If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to stop by the Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting

Thousands of archaeologists from diverse backgrounds will flock to San Francisco, California to share innovative ideas, hear about new research, and connect with colleagues at the Society for American Archaeology's 80th Annual Meeting, April 15-19. With a wide array of forums, symposiums and sessions in store, this year's meeting promises to be an event you won't want to miss.

The program offers an in-depth guide to the nearly 4,000 presentations taking place over the jam-packed four day event. There's even a mobile version for those who want to save extra room in their bags for some amazing journals that they just might find in the exhibit hall.

Here are just a few events that caught our eye in this veritable smorgasbord of sessions:

• Wednesday, April 15th, 8-10am: Nose to Tail: An Interdisciplinary Look at Dogs in the Past
• Wednesday, April 15th, 2-4pm: Excursion San Francisco Architectural Walking Tour
• Thursday, April 16th, 1-3:30pm: Preservation, Protection, and Outreach Programs in National Park Service Archaeology
• Friday, April 17th, 8-11am: Space and Time in the Upper Palaeolithic: A Mixed Traditions Approach to the Study of Prehistory
• Friday, April 17th, 1-3:30pm: The Practices of Death: The Archaeology of Mortuary Ritual in Ancient Egypt and Sudan 
• Saturday, April 18th, 1-4pm: Like Frejoles in a Pod: Examining the Current State of Paleoethnobotany in Peru
• Sunday, April 19th, 8-11am:  Dietary Biographies: Chronicling Past Husbandry, Mobility, and Exchange Practices

The SAA was formed in 1934 in an effort to promote interest and research in American archaeology, advocate for conservation of archaeological resources, expand public access to archaeology and facilitate communication among archaeologists focusing on the Americas. Today, the organization has over 7,000 members including professionals, students, and researchers from the public and private sectors. 

If you're heading to the conference, be sure to stop by the Maney Publishing booth (#112) in the exhibition hall! We'd love to hear about your favorite sessions. 

To learn more about the 80th annual meeting, visit the SAA website.

  

LIVE AT THE SAA 2014: What are you enjoying about this year's conference?

The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is the largest organization of professional archaeologists of the Americas in the world. The Society was founded in 1934 and today has over 7000 members. Its annual conferences have been running every year since 1935 and is a major event in an archaeologist’s calendar.

This year’s meeting is in Austin, Texas and we’ve been asking delegates what they are most looking forward to and why they love the SAA 2014!

“I'm interested in historical archaeology, especially of the Caribbean. SAA is such a great opportunity to see people. It's a gigantic conference so it's impossible to do everything.” - Todd Ahlman, Historical Research Association

“I'm looking forward to a session on Conflict, Archaeology and the Press. It's a really under-discussed area and the session will cover areas like Egypt and the Arab Spring, and various battles - it's going to be a varied and interesting session. Interacting with the media can be risky, archaeologists don't have control over how their comments are conveyed. We had a module on the press when I did my degree at Newcastle but that's pretty unusual.” - Suzie Thomas, University of Helsinki

“The Defining Spatial Archaeometry session is one I'm really looking forward to - I'll pick up new techniques and ideas regarding modelling. I've been coming to SAA for about 20 years now and it's just fantastic for interacting with professionals, meeting old friends and developing collaborations. It recharges the inspiration batteries!” - Tad Britt, National Center for Preservation Technology

“The session Stewardship, Public Education, And Preservation: Promoting The

Value of Archaeological Collections and Research is perfect for me as I work in this field. There's also a great poster session on interactive interpretative technologies which is going to be really interesting. This is my 2nd SAA and I'm impressed with how much is going on. There's more historic archaeology too this year which is great!” - Tristan Harrenstein, Florida Public Archaeology Network

“I'm looking forward to Saturday's session, Subsistence and Landscape Change in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is about climate change in the Holocene. I'm based on the United States island territory of Guam. The west Pacific will be affected by climate change over the next 50 years with changing sea levels - it's quite scary for a lot of people. There's lots of debate in this area. Many islands will become uninhabitable. I'm very interested in doing climate change research in this region.” - John Peterson, University of Guam

And what are we looking forward to the most?…..probably a very large Gin & Tonic! J

Read all of the SAA session abstracts here

Volunteer at SAA 2014!

The 79th Society for American Archaeology (SAA) Annual Meeting will be held in Austin, TX on April 23-27, 2014. SAA is looking for volunteers to assist with all on-site meeting services.

Volunteer Requirements:
There is only one requirement for volunteering: You must be able to work a total of 8 hours (two four hour shifts). In return for your time, you will receive a free meeting registration that gives you full access to the 79th Annual Meeting.

Training:
Training will be provided through detailed and targeted manuals sent to you electronically prior to the meeting along with on-the-job instruction. Volunteers must pick up their registration packet at the volunteer registration table in the registration area at the beginning of the annual meeting. As always, SAA staff will be on hand to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have!

Continuing this year:
Session attendant volunteers (please see note under the description for session room attendants as there are changes) will be allowed to request specific sessions once the Preliminary Program is available in December. If you submit an application before the Preliminary Program is available, you can revise your shift availability to reflect those sessions you would like. Please send any changes to Josh Caro, and please note that these requests will be taken on a first come, first served basis. We may not be able to accommodate all of your choices. We will send an e-mail to all session attendant volunteers to let them know when the Preliminary Program is available.

If you would like to volunteer, please complete the application form at the bottom of this page and send it to SAA headquarters. The deadline for the application is February 3, 2014. Be sure to press the Send Form button at the bottom of the page. Volunteer opportunities are limited so please respond ASAP. If you are a presenter, we understand you will not know your schedule until the Preliminary Program is online in December and you will never be scheduled for a shift that conflicts with your session. You will receive an email confirmation if you are accepted as a volunteer within two weeks of the receipt of your application. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Josh Caro at josh_caro@saa.org or by phone at +1(202)559-7382.