Kentucky Organization of Professional Archaeologists
The 38th Annual Kentucky Heritage Council Archaeology Conference was hosted online this year by the Kentucky Heritage Council, on March 5-6, 2021. The event was organized as a series of video presentations followed by a group discussion panel. The KHC website still hosts multiple video presentations that can be watched at any time!
KyOPA welcomes proposals from full and associate members on an annual basis for the KyOPA Small Research Grant. Our research grant program is intended for students and other members conducting independent research that contributes to a thesis, dissertation, or other publishable manuscripts. Grants will be awarded to support specialized analytical procedures that offer great potential to expand our knowledge of Kentucky archaeology. Examples of previously funded analyses include radiocarbon and luminescence dates, thin sectioning, micromorphology samples, scanning electron microscopy, and trace element analysis. Proposals are reviewed by the Small Research Grant Committee, composed of current members of the KyOPA Board of Directors. The amount of funding and the number of grants awarded are based on funds available, the merit of each application, and the number of applications. KyOPA strives to award at least one Small Research Grant per year totaling approximately $500. However, when funds are available, KyOPA will attempt to grant additional awards of an equal or lesser amount. This grant is made possible by funds raised from KyOPA membership dues and KyOPA fund raising events. In addition, 501c3 tax-deductible donations can be made at any time to fund additional grant awards – just click the “Donate” button (Paypal) on the lower right side of the KyOPA webpage!
Proposals are accepted at any time during the year. However, funding decisions are made once a year. All proposals submitted by January 1st of each year will be evaluated by KyOPA Small Research Grant Committee and an announcement will be made at that year’s Kentucky Heritage Council annual archaeology conference.
Proposals should be concise – no more than 2 pages of text in length not including figures, tables and references cited – and describe:
(1) A research question (ideally structured as a hypothesis/ test expectations).
(2) How the proposed work will address the research question.
(30 How the proposed work contributes to both local archaeology/history and broader anthropological/theoretical issues.
(4) A cost estimate of the analysis.
(5) The research question and methods should be supported by appropriate references cited and figures (when relevant).
Researchers who are awarded a KyOPA Small Research Grant are required to present the results of their KyOPA-funded analysis at the Kentucky Heritage Council (KHC) archaeological conference via a research poster or paper within two years of receiving the grant. A brief oral report of the analytical results will also be announced by the awardee at the KHC conference during the KyOPA business meeting. The research should also contribute to a thesis, dissertation, or a peer-reviewed publication such as an academic journal or edited volume.
Submit proposals as a PDF document via email to the KyOPA president (currently: Duane Simpson; duane.simpson@cardno.com) by the due date for review by the KyOPA Board of Directors. It is highly recommended that you contact the KyOPA president to discuss the suitability of the proposed research prior to submitting a proposal to the KyOPA grant program.
The 2019 speaker series of the Eastern Kentucky Archaeology Group (EKAG) is up and running! EKAG meetings take place on the 4th Tuesday of the month in the community room at Central Bank, located at 350 West Main, Richmond, KY. Doors open at 6 pm, with the program to begin at 6:30 pm. A program is being developed for the March speaker and will be published here in the coming weeks. If you would like to be added to the email list to receive montly talk flyers please contact mjdavidson@uky.edu
Please join KyOPA for a social night and fundraiser at the Monnik Beer Company in Louisville on January 22, 2019 from 6-9PM. The brewery is located 1036 E. Burnett Ave., Louisville, KY 40217. Monnik has offered to give KyOPA $1 per beer sold during that time! Come meet and have a drink with archaeologists and help support KyOPA’s mission! The funds raised will support KyOPA’s efforts to host the annual Kentucky Archaeological Conference (see last post), provide small research grants for ongoing projects and support public outreach efforts like Living Archaeology Weekend, the largest public archaeology event in the state. Please contact Matt Davidson at mjdavids1982@yahoo.com with questions. Hope to see you there!
Every year the Kentucky Heritage Council hosts the only state-wide archaeology conference. There you can learn about archaeological compliance projects and archaeological research, and meet archaeologists and other heritage professionals and students from around the state. The Kentucky Heritage Council’s 36th annual Archaeology Conference is scheduled for Friday, March 1 through Sunday, March 3, 2019 and will be held at Northern Kentucky University. A block of hotel rooms has been reserved at the Hampton Inn and Suites, 275 Columbia Street, Newport, Kentucky.
For more information about the event please check out the 30 Days of Kentucky Archaeology blog post about it here:
Save the Date: KHC Archaeology Conference 2019