Archaeological Field School on Edgefield, South Carolina Pottery Communities

Image via WikipediaArchaeological Field School on Edgefield, South Carolina Pottery Communities
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Anth. 454-CF and 455-CF (6 credits; 6 weeks), May 23, 2011 to July 1, 2011

This field school will provide training in the techniques of excavation, mapping, controlled surface surveys, artifact classification and contextual interpretation. Students will work in supervised teams, learning to function as members of a field crew, with all of the skills necessary for becoming professional archaeologists. Many students from past University of Illinois field schools have gone on to graduate study and professional field-archaeology positions. Laboratory processing and analysis will be ongoing during the field season. Evening lectures by project staff, visiting archaeologists, and historians will focus on providing background on how field data are used to answer archaeological and historical research questions.



** Historical Significance and Project Background

The first innovation and development of alkaline-glazed stoneware pottery in America occurred in the Edgefield District of South Carolina in the early 1800s. It remains an enduring mystery as to how these new ceramic methods were developed in that place and time, and how the techniques of clay choice, temper, and glaze developed over the following century. These potteries employed enslaved and free African-American laborers in the 19th century, and the stoneware forms also show evidence of likely African cultural influence on stylistic designs. Edgefield potteries thus present fascinating research questions of understanding technological innovations and investigating the impacts of African cultural knowledge and racial ideologies on a craft specialization during the historic period in America. This project entails an interdisciplinary, collaborative, and archaeological study of the first development in America of alkaline-glazed stoneware pottery forms, the development of that South Carolina industry over time, and the impacts of racism and African cultural influences on those processes.

The technological innovation of alkaline-glazed stoneware pottery was introduced in North America by potteries operated by Abner and John Landrum in the Edgefield, South Carolina area in the first decades of the 19th century. These technological developments by entrepreneurs of Scots-Irish heritage played out in a landscape shaped by racial difference. Numerous African-American laborers, including "Dave the Potter" who added inscriptions to his vessels, worked at these production sites. Advertisements in local newspapers in the early decades of the 1800s listed enslaved laborers with skills in pottery production. African Americans most likely participated in all phases of the production process, such as: building and maintaining the kilns; digging and transporting clay; working and grinding raw clay in "pug" mills; chopping wood for fuel; preparing glaze mixtures, tempers, and clay pastes; turning the pottery wheels and shaping the vessels; and loading and unloading the kiln  firings.

As local historians Holcombe and Holcombe (1989: 22) observed, the "District's ceramic entrepreneurs would never have been able to manufacture such large quantities of Edgefield wares without the slave participation." Indeed, in the period of 1800-1820, the recorded number of enslaved African Americans in the surrounding area had increased to comprise half of the Edgefield District's population. An illegal transport of enslaved laborers on the ship Wanderer delivered 170 newly-captive Africans to the Edgefield District in 1858. The production of remarkably shaped "face vessels" at local potteries have also been analyzed as presenting evidence of the influence of stylistic traditions from cultures of West Central Africa.

This project seeks to undertake detailed archaeological investigations of principal sites in Edgefield, conduct archival research, and start a multi-year community engagement and education program related to these subjects. Archaeological field schools and research teams at such pottery sites can explore both the production facility remains and the residential sectors for the enslaved and free African-American laborers. Primary research questions include: (1) examining the distribution of work areas and residential locations in each pottery site and analyze the degree of spatial segregation due to the impacts of slavery and racism; (2) understanding differential uses and development of those work and residential spaces, as reflected in archaeological features and artifact distributions, and the degree to which variations correlate with different racial categories associated with the occupants; (3) analyzing faunal and botanical remains to explore and contrast dietary and heal
 th patterns between residential sites and the degree to which variations correlate with different racial categories associated with the occupants; and (4) understanding the development and changes over time in the technologies of pottery production at these three manufacturing sites.

