NPS Archeology Program > Archeology This Month

Archeology This Month

Park Service preservation experts replaster Tumacácori's granary to keep it as close to an original condition as possible. (NPS photo)

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the rich cultural heritage of peoples of Spanish, Hispanic, and Latino origin. Archeological sites reveal many different aspects of Hispanic heritage, from early exploration and commerce on the high seas to the building of mission churches and much more.

Re-enactors haul fur bales at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. (NPS photo)

Celebrate Archeology

The National Park Service celebrates its birthday on August 25, which is Founders Day. Where would national parks be without archeology?

Well, for one thing, visitors wouldn't learn the full story of Jamestown Island, where we just celebrated the 400-year anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in America. Nor would we be able to visit the accurate reconstruction of Fort Vancouver, center of the fur trade and the colonization of the northwestern United States. More >>

What's round on the ends and high in the middle? Ohio's mounds, of course! Summer is the perfect time to get outside and experience archeological sites and exhibits in Ohio's parks, or at a park near you! (Photo by JQ Jacobs)

Visit Archeology

Going on vacation this summer? Throw a hat, a trowel, and some elbow grease into your suitcase, and you will be ready for any archeological adventure that comes your way!

If you're visiting the midwest, take a gander at Ohio Archeology, a travel guide to the ancient mounds, canals, and other historic sites that are the state's archeological heritage. More >>

Visitors learn about archeology and preservation at Philadelphia's President's House excavation. [NPS photo]

May is Preservation Month

Spring is a good time to think about new discoveries! Many states celebrate archeology during the months of April and May. Go to the Society for American Archaeology's state archaeology month page to find out when your state celebrates archeological discovery.

May is also Preservation Month, when we pay special attention to our historic heritage and the places that represent it. More >>

High school intern works alongside her mother screening soil and gravel at Kenai Fjords National Park. [NPS photo]

April: Archeology and Our Environment

April is full of good reasons to turn our attention to the great outdoors.

Celebrate National Park Week by visiting a national park. Earth Day is April 22! Some States have declared April as Archaeology month. Go to the Society for American Archaeology's state archaeology month page to find out when your state celebrates archeological discovery. More >>

Archeologists excavate at Amistad National Recreation Area. [NPS photo]

March is Women’s History Month

Women’s history? Isn’t that about the suffrage movement and the struggle for Women’s Rights? Seneca Falls? Elizabeth Cady Stanton? Sojourner Truth?

Of course, and that’s exciting and inspiring history, but there’s a lot more to women’s history, too, and some of it is waiting underground. More >>

Celebrate African American History Month

African American history is American history, from the earliest colonial settlement at Jamestown to the American Revolution to the struggle for Civil Rights. Archeology helps to reveal this history and celebrate African American achievements.

Long before the Civil War ended legal slavery, African Americans carved out places on the landscape, creating a legacy for all of us today. More >>

Celebrate World Heritage Archeology

What do Cahokia Mound State Historic Site in Illinois, Chaco Culture in New Mexico, and Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado have in common? Here’s a hint: they share this distinction with the Greek Acropolis, the Italian site of Pompeii, and the Mexican city of Teotihuacan. These places have each been recognized as World Heritage Sites that commemorate our ancient cultural heritage. A few rare places are of such outstanding universal value that they are important to the whole world. World Heritage recognizes and celebrates our common humanity: our common struggles, ambitions, achievements. More >>

December: North American Archeoastronomy

Wonder at the immense and unfathomable universe connects people in every time and every place to each other. We share a wonder at the movement of the sun and moon and invent ways to track them, making calendars so that we might plant and harvest and carry out ceremonies at opportune times. We see shapes in the stars, creating stories about the beings we find there.

Ancient astronomers throughout the world found ways to track celestial movements and to predict the year's important events, including winter solstice which (in the northern hemisphere) is the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year. More >>

November is National American Indian Heritage Month

For hundreds of generations American Indians have called this land home. In some places, the achievements of ancient cultures are visible on the landscape in surviving architecture of stone, adobe, or earth. More often, the remains of materials are underground and out of sight. In either case, the methods and techniques of archeology are used to illuminate the past and help us better understand it. More >>

October is Archeology Month

Over 15 states celebrate archeology during the month of October. Why? For the sheer fun of it! Go to the Society for American Archaeology's state archaeology resource page to find out when your state celebrates archeological discovery. More >>