"An Inspiring Guide": Effective Interpretation of Archeological Resources
A four-part program for archeologists and interpreters, developed by the National Park Service in cooperation with the Center for Heritage Resource Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, 2004.

The program is intended to be “an inspiring guide” to encourage archeologists and interpreters to work together to effectively interpret archeological resources to the public. The curriculum can be adapted to any geographic region and by any agency or organization desiring to improve the quality of archeological presentation to the public. Credit for modules 2, 3, and 4 is available through DOI Learn, the online portal for Federal agency training, which is accessed by Federal employees by clicking here and here by the general public.

The Public Meaning of Archeological Heritage curriculum consists of the following four modules. You can get to the set of modules through the distance learning page. Students can also search DOI Learn for the course titles.

• Module One: Public Meaning of Archeological Heritage. Read the seminar papers available from the October 2005 conference at the University of Maryland. Also see the special section of the March 2005 issue of the Society for American Archaeology Archaeological Record on the Public Meaning of Archeological Heritage (pages 18-40, 44).
• Module Two: Archeology for Interpreters and Interpretation for Archeologists are available as distance learning courses.
• Module Three: Study Tour of Archeological Interpretion. Use this guidance for conducting study tours in the field and virtually among the sites of the internet.
• Module Four: Assessment of Archeology Interpretation. Use the National Park Service Interpretive Analysis Model to assess talks, exhibits, and other outreach efforts.

Employing the concept of “shared competency,” archeologists and interpreters receive training in each other’s disciplines and work together to provide effective and accurate interpretation of archeological information and resources to the public.

Archeologists gain a firm foundation in and understanding of the purpose, philosophy, and techniques of interpretation.

Interpreters gain an understanding of basic archeological principles and techniques as well as comprehensive and accurate knowledge of historical and archeological information.

Together, archeologists and interpreters provide the public with opportunities to establish their own compelling intellectual and emotional connections to cultural resources based on current factual research and creative interpretive techniques.

Find more information about the National Park Service shared competency for archeologists and interpreters (see Module 440 under “Competencies”and “other developmental modules”).

Table of Contents
(Most links below are to downloadable Word .doc files)

1. Introduction

2. Overview of the Program

3. Meeting the Mission

4. The Public Meaning of Archeological Heritage (Module 1)

5. Archeology and Interpretation (Module 2)

Archeology for Interpreters

Interpretation for Archeologists

6. Study Tour of Parks (Module 3)

7. Interpretive Products (Module 4)

8. Credits

9. References

10. Resources on the Web