Citizen science: Case studies of public involvement in archaeology at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Abstract

While the citizen science concept has been around for decades, its definition remains fluid in a voluminous literature on the subject. In archaeology, where the concept has had little traction, are we talking about citizens working in science as technicians, or citizens doing science as scientists? Is citizen science in archaeology a marketing rebrand of volunteerism? The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s (SERC) archaeology programme offers what may be a unique solution: a consortium of avocational and professional archaeologists in which individuals and small groups, under the guidance of the laboratory’s lead investigator, develop research questions and methods, collect data, analyze, and report results, supported by team members who aid in those tasks that volunteers typically undertake in archaeology; i.e. digging, screening, and washing artefacts. These citizen scientists produce, as well as contribute to, the production of scientific knowledge. Key issues include control, authority, and variable status of participants.

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