It takes a community to bridge the professional-avocational divide: Collaborative archaeology at the Yahoola High Trestle

ABSTRACT

Supervised metal detecting is one way that community members can volunteer in the archaeological process, contributing to interpretations of the archaeological record. Given their demonstrated utility in archaeology, metal detector surveys are more frequently being incorporated into site investigations, adding an additional resource to better understand sites. Many archaeological projects limit opportunities for volunteer participation by requiring extensive metal detection training and equipment. We suggest that hobby metal detectorists with minimal formal training should, under close professional supervision, be incorporated into research strategies to evaluate sites. As a case study, we present the results of a collaboration between volunteers and professionals that incorporated metal detection to better understand the Yahoola High Trestle, a gold-rush era archaeological site in Lumpkin County, Georgia. The results of this project demonstrate the importance of collaboration and how hobby metal detectorists can contribute to archaeological fieldwork in a positive manner.

KEYWORDS:

• Industrial archaeology
• gold-rush archaeology
• historical archaeology
• collaborative archaeology
• community archaeology
• metal detecting
• mining
• trestle

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank (in alphabetical order) Colleen Balco, Richard Edwards, John Gaston, Stan Kelley, Doris Ledbetter, Larry Reiter, Margaret Riches, Bill Schmid, Kadee Spears, Jessica Stehlin, and Jack Wynn. We would also like to thank the citizens of Dahlonega, Georgia, students from various universities that helped with the field excavation, and the members of the Blue Ridge Archaeology Guild (BRAG). Furthermore, Amy East, Chris Espenshade, Suzie Thomas, and two anonymous reviewers provided valuable feedback on earlier manuscript drafts. Maps throughout this article were created using ArcGIS® software by Esri. ArcGIS® and ArcMap™ are the intellectual property of Esri and are used herein under license. Copyright © Esri. All rights reserved. Finally, any errors are, of course, our own.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

William Michael Balco is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at University of North Georgia.

Christopher Philip Worick is the President of the Lumpkin County Historical Society.

Clifford Alpheus Shaw is a forester who retired from the U.S. Forest Service at the Bridgeport Ranger District, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.