Cemeteries as Participatory Museums

Abstract

AbstractPreservationists and archaeologists often assess cemeteries for their research value as cultural resources of communities. Cemeteries hold significant interpretive and educational value because they serve communities as outdoor museums (Meyers 1996). The Cemetery Resource Protection Training (CRPT) workshop, developed by the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN), engages the public by providing an archaeological perspective and hands-on experiences for local communities to aid them in addressing the real-world problem of neglected historic cemeteries. After completing over 36 workshops in 28 different communities, the CRPT workshop template has proven to be a highly transferable means to provide education and outreach to underserved communities and sites, as directed in FPAN’s mission. This paper considers cemeteries as participatory museums using Nina Simon’s (2010) co-creation framework. Following a brief summary of cemetery training programs and a review of the larger cemetery crisis in Florida, the rationale for creation of the CRPT program and building blocks of the workshop are provided for other public archaeologists to adapt for training cemetery stewards. Finally, the creation of training opportunities for nonprofessionals as an advance in public archaeology practice is discussed.