** Field School Overview
This six-week archaeological field school will focus on the site of Pottersville, where Abner Landrum started the first stoneware production facility in the Edgefield district in the early 1800s. We will excavate the kiln and related production areas and conduct surveys to locate the house sites of the craftspeople and laborers who created the Pottersville village surrounding that manufacturing facility. Instructors will include Prof. Fennell, U. Illinois doctoral student George Calfas, and archaeologist Carl Steen of Diachronic Research Inc., among others. The instructors and students will stay in local housing in the Edgefield area during this six week field school, and visit nearby archaeology sites and museums on weekend trips.

For additional information about this field school opportunity, please contact Chris Fennell by email at cfennell@illinois.edu, by cell phone at 312-513-2683, or check his faculty web page for background information on the multi-year archaeology project in Edgefield, South Carolina. You can also contact George Calfas at gcalfas2@illinois.edu.

To apply for participation in this field school, please download and complete a short application form, available at http://www.histarch.uiuc.edu/Edgefield/, and submit it to Chris Fennell by March 25, 2011. Students will be notified of acceptance no later than April 8, 2011. Accepted students should register for the related course numbers (listed above) for the summer session. Please note that all students must register for both courses (a total of 6 credit hours). Students from colleges other than the University of Illinois can register through our exchange program and receive transfer credits.

New Jersey Archaeological ALERT! Petty's Run

Lt. Gov. Guadagno wants archaeological dig on [NJ] Statehouse lawn buried

11/27/2010
Tom Hester Sr.
NewJerseyNewsroom.com

Angry preservationists charge she considers New Jersey historic site an ‘eyesore’

Lieut. Gov. Kim Guadagno wants the Petty’s Run archaeological site on the Statehouse grounds in Trenton that features the ruins of sections of colonial and industrial era mills dating back to the 1730s buried, her spokesman confirmed Friday evening.

Asked about the plan, which has angered historic preservationists and archaeology community activists, Sean Crisafulli told NewJerseyNewsroom.com, "Yes, the lieutenant governor is working proactively with all parties involved to refill the area next to the Statehouse as soon as possible to improve the grounds."

A string or reliable sources, who asked not to be identified, said they have not learned of the plan from Guadagno nor anyone else in the Christie administration. Guadagno, can see the dig from her office window on the south side of the Statehouse. Crisafulli did not respond to other specific questions.

The dig, which sources say the lieutenant governor considers an eyesore, does have the appearance of a construction site and has been surrounded by piles of weed-covered excavating dirt in a cyclone fence since the ruins were uncovered in 2008. The site is over 30 feet in depth.

Spokespersons for Gov. Chris Christie, or the Department of Environmental Protection or Treasury could not immediately comment or be reached to provide comment on the idea amid the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

It has been learned that Richard Hunter, the archaeologist who directed the dig in 2008 has been asked to discuss a potential burial of the site before the Statehouse Joint Management Commission on Tuesday. The panel is chaired by Richard Bagger, Christie's Chief of Staff and determines moves affecting the Statehouse property.

Hunter declined to comment on the issue.

Archaeological work began on the Petty's Run site to prepare it for its role as a focal point of what was planned by the Corzine administration as Capital State Park. The $87 million four-phase park was designed to include the Statehouse grounds and provide open space as far as the banks of the nearby Delaware River. Presently, access to the river is blocked by the four lanes of heavily-traveled Route 29.

But although Wallace Roberts & Todd, a well-known nationwide architectural firm was retained to design the park, the project has all but been declared dead under the Christie administration. The state has money for the project that under law cannot be used elsewhere.

Historic preservationists are enraged at the idea of burying the site, arguing it could be turned into a historic heritage site for tourists and a learning resource for visiting students as part of an effort to redevelop Trenton. The site sits between the Statehouse and the Old Barracks Museum, New Jersey's most popular heritage tourism site.

