International Archaeology Day: Celebrating community-based research

International Archaeology Day was celebrated on October 18 at the Gatehouse Community Garden to highlight Columbia’s continuing archaeological research and commitment to sharing archaeology with the community beyond the gates.

Artwork by Kathy Cao/The Barnard Bulletin

By Aya Yamauchi

December 2, 2025

Columbia’s Center for Archaeology hosted a public event outside the Gatehouse Community Garden on Amsterdam Avenue on October 18 to celebrate International Archaeology Day. The event was organized by undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors to bring the Columbia and Barnard Archaeology departments to students and residents of the Morningside neighborhood.

Founded by the Archaeological Institute of America, International Archaeology Day celebrates archaeology and its “contributions to society.” Originally known as National Archeology Day, the celebration started in October 2011, taking place across 38 states, three countries, and was supported by numerous archaeological societies. By 2017, Archaeology Day was celebrated around the world, with over 20 countries participating.

The Columbia Center for Archaeology had been organizing Archaeology Day events for several years now, but they began collaborating with the 119th Street Gatehouse Community Garden in more recent years. As Professor Lisa Trever, director of the Center for Archaeology, shared, the decision to have a booth outside of campus grounds is a deliberate “move to bring Columbia outside the gates.” 

The emphasis on involving the neighboring community is grounded in the values of archaeology, a collaborative discipline that traces the history and livelihoods of past societies by studying material remains. The discovery and understanding of material objects is a matter of sophisticated collaboration between scientists, such as mineralogists who can classify the composition of artifacts, social scientists who can trace material origins through archives, and community members who have ancestral and cultural knowledge of the material. 

“Archaeology has the power to reconnect communities with their past and their heritage,” noted Jeremy Switzer (GS ’26), one of the volunteers at the event. His experience at the Flatbush African Burial Ground highlighted his point about how archaeology can contribute to creating resilience and visibility for underserved communities: “After the penetrating radar [a technology to see beneath the ground at the burial], there was a ceremony. It was like a remembrance of the community members who had died, and it was a really really powerful and a moving experience,” Switzer recalled.

The event was a beautiful moment of community gathering, where children, families, students, and neighbors alike observed, learned, and interacted with archaeological artifacts. 

In front of the garden was a diverse display of pottery shards, obsidian tools, fauna, and more. Inside the garden was an interactive workshop where children gathered around a table to sift dirt in search of treasure. At one end, scattered pottery shards that could be reconstructed into their original forms were used to demonstrate the reimagination that archaeologists practice onsite. Several artifacts were on display, including a real stone tool from the oldest period of stone tool production, called the Oldowan. This tool allowed our ancestors, the Homo Habilis from 1-2 million years ago, to hit, bash, and pound objects. It was a multipurpose tool: one could use it to grind up food or hit another rock to create more stone tools.  

There were also shards and old shoes from New York City that were excavated by Barnard professor Nan Rothschild. Professor Rothschild frequently involves community in her studies, such as when she worked with Barnard students in uncovering the Seneca Village, a former predominantly African American settlement that existed where Central Park lies today.  Morningside Heights residents examined the many glistening shards and metal shoe soles, enthusiastically interacting with the archaeologists and talking to them about the objects. It seems the study of archaeology is enhanced not solely by the archaeologist but also by those who share intimate memories and relationships with the land to which these objects belong. 

Public archaeology, as The Society of American Archaeology explains, encompasses any archeological activity that engages with the public. The event was a form of public archaeology in that it successfully engaged with the public outside the campus gates. From treasure-hunting activities to the artifact booth to the archaeologists involved in research beyond the city, there was a palpable enthusiasm toward archaeology from all the neighbors who participated in the event. Public archaeology as a community of practice has potential to strengthen ties between Columbia and the Morningside residents. The event showed the potential for knowledge-creation and discussion of academic disciplines beyond the classroom and into our neighboring communities.