My name is Judy Voelker, I am an associate professor of anthropology at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). I also serve as Director at the NKU Museum of Anthropology where we strive for ways for students to understand and analyze human interactions. The museum promotes cultural awareness through exhibits, presentations, and outreach. New methods to present data on-line and to maintain collections are essential to broadening the reach of archaeological knowledge.
Project Overview
With the assistance of the institute and its group of faculty and cohorts, I wish to develop an up to date web presence for the archaeological material and cultural context of objects accessioned in our museum. This project will provide a public platform for understanding the Fort Ancient culture in Northern Kentucky by highlighting archaeological research and excavated material in the collections of the anthropology program and at the museum. The archaeology of the region has ties to WPA projects, yet remains under referenced and published. This project will provide content that is easily accessible, informative, and housed on the web. The working title is: Unearthing the Past: Fort Ancient Culture, Archaeology, and Northern Kentucky.
Project Deliverables
Deliverables for this project include a website with interactive components such as:
- An interactive map
- Archaeological site data drawn from a database
- A citizen science participatory component to understanding what archaeologists do
Over the past several month, students and I have coordinated to digitize several hundred photographs and slides associated with archaeological excavations at two sites; the goal is to have an on-line platform for this material and a searchable database for others to use.
Target Audience
This interactive web-based project will inform both our university community as well as the broader region with information on our cultural heritage and archaeological past. The intended audience is wide and includes university stakeholders and the wider community: groups such as K-12 teachers and students, avocational archaeologists and people interested in the regional past.
I look forward to updating this blog regularly on our progress.