SOAN 3410: Field Archaeology
(or
HIST 4900)
Contents:
Faculty
Details
Description
Itinerary
Reading Lists
Preliminary Schedule
Professors:
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Michael
Galaty, Department of Sociology/Anthropology,
Office: Sullivan-Harrell 343
Phone:
601-974-1387
Email: galatml@millsaps.edu
Address:
Wayne
Lee, Department of History,
Phone: 502-852-6817
Email: wlee@louisville.edu
Address: Department of History,
Teaching Assistant:
Jonathan
Haws, Ph.D. candidate, University of Wisconsin
Dates: May 14-June 6, 2003
Location: On the property of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, Loudoun Valley, Virginia, http://BlueRidgeCenter.org/index.html
Accommodations: We have a field camp on the site of the BRCES, composed of small cabins (with kerosene lamps), a large main tent (for dining), a smaller kitchen tent (with camp stoves, a refrigerator, and running water), and primitive showers (with hot running water!).
Price: The price for the field school, including
transportation, room, board, and four summer school credits, is $1850.00. You will need to purchase a textbook and will
be responsible for your own personal expenses.
We will also take several field trips, including a weekend excursion to
Washington D.C., for which you will need to pay. The cost of food and accommodations for field
trips should not exceed $100-200.
Course
Description
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This course will introduce you to the many techniques employed by archaeologists in locating and excavating sites of past human activity. You will participate in the on-going archaeological survey of the circa 1000 acres administered by the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, founded by Robert and Dee Leggett. Bob Leggett is a Millsaps graduate and a trustee of the college. The main goal of archaeological survey is to identify and systematically document previously unknown (or poorly known) sites of all time periods, both prehistoric (Native American) and historic. Survey is carried out through the careful use, in combination, of USGS maps, compasses, aerial photos, and a Geographic Information System (GIS), all of which you will have opportunity to employ.
Once sites have been discovered, they may then be targeted for more complete investigation. We have already located several abandoned historic (19th-century) farmsteads at the BRCES, as well as a number of landscape features (such as walls, “bunkers,” roads) that may relate to the Civil War defense (by both the Union and the Confederacy) of the heights overlooking Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. One of these farmsteads (the so-called “Mountain View” parcel) was the focus of test excavations during the summer of 2002, with the primary goal of determining who lived there, at what times, and for how long. We will continue our work there in 2003. In conducting these excavations, you will be instructed in the methods necessary to the recovery and scientific interpretation of archaeological materials.
We also spend quite a bit of time investigating the history of the region, through the texts and photographs stored in county courthouses, genealogical libraries, and in museums. The documentary (and is some cases oral) historical information obtained in this way can be powerfully combined with archaeological data to reconstruct the past uses (and, in some cases, abuses) of a given landscape. What did the occupants of the BRCES’ historic homesteads do? How did they earn a living? Were they primarily farmers? If so, what did they grow, and how did their farming practices affect the ecosystem? What were their lives like? What was their ethnic identity? Were they well integrated into the wider American political and social systems, or did they live isolated lives?
While participating in this field school, you will also learn much about the people of this fascinating part of our country. The first to settle in these mountains were, of course, Native Americans. The confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers (i.e. Harpers Ferry) marks the interface of several different tribal groups: Manahoacs (Siouan), Susquehannocks (Iriquoian), and various Eastern Algonquian tribes. In our excavations at the Mountain View site, we have in fact found good evidence for prehistoric (probably Archaic) occupation. Into this not-always-peaceful mix were thrust, during the 18th-19th centuries, various groups of colonists and homesteaders. And, of course, as already mentioned, the region was a hotbed of activity during the Civil War period. We will learn about these various historical periods through bi-weekly, evening class meetings and several field trips, including a weekend excursion to Washington D.C (May 31-June 1). There will also be a small number of mandatory meetings held at Millsaps during the Spring semester, prior to our departure.
Itinerary
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We depart Millsaps College early on the morning of Tuesday, May 14th. Our drive will take us to Kentucky, where we will spend the night, and then on to Virginia. On May 15th we will visit colonial Jamestown (http://www.apva.org/jr.html), spending the night near this very important archaeological site. On May 16th, we will head north, travelling along the Blue Ridge, and arriving in Harpers Ferry the evening of May 16th. We will begin survey and excavations on Thursday, May 16th.
On May 21st, we will be joined by Dr. Deborah Mann and Millsaps biology students, with whom we will live at the BRCES through June 3. And, on May 26th, we will be joined by Dr. Wayne Lee and a crew from the University of Louisville. They will excavate with us through the end of the field school.
We will depart for Millsaps on Thursday, June 5, arriving on campus the evening of the 6th.
Most weeks we will work Monday-Saturday, from 7 am-3 pm. Classes will be held on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7-8:30.
Required
Texts
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Peregrine, Peter N. (2001) Archaeological Research: A Brief Introduction. Prentice Hall.
Pre-Departure Reading List:
Galaty, M., J. Haws, T. Camp, and K. McMahon. 2000. Final Archaeological Report to the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship: Summer, 2000. Unpublished manuscript on file at the BRCES.
Gardner, W., J. Mullen, and G. Montgomery. 2000. Phase I archaeological investigations of a circa ten acre portion of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, Loudoun County, Virginia. Unpublished manuscript on file at the BRCES.
Preliminary
Class Schedule
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To be held in April, prior to departure (dates to be determined):
1) Questions and Answers
2) Introduction to the Archaeology and History of the Blue Ridge
Reading Assignment: Gardner et al.; Galaty et al. (see above)
3) Introduction to Archaeological Goals and Methods
Reading Assignment: Introduction to Peregrine, Chapters 1-2, pp.
1-32
To be held in the field:
Thursday, May 16: Archaeological Methods of Survey and Excavation. Reading: Peregrine, Chapters 3-6.
Thursday, May 30: Archaeological Analysis of Artifacts. Reading: Peregrine, Chapters 7-10.