Purposes of the Foundation

The major goals of the Loudoun Archaeological Foundation include scientific archaeological research and “whole community” archaeological public education and preservation/conservation of the cultural and natural resources of Loudoun County and environs. A concern for the negative impact of current fast-paced urban and suburban development on the heritage resources in Loudoun County and elsewhere in Northern Virginia and a rapidly growing community’s unfamiliarity with its rich, diverse cultural history led to the creation of the foundation. Community-service (free) archaeological research/educational programs are key to the foundation’s mission. The purpose is to first promote the community’s appreciation and understanding of its historic/prehistoric heritage while raising awareness of its endangerment. The primary program goals of the Foundation are to:

1. Conduct yearly scientific archaeological research/investigations as a means of educating the public regarding local/regional cultural resources.
2. Expand the current list/inventory of over a thousand archaeological sites in Loudoun County.
3. Tailor archaeological education programs to the “whole community” (all ages, sectors of the community) from public/private school systems to senior groups.
4. Acquire certain endangered historic/prehistoric structures/properties in Loudoun County for archaeological education/preservation purposes.
5. Work cooperatively with Virginia state and local government historic preservation agencies and local business and preservation groups

Archaeology is the scientific study of the human past using preserved material evidence.

Archaeological goals include reconstructing past environments, explaining culture history/ cultural change, and reconstructing past human lifeways for both prehistoric and historic time periods. In the United States, archaeology is considered one of the four sub-fields of anthropology.

Anthropology is the holistic study of people both physically and culturally. It is holistic in two senses: it is concerned with all human beings at all times and with all dimensions of humanity. The key element of Anthropology is culture. One definition is: Learned patterned behavior, shared by a group, and passed from generation to generation. Archaeology seeks to determine/identify /reconstruct aspects of pattern behavior from past human activities. Anthropological subfields consist of Cultural, Physical, Linguistical Anthropology and Archaeology.

Biological or physical anthropology seeks to understand the physical aspects of humans through study of genetics, evolution, adaptation, and human physiology. Paleoanthropology, human osteology, primatology, nutritional anthropology, and cell/population genetics are a few important subfields of study.

Cultural anthropology investigates the cultural characteristics and structure of a particular people. Language, economic and political organization, kinship, gender roles, religion, mythology, symbolism are but a few elements of this specialty. Subfield examples include culture ecology, medical anthropology, ethnology, psychological anthropology, folklore, anthropology of religion, and ethnography.

Linguistic anthropology studies the structure and process of human communications, verbal and non-verbal; it identifies/compares the many subtle elements of the world’s languages, and documents their structure, function and history. Linguistic anthropologists often draw on related fields including cognitive linguistics, discourse analysis, and narrative analysis.

The Loudoun Archaeological Foundation, Inc., as a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt, non-profit group, must rely on a combination of gifts, grants, and donations of money and in-kind goods and services to fund its programs of archaeological research (i. e. investigation, analysis, and reporting) and “whole community” archaeological public education and preservation/conservation. The minimum annual budget required to conduct even a basic program effort is approximately $5,000 just to cover standard fixed operating costs such as insurance (directors, liability, and auto) state and local registration fees, vehicle license and taxes, etc. An additional $10,000 to $15,000 is needed annually to purchase field, laboratory and office equipment as well as related operational costs (i. e. archaeological field supplies, field- worker lunches, gasoline and vehicle repairs, etc.) to conduct our actual archaeological investigation and educational program activities. All professional staff and support services are donated by highly-qualified volunteers at no cost to the Foundation.

As another element of the Foundation’s educational program, we look forward to developing sufficient financial resources ($5,000 to $10,000 annually) to allow the Foundation to fund a continuing undergraduate and graduate level college scholarship program in the historic preservation fields for worthy candidates.

The first two years of our program efforts (2007 and 2008) were funded through a grant of $37,500 from the Virginia General Assembly, approximately $6,000 gifts in cash, and nearly $33,000 in donations of in-kind goods and services which qualified as matching contributions for receipt of our Virginia state grant. In addition to the donations of a variety of valuable field, laboratory, and office archaeological equipment mentioned above, the Foundation was able to use our grant funds to purchase a quality lap-top computer and projector needed for our developing educational program, two metal detectors, a good, used pickup truck, portable display tables, and a number of other items needed to support the Foundation’s archaeological investigation and educational program activities.

There are many ways that the public can support the Loudoun Archaeological Foundation. Obviously, financial support is our most urgent need as we continue our archaeological public education program and other programs for the preservation and conservation of the cultural and natural resources of Loudoun County. Information on the Foundation’s fund-raising opportunities can be found below.

You also may donate needed goods and services to the Foundation. The Foundation accepts donations that could be used for auction to support the Foundation’s programs. If you wish to make a donation for auction by the Foundation or to discuss other appropriate donations of goods and services, contact the Foundation by email at: donations@loudounarchaeologicalfoundation.org. To review items the Foundation has available for auction and to offer a bid, please go to the web page section on The Loudoun Archaeological Foundation’s Great Little Auction.

Because the Loudoun Archaeological Foundation is geared towards a “whole community” approach to archaeological public education and preservation/conservation of the cultural and natural resources of Loudoun County, it will primarily rely upon volunteers, under the direct supervision of professional archaeologists, to carryout its various programs. Currently, the Foundation has a base of over one-hundred dedicated and trained volunteers.

To see the types of programs the Foundation will be conducting, please visit our blog to see past and upcoming events and opportunities, and our Press Center. Persons interested in participating at archaeological digs conducted by the Foundation should register for appropriate training at a Foundation-sponsored training program. Opportunities for training and participation on archaeological digs will be announced on one or more of the web pages noted in this paragraph and in local newspapers.