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Archaeological Legacy Institute

Who We Are

Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) is an independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt (501[c][3]), research and education corporation registered in Oregon in 1999. Recognizing that the archaeological record is the legacy of all human beings and dedicated to bringing the benefits of archaeology to a wider constituency, ALI was founded to address a number of critical issues now facing archaeology and its potential beneficiaries:

• Damage to archaeological sites is taking place at an alarming rate, but support for preservation programs could be enhanced through the use of modern communications technology to increase public awareness that their archaeological legacy is seriously endangered.
• Despite many millions of public and private dollars spent annually, the poor availability of project reports (the "gray literature"), written mainly to satisfy minimum government requirements, inhibits both research progress and popular support for archaeology.
• Too little is written for an information-hungry public by professionals, who receive few incentives for such activity.
• Interested and normally honest lay people, far more numerous than professional archaeologists, often have extensive knowledge of archaeological sites and artifacts that they will not share with professionals for fear of being accused of misdeeds.
• Media news items, seldom prepared by archaeologists themselves (who are busy doing research, teaching, or meeting clients' needs), are frequently shallow, inaccurate, and incomplete.
• Indigenous peoples, whose past is often the subject of archaeological study, and despite decades of objection, still have too little voice in conduct of research, share too few of its benefits, and consequently often do not support studies that could improve knowledge and appreciation for their cultural heritage.
• School curricula that could employ archaeological knowledge to help inform future adults about their place in history and relations with other peoples typically offer only cursory coverage of archaeology, which is fun and informative about very important issues, but so far is seldom used as an educational tool.
• Archaeological research itself, particularly in the area of fieldwork, is still largely conducted in habitual and inefficient ways that would be greatly improved by the focused application of modern technologies that could significantly reduce research costs.

The mission of ALI is to develop ways to make archaeology more effective both in gathering important information about past human lifeways and in delivering that information to the public and the profession. A fundamental postulate is that archaeology has important messages to deliver accurately and completely to people worldwide about our origins and development as a species and that among these messages are those about mistakes we have made in the past and must not make in the future. In essence, ALI is devoted to archaeological research and its contributions to science and to humanity. In the furtherance of this mission, ALI, its associates, and its employees adhere to the Principles of Archaeological Ethics promulgated by the Society for American Archaeology.

President

Richard M. Pettigrew, Ph.D., RPA, is an established consulting archaeologist in Eugene, Oregon, with 35 years of experience in western North America. Dr. Pettigrew has conducted archaeological research in the Pacific Northwest with the University of Oregon, INFOTEC Research, Inc., and as an independent consultant, and has published numerous technical works (including solicited contributions to the Smithsonian Institution Handbook of North American Indians), is well versed in computers, mathematics, remote sensing, lithics analysis, and obsidian studies, has taught University classes, has been invited to many professional conferences, and is a peer reviewer for several professional journals and the National Science Foundation. He is the founder and Executive Director of ALI.

Secretary

Esther Stutzman, a resident of Yoncalla, Oregon, is a Native American storyteller and teacher and Chair of the Komemma Cultural Protection Association. Her Native American background is Coos and Kommema Kalapuya and she is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz. Esther brings to ALI a strong background as a keeper and teacher of her indigenous Oregon cultures, which she shares widely through stories and crafts handed down from her ancestors. She has worked with the Oregon Folklife Council at the Oregon Historical Society, the Applegate House Arts and Education program in Yoncalla, and as a Board Member of the McKenzie River Gathering Foundation.

Treasurer

John Waters is a financial adviser with Wedbush Morgan Securities, Inc., in Eugene and the founder and operator of Webfoot Software. Mr. Waters over the past 20 years has a acquired a breadth of experience that includes schooling in India, Australia and the United States and serving as Advertising Sales Manager for an Oregon newspaper (Willamette Valley Observer) and Financial Consultant and Investment Executive for three major investment firms (Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, and Wedbush Morgan). As the operator of Webfoot Software, he develops software for industrial, entertainment and recreational products and designs web pages. His programming expertise includes C++, SQL databases, Visual Basic, HTML, DHTML, XML implementations, and analysis and design on business standards, processes, and controls.

Directors

Hervey Allen, Microcomputer Support Specialist at the University of Oregon, is also a Web Design Specialist for Websoft and Associates. Mr. Allen has extensive experience in computer network installation and maintenance, website design and maintenance, and microcomputer support services in the United States and at overseas locations. He has conducted on-site consultation in the Caribbean region, South America and Africa as well as North America.

