by Sarah Levin-Richardson
With an estimated 150+ attendees braving the October drizzle, Seattle’s first in-person celebration of International Archaeology Day went off without a hitch! Following on last year’s virtual celebration of IAD—a set of online lightning talks by archaeologists from around the Puget Sound, organized by UW Classics Prof. Sarah Levin-Richardson—this year saw the Puget Sound Society of the Archaeological Institute of America team up with the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture under the direction of Puget Sound AIA board members Prof. Ulrike Krotscheck (The Evergreen State College) and Prof. Randall Souza (History, Seattle University).
UW Classics Prof. Cathy Connors, The Overlake School World Languages faculty member Sarah Mansour, and UW undergraduate volunteers hosted a popular booth on writing cursive Latin on thin boards à la the Vindolanda tablets. Colleagues from other departments at UW (including Anthropology) and from area institutions and groups (including the Northwest College of Art + Design and the Puget Sound Knappers) offered attendees the opportunity to try their hand at atl-atl / throwing boards (hand-carved by UW Anthropology Prof. Sven Haakanson after those of the Alutiiq people of Alaska), to watch a live flint-knapping demonstration, to practice writing in Etruscan and cuneiform, and to learn about local archaeological projects.
We look forward to seeing you at next year’s IAD!