81st Annual Meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2025)
Old Louisiana State Capitol
Southeastern Archaeological Conference
81st Annual Meeting
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
November 5-8, 2025
201 Lafayette Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801
Conference App Will be Available Prior to the Conference via
Google Play and Apple Store
Advance Registration: TBA through October 10, 2025
After October 10, Registration will only be On-site
The SEAC 2025 Hosting Committee is excited to welcome everyone to Baton Rouge. This will be the third time SEAC has held its annual meeting in Baton Rouge, having previously taken place in 1997 and 2012. The current meeting will be at the same location as the 2012 meeting, in downtown Baton Rouge, overlooking the Mississippi River. There are numerous restaurants within easy walking distance of the hotel, as well as many historic attractions, including the Old State Capitol, the Old Governor’s Mansion, the Pentagon Barracks, the Old Baton Rouge Arsenal and Mound, and the current State Capitol. Nearby are LSU, with its ca. 5,000-year-old mounds, and Southern University, likely situated at the spot where in 1699 Iberville first noticed the “Baton Rouge” or Red Stick or Red Pole supposedly separating the hunting grounds of the Houma and Bayagoula tribes.
General Information
Conference Venue and Hotels
The conference will be held at the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, where all receptions, meeting rooms, poster sessions, the SEAC book room, and the SEAC dance will take place.
Arrangements have been made with three nearby hotels that have agreed to serve as “overflow” hotels during the conference:
Hotel Indigo, at 200 Convention St., Baton Rouge, LA 70801, situated directly across the street from the Hilton.
Courtyard by Marriott, Baton Rouge Downtown, at 260 3rd St., Baton Rouge, LA 70801, ca. one block from the Hilton.
Hampton Inn & Suites, at 462 Lafayette St., Baton Rouge, LA 70801, only ca. two blocks from the Hilton.
Please check the Hotels page for more details.
Getting to Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR) is located about four miles north of downtown Baton Rouge and is served by three major airlines: Delta, American, and United, with connecting flights to Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, and Dallas. Originally known as Harding Field, the airport was used by the U.S. Army Air Forces to train pilots during WW II, particularly P-39 Airacobras, P-40 Wawhawks, and P-47 Thunderbolts.
In addition to taxis, and ride-share services such as Uber and Lyft, the Hilton Capitol Center provides shuttle service between the airport and the hotel.
Student Volunteers
Information Coming Soon
Events
Trowel & Table: Student Networking Luncheon
Join the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) for a luncheon aimed at fostering connections among SEAC student members. Through this event, SEAC hopes to provide a supportive network where students can lean on each other for guidance, advice, and camaraderie. Inspired by the speed-dating format, there will be various “topic tables” around the room for students to discuss relevant subjects in a set amount of time, after which students will move to another table. By the end of the luncheon, attendees will have fostered new connections that will persist through many more SEACs, in addition to cultivating support for a variety of their interests. RSVP to the Student Networking Luncheon. Note that attendance will be limited to the first 50 students to respond.
Student Reception
The student reception will be held Thursday evening, Nov. 6, from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM on the hotel’s “Pool Deck” overlooking the Mississippi River. Drinks, light snacks, and Hors d'oeuvres will be provided. The event will end in time for students to then attend the SEAC Reception.
SEAC Reception
The SEAC reception will take place on Thursday evening, Nov. 6, from 7:00 PM until 10:00 PM at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum (LASM), situated adjacent to the Mississippi River levee at 100 S. River Road, Baton Rouge, LA, only two blocks from the conference hotel. Food and drinks will be provided, along with the ability to tour many of the museum’s exhibits. The latter include several permanent exhibits related to ancient Egypt, the solar system, and the universe. The Irene W. Pennington Planetarium, with its own featured shows, also is housed in the museum. For more information, go to: https://www.lasm.org/
The USS Kidd Veterans Museum is situated just downriver from the LASM. At this time, it is possible that folks attending the SEAC reception may also have access to that museum should they wish to visit it.
Public Day
Join us for Public Archaeology Day at the Capitol Park Museum, Saturday, Nov. 6, from 12:00 to 3:30 PM. This free, family-friendly event will feature educational displays, demonstrations, and hands-on activities led by archaeologists, state parks and museum staff, and local students. A series of presentations by archaeologists, teachers, and historians will also be offered throughout the day. The Capitol Park Museum is located at 660 N 4th St. in downtown Baton Rouge across the street from the Louisiana State Capitol building. Please contact Josetta LeBoeuf (jleboeuf@crt.la.gov) if you would like to participate as an exhibitor.
