Boundary End Archaeology Research Center
The Boundary End Archaeology Research Center is a research library, educational center, and academic press located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. BEARC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the archaeology, epigraphy, art history, ethnohistory, and historiography of Mesoamerica, the Southeastern United States, and the Andes.
The center is located approximately 15 miles northeast of Asheville, North Carolina.
History
The Boundary End Archaeology Research Center was founded in 1997 by archaeologist George E. Stuart. It is situated on land that served as the residence of George and Melinda Stuart beginning in 1994. The name "Boundary End" derives from its proximity to the "Coleman Boundary" section of the Pisgah National Forest.Mission
BEARC has a three-part mission:- Providing a peaceful and resourceful work-and-living space for scholars and students pursuing research and writing projects.
- Organizing educational workshops, mini-conferences, symposia, and tours.
- Publishing academic papers, monographs, and research findings resulting from its activities.
Programs and Activities
BEARC fulfills its mission through various programs, including:- Maintaining the George Stuart Residential Library, a collection focused on the archaeology and history of the Americas.
- Offering long-term residential scholarships via the George Stuart Residential Scholarship and short-term guest scholarships.
- Publishing two academic journals: Ancient America, focusing on the art and iconography of the Americas, and Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing.
Library Collection
The Boundary End Archaeology Research Center houses an extensive library of approximately 12,000 volumes specializing in the archaeology of the Americas, with a particular focus on Mesoamerica and Southeastern North America. The collection also includes key works on the archaeology of Africa, Asia, and Europe.Approximately half of the library consists of the personal working library of George E. Stuart, featuring books on Maya research, site excavation reports, and hieroglyphic decipherment, as well as 19th-century histories of Yucatán and early Southeastern U.S. archaeology. Notable additions to the library include:
- A near-complete set of limited editions by William E. Gates, gifted by Col. William Friedman.
- A unique set of Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough's Antiquities of Mexico.
- A copy of Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, the first work to report archaeological excavation in the Americas.
- Henry Rowe Schoolcraft's six-volume work on the Indigenous peoples of North America.
- A comprehensive collection of institutional publications, including complete runs of journals like American Anthropologist and American Antiquity.