Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Ericson.
Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My business partner, Jasmine Saxon, and I met each other at an archaeology conference and instantly connected. We both wanted to bring archaeology to the public in various ways for years until we met. Archaeology often gets mixed up with other types of sciences, especially paleontology, and most people don’t understand how important it is when it comes to understanding our past. Jasmine and I want to change that. I grew up in Pueblo, CO and Jasmine grew up in Maryville, Tennessee. We both have so many ideas about archaeology that we wanted to share with the world! So, we decided to start Community Connections LLC in 2019 and begin our journey of reintroducing archaeology to the masses as something that is all around us! Everyone can experience connection through history every day, not just something that is in exotic places or far-off lands.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s been one heck of a ride so far and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. We formed our LLC in early 2019 and began growing our brand at archaeology conferences and networking events. We even booked a grand opening party to have our peers and colleagues get to know us better. As for all of us, the pandemic had different plans. The day our launch party was supposed to happen was the day that the country shut down.
For most of our time as business owners, we were both full-time employees at an archaeology firm in Denver, Colorado. Archaeology fieldwork can be grueling, laborious work often with 12-hour days. I still am employed by them, but Jasmine recently became full-time with Community Connections. There are struggles of growing a small business while trying to balance financial responsibility and creating a new business model for archaeology and how it can be used for the benefit of the public. Most archaeological firms specialize in survey and excavation for large development companies or government entities. We really want to move away from documenting our past as a check box on a policy form to a non-negotiable for everyday life. The stories that we learn from what people leave behind is incredibly important and we believe that everyone should be included in this narrative.
There are tough times, but we keep putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Archaeology is such an interesting field to be a part of. There are so many sub-disciplines within it. Generally, as an archaeologist in the United States, we say that we either study precontact archaeology or post-contact archaeology. Lucky for Community Connections, I have studied precontact and Jasmine has studied post-contact. All that these two terms mean is that one studies people that did not leave a written record behind (roughly before the 1500s) and one studies people after that time period when Europeans wrote their experiences.
Unless you’re in academia, practicing archaeology usually looks like long days walking the landscape in all sorts of weather, usually for miles and miles to find anything that humans may have left behind. This could look like arrowheads or even beer cans from the 1960s. When we find something older than 50 years and need to know more about what is beneath the surface of the ground then we dig very small shovel pits to learn more about the archaeological site. Sometimes this can lead to an archaeological excavation. Most of the time, we avoid excavation to preserve the history but sometimes, it is a necessary activity to mitigate future damages or document rare information. This is all a blast when you are out with a close crew, but what Jasmine and I are best known for within our field is our public outreach and getting the community involved with archaeology.
I used to moonlight as a tour guide in between archaeology projects and Jasmine engaged with the public during her entire thesis project. Archaeology is cool! Unfortunately, a lot of people think we study dinosaurs but what we actually look for is what people have left behind and the artifacts that tell stories of individuals, intertwining us all. These stories help us understand humanity and through this understanding we can connect to each other and our communities in an amazing way.
We are very proud to have started a business focused solely on public and community archaeology. Some of our recent projects include working with local communities groups like the “Displaced Aurarians” to promote and preserve their stories and history, partnering with Factor Earth to create augmented reality historical tours that you can access from your mobile device, designing an Artifact Identifier to promote citizen archaeology and finally an archaeology course for kids focused on promoting critical thinking skills, storytelling, and ethics. These projects set us apart from other archaeological firms because we solely focused on the community and what benefits them, not necessarily other big business.
We are excited every day to tell the public about how awesome archaeology is and to use it as tool to continue to connect our communities together!
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a wild child growing up. I wanted to go everywhere and always be with my friends. Even then, I loved digging holes in the empty lot across the street from my house. My younger brother and I loved playing make-believe and acting like adventurers exploring new worlds. I loved rocks and would wear the largest t-shirt I had on walks with my parents. I did this so that I could fill the front of the shirt up with cool rocks I found along the way. I don’t know why I never got a bag, but that was my method! This hobby helped me in my career now. I can spot the artifacts!
Kind of like myself, my business partner Jasmine and her brother used to play pretend adventure/explore games in the backyard growing up. She has always loved exploring and taking adventures. Jasmine grew up in Tennessee right by the Smoky Mountains and spent a lot of time hiking, biking, camping, and swimming. When Jasmine was 12, she traveled as a kid ambassador from Tennessee to England, Ireland, and Wales. She saw all of the amazing castles and historic sites and ever since then became obsessed with archaeology. Jasmine loved to laugh as a kid and it’s still one of her favorite activities.
Pricing:
- $250 – Archaeology course for kids
- $20 – Community Connections T-shirts
- $100/hr – Consulting for public archaeology projects
- Free 30 min initial consultation
Contact Info:
- Email: info@communityconnections.llc
- Website: https://www.communityconnections.biz/
- Instagram: @communityconnectionsllc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CommunityConnectionsLLC
