Announcing: New Microgrants for Students in 

Western Washington! 

AIA Puget Sound is proud to announce the continuation of their microgrant program for 2024. 

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!

PAST EVENTS

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!

International Archaeology Day - Oct 23rd, 2021

It was a hit! Our thanks to the Burke and to all of our volunteers! We couldn't have done it without you. 

Fall Welcome letter! 

Dear Puget Sound AIA Members!

We hope you had a wonderful, restful, and safe summer. This is a good time to make sure that your AIA membership is current and/or to renew or join. Membership costs as little as $25/year (for undergraduates; K-12 educators only $40; grad students only $50; "supporting" membership for $70)! Becoming a member of the AIA not only brings you benefits in terms of a subscription to Archaeology magazine, but it also provides eligibility for scholarships, member deals, and more! Not only that, your AIA membership helps our local society bring in renowned archaeologists as speakers, and funds important national and international archaeological projects, scholarships, and publications. Please check your membership status to renew your membership, and don’t forget to indicate that your local chapter is Puget Sound!

We write with important and exciting announcements:

Microgrants! As our co-president, Dr. Sarah Levin-Richardson, wrote earlier this summer, the AIA-PS chapter is launching microgrants to help students with small, archaeology- related expenses that they may not be prepared for. You can donate by emailing our treasurer, Laura Matz (lmatz@aol.com).

International Archaeology Day! Mark your calendars for October 23rd! In conjunction with the Burke, we will be hosting our first International Archaeology Day (IAD) at Denny Hall on the UW campus. We’re busy planning to make the event as safe as possible, so stay tuned for a detailed list of activities coming soon on our Facebook page.

Lectures! Our lecture lineup is complete. In the fall, they will all be virtual, but beginning in January, we hope to return to in-person events, if it is safe to do so. Mark your calendars for:    

o   Friday, October 22nd, 6:30 pm (virtual): Amy Gusick, Natural History Museum, Los Angeles County: Migrations, Marginality, and Maritime Landscapes: A New World Paleocoastal Occupation.

o   Friday, Jan 21st, 2022, 7:30 pm (in person): AIA Faculty Lecture: Randall Souza, Seattle University: “Mixed Multitudes”: displacement and belonging in ancient Sicily. 7:30pm, UW, location TBD

o   Saturday, March 5th, 2022, 1:30 pm (in person): Miriam Stark, UH Manoa: The Angkorian World: Polity and Cosmos in Southeast Asia. UPS, location TBD.

o   Friday, April 22nd, 2022. 7:30 pm (in person): Ridgeway lecture: Kim Shelton, UC Berkeley, Title TBD, UW, location TBD

Book Club! The online book clubs last year were a success, and we plan on re-launching a fall/ winter book club soon. We’re in the process of reviewing a list of possible readings. Please stay tuned for more details on this!

Please do not hesitate to email me at ulrikek@evergreen.edu with any questions or concerns, and make sure to follow us on Facebook and on this page. We look forward to connecting with all of you this year!

Ulrike Krotscheck

Secretary, AIA Puget Sound Chapter

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