Celebrating the Roads we have Travelled Together

Next year Canada will celebrate 150 years as a modern nation. At the same time, the Canadian Archaeological Association will mark 50 years of existence as a national organisation dedicated to the study and protection of this land's archaeological heritage and to sharing the knowledge and appreciation of that story.

Archaeology in Canada has indeed come a long way since the first CAA annual conference held in Winnipeg in 1968. There have been great strides achieved in terms of the expansion of university-based teaching programmes, heritage and related environmental legislation throughout the country, the creation of an industry to mitigate the adverse impacts on archaeological resources by development and much more.  Most importantly, the new legions of archaeologists, armed with degrees and walking behind the shield of legislation have turned our understanding of the past on its head.

These great archaeological leaps forward (and perhaps too our failings as a discipline) are worthy of being noted and the accomplishments of past generations, be they of archaeologists or of the people who lived that past, should be pointed out and celebrated so that the future understands what kinds of roads were travelled to bring them to the point at which they will find themselves.

Be Part of the Commemoration

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Archaeological Association, we would like to put together a photographic retrospective of the organization.  Do you have photographs of past CAA executive members, scenes from annual conferences, fieldwork photographs that you can share with the rest of us?  If so, please send digital versions (jpg) along with a brief description that includes the date of the picture (at least the year), the place and subject. By sending us these images, you are tacitly allowing them to be used at the conference and you are also acknowledging that you own the rights to the photographs.  

To whet your appetite and inspire you to dig through your personal archives for CAA memories, listen to Dr. William J. Mayer-Oakes introduce Dr. William E. Taylor as the CAA's first ever banquet speaker in Winnipeg, 1968.

Please send pics and data no later than May 1, 2017 to Megan Gardiner at the Canadian Museum of History.

Many thanks in advance!