Hunter’s archaeologists uncovered the remains of the 1730s Isaac Harrow iron and steel plating mill, which was powered by Petty’s Run, a key water source in Colonial Trenton, that still runs west and downhill across the Statehouse grounds through a 130-year-old brick tunnel and empties into the Delaware River. Remains of the mill’s furnace and the waterwheel that powered the plant and the 1820 cotton and 1876 paper mills that followed, also has been uncovered as well as the remains of a 19th century rowhouse.

The steel mill was still in operation in 1776 when Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the ice-peppered Delaware on Christmas Day night and won a surprise victory at Trenton, which saved the Revolution. Hessian soldiers were housed in the adjacent Old Barracks at the time.
Hunter's archaeologists would have to pause in their work to explain what they were uncovering and the historic meaning to state officials and workers and passerbys.

The park plan called for the Petty’s Run site to be enclosed in glass and feature a waterwheel that would be powered by the waterway, which, in turn, would provide enough electricity to power the lighting of the site and possibly the entire park.

Critics of the idea to bury the site, including legislators, argue that, like Gov. Chris Christie's decision to halt the Hudson commuter rail tunnel project, it would cost the state a great amount of money to first protect the ruins before burial and then cover them up.

"It would cost money now and add much more money later to take it out (uncover)," Richard Patterson, director of the Old Barracks Museum, said Friday. "To me, this is a wonderful thing to have next door to the New Jersey Statehouse. You can look over from the Statehouse and see the Barracks, the New Jersey's Revolutionary war heritage, and there is New Jersey industrial beginnings right there.

"It is a very compelling location and fascinates the hell out of the public," Patterson said. "There are very few places where people can see and excavation and see a story through time. To cover it seems to me something that doesn't need to be done right now. I look at that and say that's our future. That's a very compelling aspect. If they cleaned it up, removed the spoils piles and sod the lawn up to the ledge (of the dig), it would not look like an eyesore, it would be a tremendous attraction. Put a fence around it and let it be. What's the point? I don't understand it."

In May, the Petty's run archaeological dig was cited by the state DEP [Dept. of Preservation] as one of nine efforts that best represent historic preservation in New Jersey. Now, sources say, the DEP, Hunter Research of Trenton and Wallace Roberts & Todd has been directed to determine the best method to rebury the site. WR&T management was not available to comment on Friday.

One method could be to cover the site with sand, sources say.

Patterson pointed out that the site has been popular with Revolutionary war re-enactors and visitors who come to Trenton during the annual Patriots’ Week, the last week of December.

2011 Society for Historical Archaeology Student Paper Competition Guidelines

Below are the guidelines for the 2011 SHA Student Paper Prize.as you can see, the deadline is nearing (November 15th)..so.if you are currently an SHA student member, who IS ALREADY GIVING A PAPER AT THE 2011 SHA MEETING in Austin, Texas.then you might consider getting us the "AS READ" version (10 PAGES OR LESS) of your paper by the deadline.who knows. you might be the next winner of the book prize.

2011 Society for Historical Archaeology

Student Paper Competition Guidelines

The 10th Society for Historical Archaeology Student Paper Prize will be
awarded at the 44rd Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology, to be held in Austin, Texas, in January 5-9, 2011. The prize will be awarded to a student, or students, whose written version of a conference paper is judged superior in the areas of originality, research merit, clarity of presentation, professionalism, and of potential relevance to a considerable segment of the archaeological community. One prize will be awarded: The winning author(s) will receive a book prize consisting of titles donated by the many presses and organizations exhibiting in the SHA Conference Book Room (totaling over $900 worth of items in 2010) and a letter of recognition from the SHA President. The winning author (s) will be encouraged to submit his or her paper to be reviewed for possible publication in Historical Archaeology. The results of the competition will be communicated to the entrants prior to the meeting and the winner will be announced at the annual business meeting.


Criteria

1)     Entrants must be student members of the SHA prior to submission of papers and registered for the 2011 annual meeting by December 2010.

