ABSTRACT
One significant place of employment for archaeologists is in state and local governmental organizations. In this chapter devoted to his work with a county archaeology program in Prince George's County, Maryland, Michael Lucas discusses the challenges that are inherent in representing archaeology to varied local constituencies. He emphasizes the need to relate interpretations ofthe past to contemporary social and political issues in ways that are flexible enough to permit varied public responses. He also describes how recent scholarship related to place-based consciousness can be useful in developing effective interpretive strategies. A particularly interesting aspect of this chapter is Lucas's discussion of ways in which work with volunteers can help archaeologists test the effectiveness of their interpretive strategies before presenting them to the general public.
