November 18-21, 2015

We are pleased to host the 2015 SEAC meeting in Nashville – for the first time since 1986. Recently emerging as one of the top 25 destination cities in the United States, the revitalized downtown hosts many of the venues that earned both the nicknames of “Athens of the South” and “Music City USA.” As a supplement to the official conference webpages, you can also find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SEAC2015.
 

Doubletree by Hilton Downtown Nashville. See the Conference Hotel webpage (http://www.southeasternarchaeology.org/annual-meeting/hotel/) for location and reservation information.

315 4th Ave N
Nashville, TN
Telephone: 615-244-8200
 
For single, double, triple, and quadruple occupancy the rate will be $189 (plus tax), with complimentary internet in the rooms. The cut-off date for these rates is 7:00 pm, October 27, 2015.
 

Conference Email
SEAC2015@gmail.com

Conference Mailing Address
Kevin E. Smith/SEAC 2015
MTSU Box X112
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37132-0001

Organizing Committee
Kevin E. Smith, Chair (kevin.smith@mtsu.edu); Aaron Deter-Wolf; Phil Hodge; Shannon Hodge; Sarah Levithol; Mike Moore; Tanya Peres.
 

Please visit the Conference Registration page to sign up to present and/or register to attend the meeting in Nashville. Presentation guidelines can also be found there. Deadline for abstract submittal is August 1, 2015. Advance registration will close October 27, 2015.
 

BBQ with the Whiskey Diggers: A Spirited Discussion of Bourbon Archaeology
Doubletree by Hilton Downtown Nashville, 5:30-7:30pm (dinner served at 6pm). Cost: $24.95.

For those arriving hungry at the conference hotel, this “Welcome to Nashville” event will feature a Tennessee BBQ dinner with sides and a special presentation by archaeologist Nick Laracuente of the Kentucky Heritage Council. Nick has led and participated in digs exploring distilleries and bourbon production sites throughout Kentucky, including the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort. His work was featured in the Fall 2013 issue of American Archaeology magazine in the article "The Archaeology of Imbibing.” You can follow Nick online at http://bourbonarchaeology.blogspot.com/. Vegetarian options available.
 

Tennessee State Museum, 6-8pm

http://www.tnmuseum.org
505 Deaderick Street (three minute walk from the hotel)

The Museum has excellent permanent displays on the prehistory and history of Tennessee, including First Tennesseans, Frontier, The Age of Jackson, Antebellum, The Civil War and Reconstruction, and the New South. Current plans also include a temporary exhibit of Mississippian Stone Sculpture from Tennessee curated by Rex Weeks, Robert Sharp, and Kevin Smith to coincide with SEAC. Reception features appetizers, beer, and wine.
 

Friday Afternoon: 5:30-6:45: SEAC Business Meeting in the hotel ballroom.

Friday Night: 9pm-midnight. SEAC Dance in the hotel ballroom.

Dance to British Invasion rock & roll with The Pool, including University of Tennessee at Chattanooga archaeologist Nick Honerkamp.
 

For those interested in excursions to local sites, we are offering three options.  Please note that a discount combination package including an excursion AND dinner on return to the hotel is available in addition to separate tickets for these events. Combo-package: $50.00.

 
GUIDED FIELD TRIPS
Fort Negley/Parthenon Museum tour

(http://capone.mtsu.edu/kesmith/TNARCH/SEAC2015/SEAC2015_Negley.html). Excursion only: $30.00. The tour will commence at Fort Negley, a Civil War fort built by Union forces in 1862 in occupied Nashville. The site features the fort and interpretive center containing interactive exhibits and a short video. Archaeologist Zada Law (Director, MTSU Fullerton Laboratory for Spatial Technology) will provide a behind-the-scenes tour of the site and its preservation. Afterwards, the tour will travel to the Parthenon Art Museum, a full-scale replica of the Greek Parthenon originally built for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition in 1897. The re-creation of the 42-foot statue of Athena is the focus of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. Saturday, November 21, 1:00pm to 4:45pm. Assemble in the lobby. Both sites are located within two miles of the hotel.

Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park

(http://capone.mtsu.edu/kesmith/TNARCH/SEAC2015/SEAC2015_OldStoneFort.html). Excursion only: $35.00. This tour will travel to one of the only publicly-owned Middle Woodland hilltop enclosures in the Southeast where Bill Lawrence (State Parks Archaeologist, Tennessee Division of Archaeology) will lead a tour of the visitor center, gift shop, and earthworks nestled between waterfalls on two forks of the Duck River. Saturday, November 21, 1:00pm to 5:45pm. Assemble in the lobby. Located in Manchester about one hour and fifteen minutes south of Nashville.

Castalian Springs Mounds/Wynnewood State Historic Site

(http://capone.mtsu.edu/kesmith/TNARCH/SEAC2015/SEAC2015_Castalian.html). Excursion only: $35.00. This tour will travel to the historic community of Castalian Springs, about one hour northeast of Nashville. Kevin Smith (director of the MTSU Castalian Springs Archaeological Project from 2005-present) will provide an insider tour of the Mississippian mound center that produced the iconic Myer gorget. Across the street, the tour will also visit Wynnewood (built ca. 1830), one of the largest log inns in the United States. This National Historic Landmark was a center of Tennessee’s mineral springs resort industry through the early 1900s and features new exhibits and interpretations. Saturday, November 21, 1:00pm to 5:45pm. Assemble in the lobby.

SATURDAY EVENING DINNER
For the convenience of those returning from excursions or those staying over until Sunday, we’re offering a Saturday evening dinner at the hotel. For those wanting a last taste of Nashville cuisine, the meal with feature a Nashville hot fish and chicken buffet with sides. Vegetarian options available. Dinner only: $24.95. Or take advantage of the discounted combination package including an excursion and dinner: $50.00.