REARC – Learning From Our Past... Looking To the Future
REARC is the conference on Reconstructive and Experimental Archaeology. These pages offer an archive of the REARC Conference from 2010 onward.
Photo Copyright: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
The Reconstructive and Experimental Archaeology Conference (REARC) was formed as a sister organization to the Society for Primitive Technologies (SPT) in 2009. REARC was formed to provide an annual conference to align with the mission and purpose of the SPT which was to be a membership driven organization focused on publishing the SPT Bulletin. In 2012 the SPT was dissolved and REARC was re-organized as the Society of Experimental Archaeology and Primitive Technology (SEAPT) aligned with our sister organization (EXARC) in Europe to provide a common face for experimental and reconstructive archaeology.
Since its beginning in 2010 REARC has been North America's largest Reconstructive and Experimental Archaeology Conference. REARC held five conferences at the Schiele Museum of Natural History, three at Colonial Williamsburg and our most recent one at The Center for Historic Preservation at the University of Mary Washington & The Historic Ferry Farm Site. REARC conferences blend paper and poster sessions with hands-on experimental activity sessions to produce weekends well suited to all levels of academic and public involvement.
The REARC logo represents the cast, swing and flight trajectory of an atlatl spear as well as the recurve of a bow limb. It symbolizes REARC's mission to draw information from our shared human past as we aim toward the future.
Venue: the Schiele Museum of Natural History, Gastonia, NC
| Year | No | Papers / Posters / Workshops | Participants | Review |
| 2010 | REARC1 | 20 / 0 / 4 | 45 | YES (Rev#1 and Rev#2) |
| 2011 | REARC2 | 10 / 4 / 5 plus 1 roundtable discussion | 50 | YES |
| 2012 | REARC3 | 9 / 1 / 5 | 60 | YES |
| 2013 | REARC4 | 13 / 7 / 4 | ? | YES |
| 2014 | REARC5 | 20 / 0 / 4 | ? |
Venue: Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA
| Year | No | Papers / Posters / Workshops | Participants | Review |
| 2016 | REARC6 | 17 / 0 / 9 | 80 | YES |
| 2017 | REARC7 | 15 / 0 / 8 | 68 | YES |
| 2018 | REARC8 | 16 / 0 / 5 plus a Panel debate | 79 | YES |
Venue: The Department of Historic Preservation at the University of Mary Washington & The Historic Ferry Farm Site – George Washington’s childhood farm, VA
| Year | No | Papers / Posters / Workshops | Participants | Review |
| 2019 | REARC9 | 13 / 0 / 6 | 54 | YES |
| 2021 | REARC10 |
REARC Committee
- Prof Dr Tim Messner, Chair, State University of New York at Potsdam (EXARC Member)
messnetc@potsdam.edu - Jack Cresson, Treasurer, AECOM
knapperjack@gmail.com - Prof. Dr Carolyn Dillian, Coastal Carolina University
cdillian@coastal.edu - Eric Marks MA
ebmarks1@gmail.com - Prof Dr Jane Eastman, Western Carolina University (EXARC Member)
eastman@email.wcu.edu - Neil Peterson MA, independent researcher (EXARC Member)
neil@treheima.ca - Prof. Lauren McMillian, University of Mary Washington
lmcmi6lq@umw.edu - Ryan J. Grohsmeyer, Missouri University of Science & Technology
rjgt3b@mst.edu
REARC is a 501c3 not for profit educational organization listed under Society of Experimental Archeology and Primitive Technology (SEAPT).