2)     The paper must be prepared according to current Historical
Archaeology guidelines (see the SHA website for these details) and be
submitted by November 15, 2010.  Submissions are strongly encouraged to be made electronically (MS Word or PDF) to Jamie Brandon, chair of the Student Paper Prize Subcommittee at  jbrando@uark.edu.  If it is necessary to submit in printed form please send 7 copies to Dr. Jamie Brandon, Arkansas Archeological Survey, P.O. Box 9381, Magnolia, AR 71754.

3)     The paper must be presented by one of the student authors at the
annual meeting.

4)     There may be a maximum of two authors on the paper.  All of the
authors must be students and members of SHA.  In the event of a winning co-authored paper, the authors will split the available cash and book
prizes.

5)     Papers are to be limited to no more than 10 pages of text using
standard fonts, margins and line spacing (e.g. double spaced).  The intent is that the length of the paper submitted must be in line with what can reasonably be presented in 15 minutes.  Papers which are deemed by the committee to be impossible to deliver in a standard 15 minute format will be eliminated from the competition.

6)      Any additional questions may be addressed to Jamie Brandon via email (listed above)

Mystery Objects from the Field

Anne Raab (annmraab "at" yahoo.com) has two mystery objects that she needs identified. Here are her comments and the photos:


Does anyone know what these are? My guess is they are parts of an old music box, or some other percussive type instrument. They seem to be either brass or copper. Sorry I don't have a better picture right now. I had to take this one with my phone.

They were found at a farmstead site on the Western Missouri border, with a first European occupation in the 1850's, and last occupied in the early 20th century.

The second object was found at the same site. The material is very chalky, and I am not sure what it is. It was found in multiple pieces, and I originally thought it was some kind of natural calcification that had formed in an insect burrow, giving it its rounded quality. Back in the lab I discovered it all fit together to form this shape. (sorry about the quality of the photo)

Archaeology Channel International Film Festival, May18-22

Image via Wikipedia

The seventh annual installment of The Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival will take place May 18-22, 2010. This event, which includes a keynote address by leading First Americans researcher Dr. Jon Erlandson, is highlighted in TAC Festival 2010 Preview, the latest video feature on our nonprofit streaming-media Web site, The Archaeology Channel .

TAC Festival showcases the world’s best films and videos on archaeology and indigenous peoples in the Soreng Theater at Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene, Oregon, USA. This preview video includes a short clip from each of the 19 productions that will compete on the big screen. Film-makers from 32 countries submitted a total of 100 entries for this event, which is one of the world’s few contests in the genre of cultural heritage film and the only juried competition of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.

This and other programs are available on TAC for your use and enjoyment. We urge you to support this public service by participating in our Membership (http://www.archaeologychannel.org/member.html) and Underwriting (http://www.archaeologychannel.org/sponsor.shtml) programs. Only with your help can we continue and enhance our nonprofit public-education and visitor-supported programming. We also welcome new content partners as we reach out to the world community.
Please forward this message to others who may be interested.

Richard M. Pettigrew, Ph.D., RPA
President and Executive Director
Archaeological Legacy Institute
http://www.archaeologychannel.org

Society for Industrial Archaeology 2010 Annual Conference in Colorado Springs, CO

The Society for Industrial Archaeology (SIA) is having their annual conference in Colorado Springs, June 3-6, 2010. The theme of the conference is Industry on the Frontier.

Online registration is now open here. You can see the current list of papers on this page. There will be many tours of the surrounding areas as well.

2010 ISU Field School in Historical Archaeology

2010 ISU Field School in Historical Archaeology
Cherokee Towns in the Time of Spanish Contact

May 31 -June 25, 2010

Explore the early history of East Tennessee. Learn techniques of survey,
excavation, and artifact analysis in this six credit archaeological field
school.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Eastern Tennessee may have been visited by Hernando DeSoto in 1540 and Juan
Pardo in 1567 as part of the Spanish colonization of the New World. Even
though this colonial encounter was brief, it had profound effects for the
indigenous inhabitants of this region, the ancestors of some of today's
Cherokee. This project will explore the natural and cultural landscape of
East Tennessee in the early historic period to better understand what the
Spanish referred to as the Chiscas.

