TVA's Thousand Eyes program protects cultural resources in the Tennessee Valley by Erin Dunsmore

Erin Dunsmore, Senior Archaeological Specialist for the Tennessee Valley Authority, addressed the Blue Ridge Archaeology Guild on November 8, 2023. Her title is "TVA's Thousand Eyes program protects cultural resources in the Tennessee Valley."

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is responsible for the management and protection of over 12,500 archaeological sites in the Tennessee Valley, portions of which are within Georgia.  Although protected by federal law, these archaeological sites remain vulnerable to natural impacts as well as vandalism and illegal looting.  TVA works with Tribes, volunteers, and local communities to ensure that these important and often sacred places on public land are protected.  

TVA’s Thousand Eyes Archaeological Outreach Program was developed to increase awareness of these concerns.  TVA Archaeologist Erin Dunsmore will talk about the importance of community involvement and our collective responsibility to protect our past for future generations.  

Erin’s job duties include managing TVA program areas that focus on the management, identification and protection of archaeological resources on TVA land, as well as being the lead for the agency’s Thousand Eyes archaeological outreach program. Her program management responsibilities include budget planning and management, coordination of program activities, contract management, and development of formal agency program policy and guidelines. She has been an instructor for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and authored over 35 archaeological resource damage assessments.

Erin is the editor of TVA Archaeology: Seventy Years of Prehistoric Site Research, co-author of Cosmos Revealed: Precontact Mississippian Rock Art at Painted Bluff, Alabama and author/co-author of numerous other book chapters, articles and other publications. She and her husband live on a farm outside of Huntsville, Alabama, where they enjoy raising animals, gardening and enjoying the outdoors.

BRAG is the local chapter of the Society for Georgia Archaeology. We meet at 7:00 pm on the 2nd Wednesday, hosted by the UNG Anthropology Club, in Room 203 of Young Hall on the UNG campus. Interested individuals are encouraged to attend. BRAG meetings are free and open to the public.