Photo by Kruck20. Courtesy of Chattanooga Tourism Co.

79^th ANNUAL MEETING

Chattanooga, Tennessee

October 25-28, 2023

The 2023 Southeastern Archaeological Conference will be held at the Chattanooga Convention Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The 2023 SEAC Final Program is now available.

Conference Hotels

We are pleased to offer three hotels, all within walking distance of the convention center with reduced room rates ranging from $149–$179. More information and links to hotel registration can be found on the Conference Hotels page.

Symposium, Workshop, or Panel Submissions

Symposium, panel, or workshop organizers/chairs must complete a Symposium Submission Form before the event title can be made available as a presentation option for registrants. Please allow 48 hours for your event title to be available to presenters in the drop-down menu of the “Select Event Title” field of the Member Registration form. The deadline for Symposium/Workshop/Panel submissions is August 15, 2023.

For additional information about organized symposia and presentations, be sure to visit the Presentation Guidelines page prior to submitting your registration.

Saturday Excursions

To register for a Saturday excursion, select a tour during your online registration. If you have already registered and would like to add a tour, sign up using the following link: https://utk.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1RAuBFKuWAO96Xs

Historic Cherokee Heritage including Red Clay State Park

This tour highlights heritage sites of the Cherokee in eastern Tennessee, focusing on political history, the Trail of Tears, and indigenous history of the region. Participants will meet downtown at 9am in front of the Tennessee Aquarium, visit a Trail of Tears memorial, and then travel to Red Clay State Park, accompanied by local scholars. A bus will transport the group to the state park. Participants will return to the Aquarium via bus by 2pm. Bring water and snacks for the bus ride. 

 Chattanooga Military History Tour 

This tour visits the National Park Service’s Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in Chickamauga, Georgia, highlighting sites and stories of the Civil War in eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia. While at the nation’s first official military park, participants will visit the museum, meet with NPS rangers, and receive a guided tour of the battlefield and sites within the park. A bus will pick participants up at the front of the Convention Center at 9am, drive to Chickamauga, Georgia, and then return to the Convention Center by 2pm. Bring water and snacks for the bus ride. 

 Civil Rights and Resistance in Chattanooga         

This .6 mile, two-hour walking tour covering five city blocks discusses the history of civil rights from the founding of Chattanooga through the modern day, discussing anti-racist resistance prior to and during the Civil War, the establishment of Jim Crow, Civil Rights in the city, white supremacist violence, local historic events, and much more. Participants will visit important sites while discussing key events in the fight for equality. The tour will begin downtown at the Union Depot Historical Marker (158 W. MLK Blvd) and end at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center, which we highly encourage participants to visit following the tour. Participants are responsible for their own transportation at the end of the tour. Bring water if needed.

 Tennessee River Underwater Archaeology  (FULL)

This tour will highlight historic and indigenous archaeological resources in the Tennessee River near downtown Chattanooga while simultaneously showcasing cutting-edge geophysical instrumentation used for underwater archaeological research and survey. Cruises will last ~1.5 hours each, departing from the public pier in downtown Chattanooga at 9:00, 10:30, 12:00, 1:30, and 3:00 on Saturday. Introductory overviews of side-scan and sub-bottom SONAR will be given to participants. Each cruise will depart from Ross’s Landing, circle McClellan Island and return to the pier. Submerged resources in the area of the tour will include Civil War steamboat Chattanooga, Ross’s Landing, and possible native fishing weir structures. Tour is highly weather contingent. Vessel space per tour time slot is a maximum of 5 participants.

Save the Bend: Development and Archaeology on Moccasin Bend

This tour will highlight prehistoric and historic resources within Moccasin Bend National Historic Landmark, within Chattanooga. Indigenous occupation of Moccasin Bend essentially was continuous from the Late Pleistocene on, and the tour will take participants on various river terraces to showcase particular sites and discuss how general use of the landscape changed throughout prehistory. Additionally, this tour will address ongoing perseveration and conversation concerns of "the bend." Participants will meet at the Blue Blazes Trail parking lot and the tour will include unique visits to a controlled, special access area. The tour will be a ~1 mile walk that will meet at 9:00 AM, wrapping up at noon. As with all tours, this is weather dependent, and participants should come in light hiking attire.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Like most things in recent history, costs have risen and SEAC is no exception. Please consider a sponsorship or donation to help support SEAC!

Organizing Committee

J. Scott Jones (jsjones@midsouthcrc.com)

Brooke Persons (brooke-persons@utc.edu)

Morgan Smith (morgan-f-smith@utc.edu)

Remember to check out SEAC on Facebook and Twitter for information about the conference.