The 2010 season will be devoted to survey, mapping, excavation, and artifact
analysis of contact period (Qualla phase) sites in the Nolichuckey valley in
the vicinity of the modern settlements of Greeneville, Telford, and Jonesboro,
Tennessee. Lectures will include discussion and analysis of the Spanish chronicles
related to DeSoto's and Pardo's explorations, other sources concerning Cherokee
history,and examples of Cherokee archaeology. This project is carried out
in close collaboration with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and is
funded in part by the ECBI Tribal Historic Preservation Office


COURSE CREDIT
This course earns six undergraduate or graduate credits from Illinois State
University. Students can usually transfer these hours toward a graduate or
undergraduate degree program. Students should inquire about credit
transferability with their degree granting institution. All students are
required to keep a journal documenting field and lab work. Students will
also contribute to the field school blog. The course will culminate in a
public presentation of student research to the community of Cherokee, North
Carolina.


COSTS (subject to change)
Room and Board: $1300.00
Includes lodging, local transportation, excursions, and weekday lunches.
Students are responsible for all other meals.
Tuition & Fees (6 Credit hours)
ISU students: see tuition schedule
NON-ISU students: $2041.00
Incidental Fee (supplies, field trips)
ALL STUDENTS: $75


TO APPLY
Please send a letter or email to Dr. Sampeck at the address below. In your
letter, indicate why you would like to take the course and include the names
and phone numbers of two references.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
April 1, 2010

Please direct all inquiries to :

DR. KATHRYN SAMPECK (Project Director)
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Campus Box 4660
Schroeder Hall 335
Normal, IL 61790
ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY
mail: ksampec@ilstu.edu

Mohegan-UCONN Archaeological Field School

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Mohegan-UCONN Archaeological Field School
Sponsored by The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut and the University of
Connecticut

COURSE DESCRIPTION
The federally recognized Mohegan Tribe is conducting ongoing
research into its long history in eastern Connecticut, particularly on
the Mohegan Reservation in Uncasville, Connecticut (est. c.1671).
As part of the process of investigating present and former tribal lands,
the Mohegan-UCONN Archaeological Field School engages in
archaeological research at pre-European contact sites as well as
early historic sites and reservation-era sites. The Mohegan field
school, now in its sixteenth year, works under the direct supervision
of members of the Mohegan Tribe Cultural and Community Programs
Department as authorized by the Mohegan Council of Elders.
Students participate in systematic subsurface testing, block
excavations, and artifact processing. We also explore the historic
and contemporary relationships between archaeologists and Native
Americans through speakers, lectures, and the daily experience of
working on the Mohegan Reservation. Together we are helping to
build a new basis of cooperation and partnership between tribe and
community as we explore the past for future generations.

COVENANTAL ARCHAEOLOGY
The relationship between Native Americans and archaeologists has
traditionally been fraught with tension and conflicting goals. The
mission of this archaeological field school is to rectify this discord.
We practice a form of applied archaeology and community based
research sometimes called Covenantal Archaeology. We pursue and
serve the research goals and objectives of the Mohegan Tribe. Our
students, including Mohegans and members of other tribes, help
demonstrate how archaeology can contribute to contemporary Native
communities and encourage trust, responsibility, healing, education,
confidence, and pride.

FIELDWORK
During the course students will learn the basics of archaeological
fieldwork, from survey and testing to more intensive excavation
methods and interpretation. Most of the course is comprised of
archaeological fieldwork at Mohegan sites, or land that is of historic
importance to the tribe. Most years, students experience the
opportunity to excavate at both pre- and post-European Contact sites.