Tours and Excursions
There will be four SEAC-sponsored tours on Saturday, Nov. 8:
Avery Island
Ashley Dumas will lead this tour to beautiful Avery Island, located in the heart of Cajun country and the home of Tabasco Brand Pepper Sauce. After arriving on the Island, we will have lunch (prix fixe) at Restaurant 1868, followed by a self-guided tour of the Tabasco manufacturing facility and Tabasco Museum. We'll then take the bus to see the Archaic period’s Banana Bayou Mound, dated to around 4500 BP. Finally, we will visit Homestead Hill, where you will learn about the excavations of the original Tabasco factory. Due to the length of the tour, the tour bus will need to leave the Hilton Capitol Center at ca. 10:30 AM. Tour will be limited to the first 40 people to register.
Evergreen Plantation
Evergreen Plantation, a designated National Historic Landmark, offers a rare and powerful opportunity to engage with one of the most intact plantation complexes in the American South. Unique among plantation landscapes, Evergreen consists of nearly 40 standing structures, including 22 original cabins of the enslaved. Since 2020, Evergreen Plantation Archaeological Survey (EPAS) has explored the lives of those enslaved and their descendants who lived here from the 1780s to the 1940s. The tour will begin with a historical and architectural tour of the big house complex, which has been featured in many films, including Django Unchained and Antebellum. Afterwards, the tour will make its way to the enslaved quarters to discuss EPAS’s findings and explore the interiors of several restored cabins that are the result of recent historic preservation efforts. The tour will be led by Jayur Mehta and Stuart Nolan, with the help of Tara Skipton. The tour bus will leave the Hilton Capitol Center at ca. 1:00 PM. Again, the tour will be limited to the first 40 people to register.
Natchez Bluffs
This tour, which will be led by Tony Boudreaux and Daniel LaDu will take folks to some of the more famous archaeological sites in southwest Mississippi, including the Fatherland site and Emerald Mounds. This tour will first visit Emerald Mounds (22Ad504) where Daniel LaDu will provide a brief review of the site and its archaeological significance This eight mound civic-ceremonial complex was built between AD 1200 and 1600 atop the second largest earthen platform ever constructed in the United States. Emerald served as the principal town of the Natchez nation until sometime during the 17th century when power shifted south to the Fatherland site (22Ad502), better known as the Grand Village of the Natchez. Following Emerald, the tour will likely take a short break for lunch and then head to the Fatherland site where Tony Boudreaux will explain his recent investigations at the locale, particularly as they relate to the French siege of the village in 1730. If time allows, it may also be possible to visit the Fort Rosalie, the early French fort built in 1716 above the Mississippi River. As with Avery Island, due to the length of time needed for this tour, the bus will depart the Hilton Capitol Center at ca. 10:00 AM. Again, participation is limited to the first 40 people to register.
Baton Rouge Walking Tour
This is a reprise of a popular tour during the 2012 Baton Rouge SEAC, for those who either missed that tour or have joined SEAC since that time. Sara and Thurston Hahn will provide a short presentation on the history and archaeology of downtown Baton Rouge, followed by a tour of above- and below-ground downtown sites, including a variety of historic and prehistoric sites (a Coles Creek mound, dating ca. AD 800 to 1200; the Pentagon Barracks, constructed 1821–1825; the “Old Arsenal Building” constructed 1836–1838; the Warden’s House, constructed 1838–1839; and the current Louisiana State Capitol, constructed 1930–1932. Walking tour participants should meet at 1:30 PM in the Hilton lobby. Refreshments will be provided at one of the tour stops. There is no limit to the number of people joining the tour.
Daycare
Daycare costs will be dependent on the number of children and their ages but would be roughly $25 to $40 per hour per child, with a minimum of 3 hours. Or somewhere between $200 and $300 per child for a full 8-hour day. Email Lynn Funkhouser if interested (Jennifer.funkhouser1@louisiana.edu).
Sponsorship Opportunities
Donations will be advertised online and in the program. Donations of over $250 will be listed in the pocket program, the full program, online, and in-person at the conference and other donors will have their name listed in the full program and online.
Bronze donors = $250 or more will receive a 1/6 page ad.
Silver donors = $500 or more 1/4 page ad.
Gold donors = $750 or more a 1/2 page ad.
Platinum donors = $1000 or more a full-page ad in the pocket program.
SEAC 2025 Hosting Committee
Richard A. Weinstein (rweinstein@coastalenv.com), Arrangements Chair
Mark Rees (mark.rees@louisiana.edu), Program Chair
Lynn Funkhouser (Jennifer.funkhouser1@louisiana.edu), Donations Chair, Assistant Arrangements Chair
Josetta LeBoeuf (jleboeuf@crt.la.gov), Assistant Arrangements Chair
Chip McGimsey (cmcgimsey@crt.la.gov), Assistant Arrangements Chair
Remember to check out SEAC on Facebook and Twitter for information about the conference.
