The Society

I saw Mel first. When I approached the registration table, she was chatting with one of the volunteers. I relaxed a little - a familiar face, someone I knew. Thank goodness. 

Just a few minutes later, after Mel had walked me into the reception hall, I spotted another familiar face - Jeneva. Come to think of it, we had only ever met on Zoom. It actually took me a second to realize it was her. We grabbed drinks and started chatting. It was easy to converse with Jeneva, and I was so glad to finally connect with her in person. 

The following day, Calvin showed up to the conference. The annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology is like a family reunion to him. Calvin taught for years at a university that is a hub for underwater archaeology, so he knows absolutely everybody. Name an underwater archaeologist in the US, and there's a good chance the person is one of Calvin's former students. We couldn't walk 10 feet without someone stopping him to say hi, and Calvin introducing them to me. I felt like I was shadowing a celebrity.

Calvin and I had a few concrete goals for the conference. Giving our presentations was obviously first on the list. Calvin and Mel had organized a special session on the ecology of underwater cultural heritage, so the collaborative research that Calvin and I do together was a perfect fit. We planned our presentations together and tag-teamed our talks. It went well. 

Our second goal for the conference - arguably a more important goal than giving our presentations - was connecting with potential collaborators and funders. We scheduled a meeting with the research lead for an NGO who we wanted to work with. We got breakfast with an officer from a funding agency. Calvin connected us with his former boss, who might be a good education partner. Overall, it was an incredibly productive few days. 

I am glad to be more integrated in the archaeological community now. This year's SHA was a great conference!