COURSE WORK
In addition to the fieldwork, students will be responsible for attending
guest presentations, completing assigned readings, maintaining a
journal, and participating in occasional evening discussions.
Distinguished speaker lectures, mostly representatives from regional
Indian tribes, are held throughout the course. Students are required
to take careful notes on all guest presentations.

2010 MOHEGAN-UCONN ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL
Course Number: ANT 3090.11 PRA. Class # 1679
Academic Credit: Six Credits
Location: Uncasville, Connecticut.
Research: Mohegan Reservation (est.1663)
Experience Required: None
Previous Coursework Required: None
Dates: June 21-July 30, 2010

Participant Cost:
Fees and Registration: The cost of the 6-week, 6-credit field school
is $1,895.

Summer Session courses are paid on a per-credit basis @$300/credit
hour, and include an enrollment fee of $45 (non-degree students pay
a $65 enrollment fee).

Registration is through the Office of the Registrar:
www.summersession.uconn.edu. Non-degree students register through the
Center for Continuing Studies: www.continuingstudies.uconn.edu.

A lab fee of $50 is also required as a check made out to UCONN. Housing is available.

Contact Elaine Thomas at (860) 862-6393 for more information regarding
housing and cost.

Craig N. Cipolla, Field School Director
Doctoral Candidate
ccipolla@sas.upenn.edu
Department of Anthropology
University of Pennsylvania

James Quinn
Mohegan Tribe
Archaeological Field Supervisor
jquinn@moheganmail.com

To request a field school packet required for registered students
contact:
Elaine Thomas, Archaeology Coordinator
The Mohegan Tribe
Cultural and Community Programs Dept.
5 Crow Hill Rd.
Uncasville, CT. 06382
(860) 862-6393 (phone)
(860) 862-6395 (fax)
ethomas@moheganmail.com

Isle of Shoals Archaeology Field School

Isles of Shoals Archaeology Project
Location: Maine, United States
Season dates: May 31, 2010 - June 14, 2010
Session dates: None given
Application Deadline: Rolling - May 15, 2010
http://www.sml.cornell.edu/sml_cc_islandarch.html


The Shoals Marine Laboratory is offering its third season of a field school in archaeology on Smuttynose Island, Maine.

DATES: May 31 to June 14, 2010  (choose either or both weeks)
LOCATION: Smuttynose Island, Maine  (for location see:
http://maine.hometownlocator.com/maps/feature-map,ftc,1,fid,575654,n,smuttynose%20island.cfm


Affiliation
Shoals Marine Laboratory, Cornell University and University of New Hampshire
Project Director
Dr. Nathan Hamilton, University of Southern Maine

Description
The rugged Isles of Shoals off the coast of Maine (New England) have a long history of human settlement dating from the late 16th century. Early communities were economically based on fish processing. Students will take part in ongoing archaeological research on the site of a fish processing station on Smuttynose Island, located adjacent to Appledore Island's Shoals Marine Laboratory. In this course you will learn about the past human communities that lived on the island (1650 to the late 19th century) and about organisms (fish, bird, shellfish) that were present in the marine environment during those periods.

Students live at the Shoals Marine Lab on Appledore Island and commute to Smuttynose Island by boat (10 min) each day. Three meals a day are prepared by the Shoals Lab kitchen; students live in comfortable double dorm rooms. The Shoals Lab island campus is shared with other students studying marine science, marine biology, oceanography and ecology.

Course work will include documentation, reporting and completion of architectural, historic and prehistoric site survey and excavation forms suitable for historic preservation submission. Training in field logistics, scheduling, ethics, and public relations are also part of this course. The Register of Professional Archaeology Standards and Practice will be used as a guide.

Period(s) of occupation
1670 - 1900
Minimum length of stay for volunteers
7 days
Minimum age
16
Experience required
none

Room and board is included in the weekly fee and students live very comfortably in dorms at the Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island, Maine. All meals prepared by a chef; SML is famous for its delicious meals.



