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The Society for American Archaeology's official records are archived at theNational Anthropological Archives(NAA). The records include those that promote understanding about the history of archaeology in the Americas, cover the organization's accomplishments and contributions to the major debates about practice, methods, and knowledge of the field, and record the history of the SAA.

Various SAA members are contributors to the SAA’s archive, including the following when acting in an official capacity:

  • the President, President-Elect, Secretary, Secretary-Elect, Treasurer, Treasurer-Elect, Board members, and Board-appointed Directors when an elected Board member resigns;
  • Committee, Task Force, and subcommittee chairs;
  • 利益集团领导人;
  • Editors of the SAA journals, newsletter/magazine, and SAA Press; and
  • Board-appointed代表(i.e., someone appointed to liaise with an outside organization).

Other important contributors are SAA staff members.

To date, theArchive Committeehas written or updated the following policy documents that have been approved by the SAA Board:

  • TheScope of Collection Statementdefines the bounds of the present and future records included in the SAA archive. The Committee is currently updating the SAA Document Retention and Destruction Policy, Appendix B of the Scope, to guide SAA staff on what official records to archive, retain at Headquarters, or eventually destroy.
  • Best Practices for Committee and Task Force Chairs and Board Liaisons(updated June 2022; see link at bottom of the webpage) provides new guidance on the types of official records that Committee and Task Force Chairs are responsible for archiving.
  • Interest Group Guidelines(updated June 2022) provides new guidance on the types of official records the leadership of Interest Groups are responsible for archiving.
  • Survey Project Oversight Policy(updated December 2021; see p. 106) provides newly established procedures for surveys and identifies the related official records to be archived at NAA.

Two articles about the work of the Archive Committee are now published inThe SAA Archaeological Record:

In June 2022, the SAA received a generous donation to hire a professional archivist to organize, arrange, preserve, and describe over 200 linear feet and many digital files of the official SAA records at the NAA. This work will be accomplished by the end of 2023, resulting in a large collection that will be available to researchers. Given this progress and the work that will continue into the future, please consider donating to the SAA Archives Fundhere!