Education

The GTBUP is strongly committed to sound archaeological practices when documenting sites within the preserve. All of the team members who work directly on a site are at least NAS I certified. This ensures that all of the survey work is done to high acedemic standards.

There are many certification agencies that help promote good, sound archaeological programs. All programs need a strong basis from which to start from - strong in ethics, management and education. The GTBUP, in cooperation with Northwestern Michigan College, chose Nautical Archaeology Society [NAS] as their platform for education in Michigan. In addition to NAS I classes, NAS III classes are offerd in the Traverse City area for anyone who is interested in subjects such as underwater and artifact photography, GIS, underwater acoustics, social history of ships, aerial photography, and others. These classes are for divers and non-divers alike.For more information please visit www.nauticalarchaeologysociety.org or www.nasnmc.com.

To obtain a NAS II certification, students must conduct an archaeological survery on their own. This is typically done by spending a weekend in the field surveying a site then a couple of days compiling a report. Below are examples of completed projects - many of which are within or near the GTBUP.
Important Note: All reports are ©2011 by the authors and may not be used without their permission.