Contact information
Robin Hadlock Seeley, Ph.D
207-956-0815
rhs4@cornell.edu

New Philadelphia Archaeological Project Field School 2010

New Philadelphia Archaeological Research Project Field School in Archaeology and Laboratory Techniques Summer 2010

May 24, 2010 to July 30, 2010.

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program (NSF-REU)

** Application Deadline: for best consideration -- March 19, 2010.

Application forms and additional information are available online at:
http://www.histarch.uiuc.edu/NSF/fieldschool.html

Additional background information is available from the project web
pages, at:  http://www.histarch.uiuc.edu/NP/

** Field School Objectives
The New Philadelphia story is both compelling and unique. Many studies
in historical archaeology that concentrate on African-American issues
have focused on plantation life and the pre-emancipation era. The
history of New Philadelphia is very different. It is a chronicle of racial
uplift and centering on the success of an African-American family and
their ability to survive and prosper in a racist society. In 1836, Frank
McWorter, an African American who was born into slavery and later
purchased his own freedom, acquired 42 acres of land in the sparsely
populated area of Pike County, Illinois, situated in the rolling hills
bounded by the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. He founded and platted a
town, subdivided the property, and sold lots. McWorter used the
revenues from his entrepreneurial efforts to purchase the freedom of
sixteen family members, with a total expenditure of $14,000 (over
$350,000 in today's currency value) -- a remarkable achievement.

Families of African American and European heritage moved to New
Philadelphia and created a multi-racial community. Local residents likely
provided "safe house" service for the "Underground railroad" as
enslaved African Americans fled northward escaping the oppression of
southern plantations. The history of New Philadelphia serves as a rare
example of a multi-racial early farming community on the nation's
Midwestern frontier (Walker 1983). The town's population reached its
peak of about 160 people in 29 households after the Civil War, a size
comparable to many Pike County communities today. However, by the
end of the century racial and corporate politics of America's gilded age
resulted in the death knell for the settlement: regional transportation
investors routed a new railroad line to pass several miles to the north
of the town. Many of New Philadelphia's residents eventually moved
away and, by the early 20th century, only a few families remained
(Walker 1983).

A collaborative project of archaeologists, historians, and members of
the local and descendant communities is underway to further research
the social history of this demographically integrated town and to
enhance its focus in our national memory and heritage. Participating
organizations include the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
and Springfield, the Illinois State Museum, University of North Carolina,
the University of Maryland's Center for Heritage Resource Studies, the
University of Central Florida's Public History Program, and the New
Philadelphia Association. Sprague's Kinderhook Lodge has also provided
generous support.  The town site of New Philadelphia is now designated
as a National Historic Landmark based on its significant archaeological
resources and exceptional value to our national heritage.

This NSF-REU sites program will help enhance undergraduate education
in scientific methods and analyses in an ongoing long-term project at
New Philadelphia. The primary goals of the project are to: 1)
Understand the town's founding and development as a multi-racial
integrated town; 2) Explore and contrast dietary patterns between
different households of different ethnic backgrounds by examining
faunal and botanical remains; 3) Reconstruct the townscape and town
lot uses of different households from different ethnic backgrounds using
botanical data and archaeological landscape features; 4) Elucidate the
different consumer choices residents of different ethnic backgrounds
made in a frontier situation and understand how household choices
changed with the increased connection to distant markets and changing
perceptions of racialization within the society.

The excavation and analysis of artifacts and archaeobiology data will
provide students with a hands-on learning experience and mentoring
process for students in an interdisciplinary setting. Ultimately, these
different data sets will be integrated and the students will gain an
understanding of the importance of scientific interdisciplinary research
as they examine the growth and development of the town. This
research will elucidate how individual members and families of this
integrated community made choices to create their immediate
environment, diet, agricultural practices, social affiliation, and consumer
choices.

