Support the society's work!

A form with instructions for making a donation of any size can be downloaded for printing here. 

If you don't have access to a printer, simply write out your information on a blank piece of paper.

Thank you!

PAST EVENTS

Announcing: Microgrants for Students in 

Western Washington! 

AIA Puget Sound is proud to announce the continuation of their microgrant program for 2025. Please stay tuned for official announcement later this fall. 

The Puget Sound Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is pleased to offer microgrants for local archaeology students. These range from $50-$250, and are intended to mitigate some of the costs of participating in a professional archaeological project (that is, a project led by a professional archaeologist or an academic). For example, applicants might seek funds to purchase a trowel or steel-toed shoes, pay program or lab fees, tuition, travel or food expenses, etc.

Eligibility: open to any student enrolled in a high school or college in western Washington. If you live outside of western Washington, please contact your local AIA society and encourage them to start a microgrant fund! There are also microgrants available through the Black Trowel Collective and Sportula.

To apply: please send the following to aiapugetsound@gmail.com

1. Your name, the name of your school/college, and your grade or year in school

2. Statement of purpose (250-500 words). Please describe the archaeological project you are or will be involved in, and how it contributes to your current or future goals.

3. Microgrant request (50-150 words). Please describe how much microgrant money you are applying for (from $50 to $250) and what you need it for (equipment, program fees, travel, etc.; please be as specific as possible).

4. Reference. Please provide the name and contact information (email and phone number) of one individual who has agreed to serve as a reference for you (for example, a teacher, project director, employer, etc). Your reference does not need to write a letter of recommendation, but should be prepared to discuss your interest in archaeology and/ or your academic work related to archaeology over the phone.

Application deadline: We welcome applications on a rolling basis through May 31, 2024. We will review applications monthly beginning in March 2024; please anticipate 4-6 weeks for us to review your application.

Interested in archaeology but not sure where to start?

Check out Peter Nelson and Sara Gonzalez’s article “What Do Archaeologists Do,” and find a fieldwork project in the Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin!

Puget Sound Society officers

Co-Presidents: Aislinn Melchior (amelchior@pugetsound.edu) and Sarah Levin-Richardson (sarahlr@uw.edu)

Vice President: Randall Souza (souzara@seattleu.edu)

Treasurer: Laura Matz (lmatz@aol.com)

Secretary: Ulrike Krotscheck (ulrikek@evergreen.edu)

For more information about this society and about the Archaeological Institute of America, see our collection of Information and Resources

Past Lectures and Activities:

Undoubtedly the most familiar and recognizable feature on the faces of figures carved in the round or in relief during the Greek Archaic period (c. 750-480 BCE) is a shallow, inscrutable smile that, like the Mona Lisa’s, has defied explanation. The lecture surveys the origin and history of the “Archaic Smile” as well as the history of its interpretation. It is often thought a stylistic “import” from the sculpture of Egypt or the Near East, and it has been variously considered a sign of life, or happiness, or status, or divinity, or even an “optical refinement.” But although certain theories can be eliminated from the discussion and others added, there may in fact be no single, universal explanation for the Smile at all.

Image credit: Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge

For the full schedule of lectures this academic year, see our Schedule of Lectures