Volunteers are part of our Preservation Archaeology mission. Whether it is cleaning sherds, doing data entry, or helping construct a pit house, we are appreciative of volunteers giving their time and skills to get the job done.
Interested? Let us know!
- Fill out this form so we’ll know to notify you of upcoming opportunities.
- Become a member of the Archaeology Southwest (if not already)
- Our Volunteer Coordinator will keep you in the loop for future volunteer opportunities.
Volunteer Projects
Here are some examples of what our volunteers are working on and potential volunteer openings.
Desert Trails Survey across the Great Bend of the Gila is an upcoming volunteer project that will begin in early October and run through the winter of 2023–2024 led by Aaron Wright. There will be 13 sessions of 3 field days every other week. Field days are scheduled from Sunday to Tuesday, allowing some weekend and weekday options to fit everyone’s schedule. The ideal field crew size for this project is 7, including the field leader, so we invite up to 6 volunteers daily. To ensure a personalized yet successful experience, we ask for at most 6 volunteers daily. We kindly request that volunteers to join us for a minimum of 4 full days over the length of the project. We understand that life can be unpredictable, so we offer flexibility in choosing which days to participate. We appreciate your involvement whether you opt for an entire 4-day session or choose 4 or more sporadic days from the project. If you are interested in this project, or just want to learn more, fill out this form, indicate that you are interested in the Desert Trails Survey, and we will email you with more details and a sign-up sheet. Learn More »
The Ray Robinson Collection curation and analysis project is a multiyear team effort led by Jaye Smith. Citizen scientist crews organize and analyze a legacy archaeological collection recovered by the late Raymond F. Robinson. Once completed, the collection will be housed permanently at the Arizona State Museum.

cyberSW is a collaborative online platform with tools for searching, exploring, and analyzing the pre-Hispanic archaeological record of the U.S. Southwest and Northwest Mexico. Officially launched in June 2020, it is also free and available to anyone with an internet connection. In summer and fall 2020, volunteer citizen scientists worked together virtually to clean up cyberSW pottery typologies and make the web platform more user-friendly.
Questions? Get in touch
- Read through our FAQs
- Contact Sara by email, or call us at (520) 849-6474 if you’d like more information.