** Archaeological and Research Setting
New Philadelphia in Pike County, Illinois is situated between the Illinois
and Mississippi rivers. Today, most of the original 42 acres have been
returned to agricultural use. Only a few scattered house foundations are
visible in the plowed fields.

This archaeology project serves as an excellent opportunity for students
to participate in many aspects of a scientific research program.
Students will be divided into teams and they will work collaboratively
on an assigned town lot in New Philadelphia. Prior to excavations, each
student will draw from the broader research goals of this project to
create an individual and focused research design to be addressed in the
course of their field school experience. The field school instructors will
teach students about the different archaeological theories used to
formulate such research designs, and the methods, sampling, and
excavation strategies used in archeology to explore those questions.

Each team will be responsible for helping to develop a research design,
retrieving archaeological data (material culture and archaeobiology
data), cleaning and cataloging the materials, data entry, and analyzing
artifacts and archaeobiological materials from one town lot. Student
teams will work closely in a mentorship situation with Illinois State
Museum, Research and Collection Center (ISM-RCC), University of
Illinois, and University of North Carolina staff in order to acquire the
necessary skills to perform scientific research. Each student will
specialize in one form of analysis and they will report on their findings
at the end of the summer session. This information will allow students
to work as a team to reconstruct the landscape and lifeways of
residents of this historic town. Evening lectures will be presented and
the group will take several field trips to local historic sites and
museums during the ten-week course.

** Results
At the end of the course student teams will make a presentation of
their results. Field school staff and members of the community
interested in this archaeology project will be invited to a half-day
symposium to listen to and discuss the results presented by each team
member. The presentation will allow for the dissemination of new
information as well as group assessment and constructive critique of
the work of each field school participant and the overall project. With
the help of field school instructors, this presentation will introduce
students to the skill of public speaking and it will help provide them the
techniques for communicating scientific results to a public audience.
After this presentation and discussion, student teams will assess
evaluations and create a strategy on how to best present this work to
other audiences. They can also provide their assessments of the
priorities that should be placed on the various research goals to be
pursued in ongoing historical and archaeological investigations at the
New Philadelphia site.

** Project Location, Facilities and Student Stipends
All students are required to be in Pike County on May 24, 2010, and the
instructions will begin on May 25. New Philadelphia is about 75 miles
west of Springfield, Illinois, and 25 miles east of Hannibal, Missouri.
There are no mass transportation services to the immediate area. The
closest town is Barry, Illinois (population 1400) where students will
stay at the Kinderhook Lodge. Lodging and meals will be provided
during weeks 1-5 while staying in Pike County and students will be
transported to the site every day. During the weekends students with
access to autos are free to travel and explore the region when fieldtrips
are not scheduled. (The Kinderhook Lodge is located between the towns
of Kinderhook and Barry on Rt. 106). During weeks 6-10 students will
move to the dormitories in Springfield, Illinois and work at the ISM-RCC.
This facility provides a state-of-the-art environment and it has vast
collections and high quality research laboratories and offices for
anthropology, botany, geology, and zoology. Students receive a $450
per week stipend paid on a bi-weekly basis, and the NSF-REU grant also
covers the costs of their lodging and meals as described above. Both
lodging and meals are provided during weeks 1-5, and lodging (but not
meals) are provided during weeks 6-10. (The university may be required
to withhold social security tax from each stipend disbursement; we are
working to determine if this is necessary).

** Additional Information
For additional details about this field school opportunity, please visit
the web sites listed above, or contact Chris Fennell by email at
cfennell@illinois.edu.

The Jewel of Muscat: Recreating a 9th Century Ship

Image via Wikipedia

The Jewel of Muscat is a 9th-century Arab sailing ship being built in Oman. It will be sailing to Singapore. The design of the ship is s based on a range of historical sources, including the findings of the Belitung Wreck, which was discovered in 1998.The website covers the background and construction of the ship as well as some great time lapse videos. There is an education section as well.