About the Center

The Center for Public Archaeology at Hofstra University is devoted to engaging students and the greater community in thinking critically about modern social contexts and the historical and material structures that helped shape them. By creating continuity and context through the analysis of materials operating at various scales of time, place, events, and roles, archaeology informs not only an understanding of the beginnings of today's communities, but also how people both in the past and today negotiate communities across class, racial, ethnic, and gendered lines. The Center for Public Archaeology, founded by Professors Christopher Matthews and Jenna Coplin of the Department of Anthropology at Hofstra University, engage in collaborative partnerships and offer unique student opportunities. Contact us at (516) 463-7625 or via e-mail

The CfPA offers the following programs in research, education and community engagement and collaboration:

• Annual archaeological field school in local historical archaeology
• Active on-campus archaeological research laboratory
• Advanced independent training for students in archaeological field and lab-based research
• Collaborative community-based archaeological research and programming
• Community workshops to discuss the relevance of archaeology and history in local settings
• Public workshops on topics and resources in local history and archaeology
• Speaker events
• Archaeological site tours
• School visits by Hofstra archaeology students for elementary schools
• High school student internships (in progress)
• Community service opportunities
• Interdisciplinary research collaboration with Hofstra faculty and the region's many peer institutions.