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About the STAA
Welcome to the Southern Texas Archaeological Association.
Are you interested in the history or prehistory of Texas? Then you have come to the right place. This is exactly what the STAA is all about.
The Southern Texas Archaeological Association is a regional scientific and educational organization for individuals and groups interested in the archaeology, ethnohistory and prehistory of south-central and southern Texas. The association was established in December 1973 with about 45 members and rapidly grew to a continuing level of about 450 individuals.
Objectives
The organization has several major objectives:
To further communication among avocational and professional archaeologists working in the region;
To develop a coordinated program of site survey and site documentation;
To preserve the archaeological record of the region through a concerted effort to reach all persons interested in the prehistory of the region;
To initiate problem-oriented research activities which will help us to better understand the prehistoric inhabitants of this area;
To conduct, teach, and encourage emergency surveys and/or salvage archaeology where it is necessary because of imminent site destruction;
To publish an annual journal, quarterly newsletters, and special publications to further the archaeological record in Texas, and;
To assist those desiring to learn proper archaeological field and laboratory techniques.
Field School, Quihi, 2004
During the last 29 years since STAA’s founding, Texas has been widely developed and great amounts of archaeological information have been lost forever. A landslide of development appears imminent during the next decade, and the losses to Texas’ archaeological record will be tremendous. Sites are being destroyed at an incredible pace. STAA members help record sites, record collections from them, and publish many of their results in our journal, LA TIERRA.
Join STAA
The STAA needs you! We need you to join the STAA and let us help you to develop the skills to work with us -- to document, to the best of your abilities and as your situation allows, those archaeological sites you come across in your activities.
Our Association has a long record of working with anyone who has a desire to learn more about the cultural heritage of south Texas and adjoining regions. The pages of our journal, issued since 1974, are filled with papers by newcomers to archaeology, often working in collaboration with our more experienced avocationals and with professionals who belong to STAA.
Our quarterly meetings are important events – you get to hear talks presented by our members as well as invited guests reporting on major archaeological studies, and you can meet other members, obtain publications, have some of your artifacts identified, etc.
Please contact the STAA if we can answer your questions
or provide more information.
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