Awards
Awards of the Archaeology Division
Patty Jo Watson Distinguished Lecture
Student Diversity Travel Grant
AD Sponsorship of SAA Symposium
AD Sponsorship of AAA Symposia
Patty Jo Watson Distinguished Lecture
Beginning with the 1989 Annual Meeting, the Archaeology Division inaugurated a series of Distinguished Lectures. Each lecturer delivers a talk at the Annual Meeting, and the distinguished lectures may subsequently be published in American Anthropologist.
Past Distinguished Lecturers
| 2012 | Susan D. Gillespie | The Entanglement of Jade and the Rise of Meseomerica. |
| 2011 | Barbara J. Mills | From Communities of Practice to Social Networks: Thinking Relationally in Archaeology. |
| 2010 | Michael Brian Schiffer | Anthropological Archaeology: Where Did We Go Wrong? |
| 2009 | Barbara J. Little | Reintegrating Archaeology in the Service of Sustainable Culture |
| 2008 | Alison Wylie | Legacies of Collaboration: Transformative Criticism in Archaeology |
| 2007 | Philip L. Kohl | Shared Social Fields: Evolutionary Convergence in Prehistory and Contemporary Practice |
| 2006 | David Hurst Thomas | Way Past Reburial and Repatriation: American Archaeology in the Active Voice |
| 2005 | Colin Renfrew | Beyond the Sapient Paradox: Genetic and Cultural Trajectories |
| 2003 | Rosemary A. Joyce | Doing Things: Anthropology as Archaeology |
| 2002 | Timothy Earle | Who Makes Culture: Alternative Media for Social Expression and Control |
| 2001 | William Longacre | Archaeology as Anthropology Revisited |
| 2000 | Wendy Ashmore | Decisions and Dispositions: Socializing Spatial Archaeology |
| 1999 | Theresa Singleton | Other Voices, Other Times: Historical Archaeology and Perceptions of the Past |
| 1998 | Gil Stein | Diasporas, Colonies and World Systems: Rethinking the Archaeology of Interregional Interaction |
| 1997 | Margaret Conkey | Paleolithic Pathways: Archaeological Theory and Practice of the Deep Past |
| 1996 | Jeremy Sabloff | The Past and Future of American Archaeology |
| 1995 | Patrick V. Kirch | Microcosmic Histories: Island Perspectives on Global Change |
| 1994 | Carol Kramer | The Quick and the Dead |
| 1993 | Mark Leone | Historical Archaeology Of and Against the State |
| 1992 | George L. Cowgill | Beyond Criticizing New Archaeology |
| 1991 | Elizabeth Brumfiel | Breaking and Entering the Ecosystem: Gender, Class, and Faction Steal the Show |
| 1990 | Bruce Trigger | Constraint and Freedom: A New Synthesis of Archaeological Interpretation |
| 1989 | Charles Redman | In Defense of the Seventies: The Adolescence of New Archaeology and Its Progeny in the Nineties |
This prize recognizes the best archaeology paper published in the American Anthropologist over a period of three years. Named after Professor Gordon R. Willey, the award recognizes a distinguished archaeologist who served as President of the AAA, in 1961. It encourages archaeologists to pursue Willey’s well-known maxim (even if he did not first pen it!) that archaeology is anthropology or it is nothing.
The award winner is selected from those papers published in the American Anthropologist in the three calendar years previous to the year of the award (excluding the distinguished lectures). Since the inauguration of the award in 1997, the following papers have been selected for recognition:
| 2012 | Kathryn J.W. Arthur | Feminine Knowledge and Skill Reconsidered: Women and Flaked Stone Tools |
| 2011 | April M. Beisaw | Memory, Identity, and NAGPRA in the Northeastern United States |
| 2010 | Thomas H.McGovern, Orri Vésteinsson, Adolph Fridriksson, Mike Church, Ian Lawson, Ian A Simpson, Arni Einarsson, Andy Dugmore, GordonCook, Sophia Perdikaris, Kevin J. Edwards, Amanda M. Thomson, W. Paul Adderley, Anthony Newton, Gavin Lucas, Ragnar Edvardsson, Oscar Aldred, and Elaine Dunbar |
Landscapes of Settlement in Northern Iceland: Historical Ecology of Human Impact and Climate Fluctuation on the Millennial Scale |
| 2009 | Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh and T. J. Ferguson | Memory Pieces and Footprints: Multivocality and the Meanings of Ancient Times and Ancestral Places among the Zuni and Hopi |
| 2008 | Barbara Voss | From Casta to Californio: Social Identity and the Archaeology of Culture Contact |
| 2007 | Christopher Fisher | Demographic and Landscape Change in the Lake Patzcuaro Basin, Mexico: Abandoning the Garden |
| 2006 | Barbara J. Mills | The Establishment and Defeat of Hierarchy: Inalienable Possessions and the History of Collective Prestige Structures in the Pueblo Southwest |
| 2005 | Katherine A. Spielmann | Feasting, Craft Specialization, and the Ritual Mode of Production in Small Scale Societies |
| 2004 | Brian S. Bauer and R. Alan Covey |
Processes of State Formation in the Inca Heartland (Cuzco, Peru) |
| 2003 | Lisa J. LeCount | Like Water for Chocolate: Feasting and Political Ritual among the Late Classic Maya at Xunantunich, Belize |
| 2002 | Susan D. Gillespie | Rethinking Ancient Maya Social Organization: Replacing “Lineage” with “House” |
| 2001 | James E. Snead | Science, Commerce, and Control: Patronage and the Development of Anthropological Archaeology in the Americas |
| 2000 | Glenn Davis Stone and Christian E. Downum |
Non-Boserupian Ecology and Agricultural Risk: Ethnic Politics and Land Control in the Arid Southwest |
| 1998 | Patricia Crown and Suzanne Fish |
Gender and Status in the Hohokam Pre-Classic to Classic Transition |
| 1997 | Melinda Zeder | After the Revolution: Post-Neolithic Subsistence in Northern Mesopotamia |
In 2005 the Gordon R. Willey Endowment Fund was established as a permanent endowment to provide a stable income for the awarding of this prize.