Randall Schalk, Ph.D., an archaeologist with much experience in western North America, operates his own archaeological consulting firm, Cascadia Archaeology, in Seattle. Since 1978, while employed sequentially as Associate Director of the Center for Northwest Anthropology at Washington State University, Director of the Office of Public Archaeology at the University of Washington, Senior Archaeologist for INFOTEC Research, Inc., and Northwest Program Manager for the International Archaeological Research Institute, Dr. Schalk has been Principal Investigator on more than 90 successfully completed cultural resource projects in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Alaska, New Mexico, and the Republic of Palau. His publications include a number of scholarly papers on prehistoric subsistence and land use in the Pacific Northwest, two book chapters, and more than 80 technical reports. He was the recipient of a National Science Foundation Grant in 1985 and served as an editorial board member for the Northwest Environmental Journal between 1987 and 1993.

What We Do

To pursue our mission and realize our goals, ALI is planning a number of initiatives.

• We will utilize media entertainment to get our messages across by means of The Archaeology Channel (films, news, commentary, interactive programs, etc.), partnering with film and program producers, and the development of authentic computer games.
• We will conduct archaeological research based on sound theory, employing new technology, and in partnership with the lay public, and will provide financial support for needed research and sponsor conferences on important topics.
• We will promote archaeology in education through the development and implementation of school curricula, teacher training, exhibits and programs for the public, and training and degree programs for archaeologists and archaeological technicians.
• We will partner with indigenous peoples through research projects, scholarship awards, assistance with cultural resource programs, and museum exhibits and programs.
• We are planning publications, including a peer-reviewed journal (of which none exists now in the Pacific Northwest); conversion of contract reports into monographs in print, on CDROM, and on the Web; a news service for newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations; and the promotion of literature intended for a lay audience.

The Archaeology Channel is our top priority at present.

About Our Logo

The ALI logo, the negative impression of a human hand such as seen in rock art throughout the world, was chosen to symbolize our commitment to sharing with all human beings the story of the cultural legacy belonging to all members of our species. We searched for a symbol that was recognizably human, yet not associated with any particular culture or region of the world or with either males or females. We also desired a symbol that could represent the time depth of recognizably human cultures.

We feel that the hand impression not only meets these criteria, but also suggests our human self-awareness and our innate drives to communicate and to seek recognition. To our eyes, the hand on the cave wall cries out I was here! and signifies to us that we were there. The signature of the cave artist is the signature of our human ancestors. In a very meaningful sense it is our signature, representing the human presence in the world. It may also serve to remind us that the human presence in the world today is indelibly marked into the face of the planet and challenges us to create a sustainable future for ourselves and our fellow creatures. By exploring our past we may gain some of the wisdom needed to find our way into the future.

MORE ABOUT THE HAND MOTIF IN ROCK ART AROUND THE WORLD The negative hand motif, created by spraying liquid pigment (usually black or red) from the mouth over the hand, is found in ancient rock art in many parts of the world and has great antiquity. The earliest documented use of this symbol is in Chauvet Cave, a recently discovered site in France with some of the most spectacular rock wall paintings ever found. Here, the cave paintings, including a number of negative hands, have been shown to be 31,000 years old, nearly as old as the earliest evidence of modern humans in Europe. Another recently discovered French site with rock art is Cosquer Cave. Located on the Mediterranean coast, this cave was found by divers who encountered its submerged entrance, which leads upward to an air-filled grotto containing wonderful paintings, including 55 negative hand impressions dated to 27,000 years ago. Somewhat less ancient expressions of this motif are also found in North America at such places as Chinle Wash, Arizona, and at many places in Australia, such as Carnarvon Gorge. A pictorial worldwide survey of the hand symbol in rock art has been posted by the Bradshaw Foundation, which illustrates examples from 27,000 year old French site Gargas Cave and spectacular cave sites in Borneo, Australia, and Argentina.

Contact Us

Please send us your suggestions for programming, feedback on our web site, or questions you may have. The officers and volunteers who carry out ALI's activities work at various locations around the world coordinate activities largely through the Internet. We don’t have the staff to handle large volumes of incoming telephone calls or letters, so please contact us via e-mail.