island National Seashore in Virginia; and
• survey and inventory of the Cape Krusenstern beach ridge complex at Cape Krusenstern National Monument in Alaska.

Homestead School Archeology Report Online. The archeological report for Freeman School, Homestead National Monument of America, located near Beatrice, Nebraska, is now online. Investigations by the NPS Midwest Archeological Center and the University of Nebraska provided information needed for renovation and a better understanding of the activities at this school, opened in 1872 and used until 1968. Go to Nebraska on our Research in the Parks page.

NPS Archeology E-Gram now available online. Check out the current issue and archives of our Archeology E-Gram. This monthly notice includes announcements about news, new publications, training opportunities, national and regional meetings, and other important goings-on related to public archeology in the National Park Service and other public agencies. Each issue includes a "Projects in Parks" feature which highlights an interesting archeology-related project in a national park. The current issue and the archive are available on the NPS Archeology News & Links page. Look to the column on your right and you'll see that links to the E-gram also appear on this page.

Explore our new distance learning course. Study Tour of Archeological Interpretation takes archeologists and interpreters through the process of evaluating the interpretation of archeology both in parks and historic sites and through virtual visits. Downloadable worksheets are available. This course assists archeologists and interpreters in working together to provide effective and accurate interpretation to engage the public and foster a preservation ethic. The Study Tour can be used by individuals or adapted by groups who wish to work together to improve archeological interpretation. As with our other distance learning courses, the Study Tour is easily adapted to classroom instruction for credit. Suggestions for potential instructors are included.

Research in the Parks. The past never rests, and neither do we. We've added several new pages detailing archeological projects in the parks, including:

• ongoing documentation of ancient village sites along Alaska's Alagnak and Brooks Rivers;
• the discovery in Sitka National Historical Park of a Tlingit fort built for battle with Russian colonists;
• the survey and inventory of Indian camp and quarry sites, frontier farm sites, Civil War fortifications, and 19th century tenant houses in the District of Columbia's Rock Creek Park;
• the discovery of several significant Early Archaic sites along the Potomac floodplain in Maryland's C & O Canal National Historical Park;
• the collaborative Chaco Digital Initiative, pulling together much of the widely dispersed archeological data collected from New Mexico's Chaco Canyon;
• a new assessment of previous archeological studies at Franklin Court in Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia;
• a three-year study of Harpers Ferry NHP's historical U.S. Armory Grounds;
• a survey for precontact sites in the high altitude regions of Olympic, Mount Ranier, and North Cascades National Parks in Washington;
• and an underwater study of shipwrecks and other cultural resources in the waters off Virginia's Jamestown Island.

NPS Archeology Guide. As one of the principal stewards of America's heritage, the NPS is charged with the preservation of the commemorative, educational, scientific, and traditional cultural values of archeological resources for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Archeological resources are nonrenewable and irreplaceable, so it is important that all management decisions and activities throughout the National Park System reflect a commitment to the conservation of archeological resources as elements of our national heritage.

To meet that commitment, the NPS Archeology Guide supports Director's Order #28A: Archeology.