Alfred Vincent Kidder Award
Established in 1950, the Alfred Vincent Kidder Award for Eminence in the Field of American Archaeology was given every three years to an outstanding archaeologist specializing in the archaeology of the Americas. The award has been given alternately to specialists in Mesoamerican archaeology and the archaeology of the Southwestern region — areas that were both central to the pioneering and exemplary work of A. V. Kidder.
This award, presented by the AAA but selected by the AD, is now given every two years.
The 2014 award will be for a specialist in the area of the Southwestern region. Nominations will be solicited in early 2014. They should include a cover letter of nomination, stating explicitly the qualifications and accomplishments of the nominee, and a CV. They will be reviewed by a specially selected Kidder Award Committee.
You may submit nominations by mail by addressing them to the Kidder Award Committee in care of the AD Secretary (click on Officers for address).
Or, you may submit nominations by email by sending attachments, preferably in PDF format, to the AD Secretary (click on Officers for email address). Please put “Kidder Award nomination” in the subject line.
The deadline for nominations is February 11, 2014. The award will be presented at the 2014 AAA business meeting in Washington, DC.
Past Kidder Award winners:
| Wendy Ashmore | 2012 |
| William D. Lipe | 2010 |
| David C. Grove | 2008 |
| Jeffrey S. Dean | 2006 |
| George L. Cowgill and René Millon | 2004 |
| Linda S. Cordell | 2001 |
| Jeffrey R. Parsons | 1998 |
| Jesse D. Jennings | 1995 |
| Kent V. Flannery | 1992 |
| Richard B. Woodbury | 1989 |
| Ignacio Bernal | 1986 |
| Watson Smith | 1983 |
| William T. Sanders | 1980 |
| Emil W. Haury | 1977 |
| Gordon R. Willey | 1974 |
| Richard S. MacNeish | 1971 |
| Paul S. Martin | 1968 |
| Neil Judd | 1965 |
| Tatiana Proskouriakoff | 1962 |
| Charles C. DiPeso | 1959 |
| Samuel K. Lothrop | 1956 |
| Earl H. Morris | 1953 |
| Alfred Marston Tozzer | 1950 |
Student Diversity Travel Grant
Established in 2004, these grants are intended to increase participation in AAA sessions and in archaeology more widely by students from historically under-represented populations. African American, Alaskan Native, American Indian or Native American, Asian American, Latino and Latina, Chicano and Chicana, and Pacific Islander students in archaeology are encouraged to apply for these travel grants to help defray costs associated with attending the AAA meeting. Archaeology students with disabilities are also eligible for this grant.
Up to four grants, of up to $600 each, will be awarded. Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- First priority is given to students presenting a paper or poster.
- Within that group, priority is given to students presenting a paper or poster for the first time at the AAA.
- Within that group, priority is given based on the distance a student must travel to the meeting.
All students who apply for a grant are also invited to arrange a meeting with any member of the AD Executive Committee during the annual meeting for professional advice and mentoring.
Recipients will be acknowledged and receive their award at the AD Business Meeting on Friday evening during the AAA meeting.
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY SEPTEMBER 15 to the AD Secretary (click on Officers for contact information) via e-mail (as an attachment-please include your last name in the name of the attachment) or snail mail. They should include the following:
- Completed cover sheet (download Word Document or download interactive PDF document)
- CV of not more than 2 pages (number as pages 2 and 3 in the same file after the cover sheet)
- Letter of reference from a scholar or advisor who knows your work. Please ask that the recommender submit the letter independently by the deadline.
