Sharon Urban--Roots of Southwestern Archaeology Oral History Project Interview

Interview with Sharon Urban (Shurban) by the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society on June 4, 2024 in which she discusses her career including: her education, work as an assistant and in the lab at the Grasshopper field school, working at the Arizona State Museum, excavations, her interest in and work analyzing shell artifacts, leading tours to the Great Murals of Baja California in Mexico, and more.

Sharon earned her Associate of Arts degree from Los Angeles Valley College in 1962, her Bachelor of Arts from California State University in 1965, and her Master of Arts from the University of Arizona in 1970. All three of her degrees are in Anthropology/Archaeology.

As an Archaeologist, Sharon was involved with many excavations, surveys, and laboratory projects in California and Arizona. In 1976, she became the Arizona State Museum Public Archaeologist. In this position, she managed and curated while controlling access, use and additions to the ASM Site Survey File,

Sharon developed strong research interests in the study, recording, preservation, conservation, and teaching of rock art, including pictographs, petroglyphs, and gravel figures. She has maintained these interests throughout her life.

Since leaving the State Museum in 2002, she has worked as an archaeologist for private environmental and cultural resources consulting companies. She has conducted site file checks at various levels, researched historical features, conducted field surveys and feature mapping, monitored construction projects involving archaeological sites, and written reports.

Her more than 50 publications attest that Sharon has a broad knowledge of southwestern archaeology and that she is an authority on both rock art and shell artifacts. The 2018 Professional Archaeologist Award was presented to Sharon Urban in 2018. She also was very active with the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society, serving many years as its secretary.