Archaeological Institute of America


The Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It has offices on Beacon Hill in Boston, MA and in New York City.
The institute was founded in 1879, with Charles Eliot Norton as its first President until 1890. It was chartered in 1906 by the United States Congress. The institute currently has over 200,000 members and more than 100 local societies.
The American Journal of Archaeology, AJA, is the AIA's peer-reviewed academic journal that appears four times each year. The institute has also been publishing the magazine Archaeology since 1948.

Governance

The AIA is governed by a Council that meets once per year during the annual meeting. At other times the Governing Board acts on behalf of the Council, with an Executive Committee of the board further acting on the board's behalf between meetings. An Executive Director is appointed by the board to run day-to-day operations.
Actor Harrison Ford, who portrayed the fictional archaeologist Indiana Jones in the titular series, has served as a General Trustee.
The current president of the AIA is Laetitia La Follette, while the first vice president is Elizabeth S. Greene. Jodi Magness is the immediate past president of the institute.

Felicia A. Holton Book Award

The Felicia A. Holton Book Award, also known as the Holton Award, has been awarded annually to "a writer who, through a major work of non-fiction, represents the importance and excitement of archaeology to the general public". It is named after journalist and writer Felicia A. Holton, who co-wrote Koster: Americans in Search of Their Prehistoric Past with archaeologist Stuart Struever in 1979.
In 2020 it was won by Australian historian and writer Billy Griffiths, for his 2018 work Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia, and in 2014 by British archaeologist Joyce Tyldesley for Tutankhamen's Curse.

Archives

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