Past Travel Grant Winners:
| 2012 | Annelise Morris | University of California Berkeley |
| Paulette F. Steeves | Binghamton University | |
| 2011 | NO award given | |
| 2010 | Moshe Adamu | University of Florida |
| Adela Amaral | University of Chicago | |
| Jessica Cerezo-Román | University of Arizona | |
| Sebastian Salgado-Flores | University of Texas San Antonio | |
| 2009 | Ana Tejeda | Northwestern University |
| Shankari Patel | University of California Riverside | |
| Rhianna Rogers | Florida Atlantic University | |
| Tsim Schneider | University of California Berkeley | |
| 2008 | Edward Jolie | University of New Mexico |
| Karen Pereira | University of Florida | |
| Dana Shew | University of Denver | |
| 2007 | Deanna Dartt-Newton | University of Oregon |
| Kelly Peterson | McMaster University | |
| Kerry Thompson | University of Arizona | |
| 2006 | Jason J. González | Southern Illinois University |
| Olaf Jaime-Riveron | University of Kentucky | |
| Ora V. Marek | University of California, Berkeley | |
| Sean Näleimale | University of Hawai’i, Manoa | |
| Gina Quistiano Zavala | Indiana University | |
| 2005 | Sara L. Gonzalez | University of California, Berkeley |
| Desireé Reneé Martinez | Harvard University | |
| Uzma Zehra Rizvi | University of Pennsylvania | |
| Grace S. R. Turner | College of William and Mary | |
| 2004 | Jason Patrick De Leon | Pennsylvania State University |
| Olivia Clementina Navarro-Farr | Southern Methodist University | |
| Janet Six | University of Pennsylvania | |
| Nawa Sugiyama | Arizona State University | |
| Radhika Sundararjan-Bauer | University of Pennsylvania | |
The Archaeology Division (AD) seeks to support student membership in the AAA and in the AD to maintain and strengthen the representation of archaeology within the AAA. The AD will award the next year’s membership in both AAA and AD to up to 20 students who present archaeological papers or posters at the annual meeting. This award has a value of between $75 and $135, depending on a student’s AAA membership status.
All students who present an archaeological paper or poster at the annual meeting are eligible to apply for this award. Up to three awards will be allocated specifically for undergraduates. If more than 20 eligible individuals apply, the awardees will be chosen by random methods.
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY SEPTEMBER 15 to the Student Member at Large (click on Officers for contact information) via e-mail (as a word document or PDF attachment-please include your last name in the name of the attachment) or snail mail. They should include the following:
- Your name, address, and email (or other contact information)
- Your AAA membership number
- Your institution
- The degree you are working on
- Expected date of this degree
- The title of your paper/poster that has been accepted for the 2010 annual meeting
- Is this your first AAA paper (yes or no)
Past Student Membership Winners:
| 2012 | Manuel Perales | Universidad Nacional del Centro del Perú |
| 2011 | Francois Buindon Dru McGill Anastasiya Travina |
University of Aberdeen Indiana University University of Texas, San Marcos |
| 2010 | No award given | |
| 2009 | Kathryn Lafrenz Samuels | Stanford University |
| Rhianna C. Rogers | Florida Atlantic University | |
| Maria Raviele | Michigan State University | |
| Tobin Hartnell | University of Chicago | |
| Diana T. Dyste Anzures | University of California Santa Barbara | |
| Kathy Koziol | University of Arkansas | |
| Ana S. Tejeda | Northwestern University | |
| Christine N. Reiser | Brown University | |
| Emily Poeppel | Indiana University of Pennsylvania |
AD Sponsorship of SAA Symposium
The AD annually sponsors a symposium at the Society for American Archaeology Meetings.
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY AUGUST 10 to the President Elect (click on Officers for contact information), via e-mail (as a word document or PDF attachment-please include your last name in the name of the attachment). They should include the following:
- Title and abstract of symposium
- Complete list of participants and titles of papers
- Complete abstracts of all individual papers in the symposium
The major criterion for selection of AD sponsorship is how well the proposed symposium exemplifies a holistic anthropological approach to a topic in archaeology.
A decision will be made by August 31. The designation of AD sponsorship must be included with the submission to the SAA Program Committee by their deadline in early September.”
AD Sponsorship of AAA Symposia
The AD annually sponsors one or more innovative, synthesizing sessions intended to reflect the state-of-the-art and the thematic concerns in archaeology. These sessions can cover a variety of issues and appear on the program as ‘invited’. Members should work closely with the Program Editor when planning invited sessions.
The AD may solicit symposia that address a particular theme, but all submissions will be welcome and considered.
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY MARCH 15 to the Program Editor (click on Officers for contact information), via e-mail (as a word document or PDF attachment-please include your last name in the name of the attachment). They should include the following:
- Title and abstract of session (up to 500 words)
- Complete list of participants and titles of papers
- Complete abstracts of all individual papers in the symposium
The major criterion for selection of AD sponsorship is how well the proposed symposium exemplifies a holistic anthropological approach to a topic in archaeology.
A decision will be made by March 1. The designation of AD sponsorship must be included with the submission to the AAA Program Committee by their deadline on March 15.”