volume issue october, 2012 october · rethinking agency and religion in ancient america; and the...
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NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGY DAY IS OCTOBER 20, 2012!!!
Volume 7, Issue 7 October, 2012
October 9th: The Archeology of Historic Washington, Arkansas
The program for the October Kadohadacho Chapter meeting will be our own Dr. Jamie C. Brandon who will talk about this summer’s excavations at Historic Washington State Park.
We had a great time during our second field season with the Arkansas Archeological Society Summer Training Program at Historic Washington State Park. This was the second year of excavation at historic Washington on Block 6, the heart of the commercial district from the 1830s through the 1880s. When all was said and done, over the last two summers (2011 and 2012) our excavations on Block 6 discovered at least six different structures and 3‐5 cellars dating from three major periods of activity—antebellum (1830‐1850s), Civil War and postbellum (1860s‐1880) and a flurry of activity in the 1920s filling in long‐abandoned buildings following the 1870s and 1880s fires. As we have very little in the way of photographs, maps or archival material about Block 6, this archeological information is invaluable to reconstructing what kinds
of buildings were on the block and what types of mercantile activity took place there. These excavations also recovered hundreds of thousands of artifacts which will help us understand what life was like on the Arkansas cotton frontier of the nineteenth century. These include more than twenty gunflints, several early faceted blue and glass black beads, and a surprising number of coins—both US (1827 and 1806 silver half‐dollars as well as several early‐ to mid‐nineteenth century silver coins of smaller denominations) and Spanish (at least 4 Spanish silver
reales). Although the AAS‐SAU staff conducted promotional talks
throughout the year, the public outreach element during the 2012 Arkansas Archeological Society Summer Training Program was also invaluable. The excavations were covered in several media outlets including Sunday Features in both the Arkansas
Democrat‐Gazette and the Texarkana Gazette, and interviews with KTXK 91.5 FM, a National Public Radio and American Public Media affiliate community‐oriented, non‐commercial radio station licensed to Texarkana College, and KTYC 88.5 FM, non‐commercial radio station affiliated with the Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas. Additionally, the dig was covered by Rex Nelson in both is blog Southern Fried and his regular column in the Arkansas Democrat‐Gazette.
As we did last year, we had over 100 volunteers and staff members involved in the summer dig. Despite the hot weather, we had a good time and made some great discoveries.
Come learn about what we discovered this summer at Historic
Washingt9on State Park—Tuesday, October 9, 7:00pm in the Magnolia Room on the second floor of the Reynolds Center on the campus of Southern Arkansas University.
Kadohadacho Speakers, Fall 2012 • October 9— Dr. Jamie C. Brandon, AAS SAU Station Archeologist will give a talk about the 2012 AAS Summer Training excavations at Historic Washington State Park. • November 13—Gary Pinkerton will talk about Trammel’s Trace—the historic roadway through the region. • December 11—Tim Mulvihill, AAS‐UAFS Station Archeologist will talk about archeology at the Drennen‐Scott House in Van Buren.
Coins found during the 2011 & 2012 Arkansas Archeological Society Summer Digs on Block 6 in Historic Washington State Park.
A hand‐carved bone chess piece found in the cellar deposits underneath a 1830s storefront on Block 6, Historic Washington, Arkansas.
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Volunteers Needed: Fall Excavations at Dooley’s Ferry
This fall the Kadohadacho Chapter of the AAS will have been returning to the site of Dooley’s Ferry (3HE14) on the Red River in southern Hempstead County to conduct excavations over three long weekends—we just completed the September excavations…next up is October 11‐13 and November 15‐17, 2012. These excavations are following up on our remote sensing and test excavation work last spring.
Dooley’s Ferry was an important crossing on the Red River from the 1820s through the 1930s and was an important feature of the militarized landscape of the Trans‐Mississippi Theater of the Civil War. Archeological excavations here offer a unique opportunity to study the flow of goods and people engaged in local, regional, and global markets into and out of what was a remote corner of the South in a time of great disruption to the patterns of everyday antebellum life.
Carl Carlson‐Drexler, will be leading excavations (along with Dr. Brandon). Carl has conducted fieldwork at the site on and off since 2008—including a couple weeks of work during the 2010 University of Arkansas Archeological Field School.
Volunteers are welcome, but contact Carl Carlson‐Drexler in advance at 870‐235‐4230 or [email protected] and we’ll give you directions and times that we will be working.
October 21, 2012: National Archaeology Day!
National Archaeology Day is a celebration of archaeology and the thrill of discovery. Every October the AIA and archaeological organizations across the United States, Canada, and abroad present archaeological programs and activities for people of all ages and interests. Whether it is a family‐friendly archaeology fair, a guided tour of a local archaeological site, a simulated dig, a lecture or a classroom visit from an archaeologist, the interactive, hands‐on National Archaeology Day programs provide the chance to indulge your inner Indiana Jones.
http://www.archaeological.org/NAD Some of the official Archaeology Day events happening nearby include:
Parkin: http://www.archaeological.org/events/8760
Open Lab Day at the Blytheville Station of the Arkansas Archeological Survey: http://www.archaeological.org/events/10208
Winterville Mounds in Greenville, MS: http://www.archaeological.org/events/10176
C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa in Memphis: http://www.archaeological.org/events/9689
Texas Archeological Society Meeting, October 25‐28, 2012
The University of Texas at Tyler invites you to attend the 83rd TAS Annual Meeting on October 25‐28, 2012, in Tyler, Texas! This year’s meeting will have a special focus on the archeology of the southeastern US, including east Texas and its neighbors.
