Eastern States Archeological Federation (U.S.)

The Eastern States Archeological Federation (ESAF) was founded in 1933 to bring together professional and avocational archaeologists and state archeological societies in the Eastern United States. The organization has continued to promote the field of archeology since its founding more than seventy-five years ago and, as of 2008, represents fifteen state societies and over 500 individual members.

From the description of Eastern States Archeological Federation records, 1936-2006. (University of Delaware Library). WorldCat record id: 493297445

The Eastern States Archeological Federation (ESAF) was founded in 1933 to bring together professional and avocational archaeologists and state archeological societies in the Eastern United States. The organization has continued to promote the field of archeology since its founding more than seventy-five years ago and, as of 2008, represents fifteen state societies and over 500 individual members.

In May of 1933 the state archeological societies from four states – Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania – met in Trenton to discuss cooperation between their respective state societies. Over the course of the following year, this group – calling themselves the Northeastern States Conference of Archeological Societies – had attracted the attention of several neighboring states. By 1935 the Northeastern States Conference had grown to include a total of seven states with the addition of Connecticut, Maryland, and North Carolina. At the Conference's 1935 meeting in Rochester, New York the name of the body was officially changed to the Eastern States Archeological Federation.

ESAF published its first annual Bulletin of the Eastern States Archeological Federation in October of 1941. This publication included reports from thirteen member societies, including Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. Membership in the Federation continued to grow throughout the twentieth century with the high point in society memberships occurring in 1972 when twenty-seven dues-paying societies were included on the Federation’s rosters. The 1972 membership included societies from Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, Ontario, Quebec, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, as well as those previously mentioned. In addition to these new state members, two new societies were admitted from the previously represented states of Maine and Maryland to bring the total number of member societies to twenty-seven. Thus, by the beginning of the 1970s, ESAF included representatives from all of the states on the American East Coast and as far west as Mississippi in the south and Michigan in the North. Additionally, the Federation had become truly international with the addition of two Canadian societies.

In 1973 ESAF began publishing an academic journal entitled the Archaeology of Eastern North America . Since that time, well over thirty issues of AENA have been published. These journals have included academic articles from members and non-members and from professional and avocational archaeologists alike.

ESAF meetings are hosted annually by member societies (usually for one weekend in November). At these meetings, archeologists from across the region meet and discuss their work as well as attend ESAF’s yearly general business meeting.

Following a 1994 amendment to the ESAF constitution, the Federation began accepting individual memberships from professional and avocational archaeologists that did not belong to any of ESAF’s state member societies. These individual members receive ESAF’s annual publications – the Bulletin and Archaeological of Eastern North America – in addition to the opportunity to present papers at ESAF meetings.

"Eastern States Archeological Federation." http://esaf-archeology.org (accessed July 2, 2008) Reid, John. "A History of the Eastern States Archaeological Federation, 1935-1976." Paper written September, 1977 for the Federation. MSS 579, Records of the Eastern States Archeological Federation, F12, I. General Records of the ESAF – 1977, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware. Additional information derived from the collection.

From the guide to the Eastern States Archeological Federation records, 1936–2006, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)