Year of Award

2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Name

Anthropology

Department or School/College

Department of Anthropology

Committee Chair

Randall Skelton

Commitee Members

John Douglas, Changwon Yoo

Keywords

ARCHAEOLOGY QUESTIONNAIRE, MONTANAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES, PUBLIC ARCHAEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA STUDENTS

Abstract

Archaeologists have an obligation to disseminate publicly their research and theories. To do this effectively, they need to know how each public perceives archaeology. A voluntary Institutional Review Board certified questionnaire was given to 606 University of Montana undergraduates and graduates. It included topics on the basics of archaeology and sites in Montana. After the results were tabulated, a website was created to show the overall results. Its location is at www.umt.edu/publicarchaeology. This online resource includes the questionnaire, the total raw results of all classes’ responses, and a discussion section. (See Appendix E for screenshot images of the website.) This project is a pilot program to see how archaeology is understood by non-professionals. Their input will help researchers communicate better their data. Two hypotheses are tested with this sample. First, individuals who attended high school in Montana have more knowledge and interest in local archaeology. Second, non-anthropology majors have less knowledge and interest in archaeology than anthropology majors. Overall, the responses produced mixed results for both hypotheses. One cannot predict always that where someone was educated in high school, he or she will be aware more and have a strong curiosity for local archaeology. Though individuals who are specializing in anthropology may be more knowledgeable, they may not be aware or care about all aspects of the topic. Overall this sample had a basic understanding of archaeology and little knowledge of Montana archaeological sites.

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© Copyright 2007 HELEN ALEXANDRA KEREMEDJIEV