Friday morning: In the morning there will be various committee meetings and in the afternoon, the Silent Auction and Exhibit Rooms will open and the first presentations will be scheduled.
The Public Forum at 7:00 pm on Friday,
October 26: In 2011 Dr. Reilly was chosen as the Field Anthropologist Consultant for the Muscogee Nation of Florida. The tribe hopes Dr. Reilly will be able to offer fresh insight, research material, and advice as they seek federal recognition. This is the final phase of a 63‐year journey, and the tribe asked Dr. Reilly for his assistance in this last step because of his extensive knowledge of Muscogee government, ceremonial cycles, and traditions.
Following the Public Forum: A “Careers in Archeology Social” and “Artifact Identification” will follow the forum. Archeological firms and agencies
will set up displays to encourage questions about archeological work in Texas and about pursuing careers in archeology. This Friday night event is open to the public, and they are encouraged to bring in artifacts for discussion with a panel prepared to assess both type and dates or related information about the
artifacts. Saturday: Saturday
morning activities begin at 8:00 am, with several concurrent sessions offering papers, posters, and table discussions. The Poster Sessions allow detailed discussion of special topics. We always have more interesting and informative presenters to hear and see than time permits. Check the schedules early to plan your
AAS‐SAU staff & Arkansas Archeological Society members excavate at Dooley’s Ferry last week (September 15, 2012). Pictured left to right: Anthony Clay Newton, Kjarstin Carlson‐Drexler, Don Bragg, Hope Bragg, Kenny Brag, Addison Ochs, & Beth Bragg.
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day and line up the papers, discussions, and posters you wish to attend. The Silent Auction and Exhibit Rooms also open at 8:00 am on Saturday.
The Banquet at 7:00 pm, Saturday, October 27: Our venue shifts from the University Center to the nearby Ornelas Center (MAP) beginning with a Social Hour at 6:00 pm followed by our Banquet dinner starting at 7:00 pm. Our Banquet speaker will be Dr. Tim Pauketat of the University of Illinois whose work has elevated studies of the Mississippian period to a new level. Some of his recent books include: Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi; Chiefdoms and Other Archaeological Delusions (Issues in Eastern Woodlands Archaeology); An Archaeology of the Cosmos: Rethinking Agency and Religion in Ancient America; and The Archaeology of Traditions: Agency and History Before and After Columbus.
Pauketat will talk with us about new Evidence of ancient religion at Cahokia and its colonies. The latest archeological discoveries related to ancient North America's only city, Cahokia, include findings of astronomical alignments, elite neighborhoods, great wooden posts, human sacrifices, stone carvings, and distant mission settlements. Cahokia, near modern‐day St. Louis, was built in short order around AD 1050 in ways that suggest the existence of a new religion which attracted people far and wide. Pilgrims visited and immigrants poured in while some Cahokians travelled great distances to the north and south. We are now at the edge of understanding why this happened and what its lasting historical effects were.
Upcoming Conferences & Events • October 3‐6, 2012—Plains Anthropological Conference, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Info: http://www.ou.edu/cas/archsur/plainsanth/meeting/meeting.htm/ • October 6, 2012—Midwest Historical Archaeology Conference at the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign. Info: http://www.isas.illinois.edu/mwhc.shtml • October 11‐12, 2012—The Legacy of Friedrich Gerstäcker: Arkansas & the Wild West. International German Studies Symposium, Sponsored by the UA Dept. of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures, German Program, UA‐Fayetteville. Info: http://german.uark.edu/ • October 17‐21, 2012—Midwest Archeological Conference, East Lansing, MI. Info: http://www.midwestarchaeology.org/ • November 7‐10, 2012—Southeastern Archaeological Conference, Baton Rouge, LA. Info: http://www.southeasternarchaeology.org/ • January 9‐12, 2013—Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, Leicester, UK. Info: http://www.sha.org/default.cfm • April 11‐13, 2013—Arkansas Historical Association, Theme: “Claiming Freedom,” Helena‐West Helena. Info: http://www.arkansashistoricalassociation.org/
Contact Us: Dr. Jamie C. Brandon Research Station Archeologist Southern Arkansas University Research Station PO Box 9381 Magnolia, AR 71754 870‐235‐4229 [email protected] Carl G. Carlson‐Drexler, MA, ABD Research Assistant Southern Arkansas University Research Station PO Box 9381 Magnolia, AR 71754
870‐235‐4230 [email protected] Board of Advisors: Peggy Lloyd, Washington, AR (2013) Bob Campbell, DeQueen, AR (2014) Don Hall, El Dorado, AR (2015)
http://web.saumag.edu/aas/
Pic of the Month: That’s right…Archeologist DO NOT DO DINOSAURS…however, we ARE curating three great casts of dinosaur skulls at the AAS‐SAU Research Station. These exhibits were donated to SAU by Saundra Van Cleef Lewis, Dr. Charles McGahey and the family of Roger Van Cleef. The Tyrannosaurus rex. Pictured here is a cast of “Sue,” a specimen found in South Dakota and on display at the Chicago Field Museum.
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Kadohadacho Chapter- Arkansas Archeological Society Southern Arkansas University PO Box 9381 Magnolia, AR 71754 http://web.saumag.edu/aas/