Artifact Identification Day

Fort Osage will host an Artifact Identification Day on May 10th from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Fort Osage Education Center in Sibley, Missouri. Jim Feagins, John Peterson, and other archaeologists will be on hand to identify personal collections. For more information, visit
http://www.jacksongov.org/content/1169/1221/default.aspx

Fieldwork Opportunities
Over many years, MAS members have participated in carefully coordinated, scientific excavations that made significant contributions to understanding at several important sites.

Historical Archaeology of Springfield’s Early Settlement
Missouri State University is offering a summer course in field archaeology and laboratory analysis. Students will learn basic techniques for conducting archaeological excavation, mapping, specialized sample collection, and processing. Excavations will focus primarily on nineteenth- century occupations in southwest Springfield, however prehistoric components may be encountered. Students also will learn methods for the preparation, preservation, documentation, and interpretation of archaeological materials.
Class will be held from 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, June 2–July 18, 2008. For students, at least one of the following prerequisites is required: ANT 125 Exploring Our Human Ancestry, ANT 240 Introduction to Archaeology, ANT 250 World Prehistory, or ANT 350 Archaeological Method and Theory, or permission of the instructor. Deadline for application is April 18th, 2008.
Volunteers welcome with advance notice.
Please contact Dr. A. Holly Jones, Center for Archaeological Research, Missouri State University, 417-836-4889 or hollyjones@missouristate.edu for more information.

General Order Number 11 in Bates County, Missouri
June 2–22, 2008
Ann Raab, University of Kansas, will be offering an archaeological field school in Bates County, Missouri. The field school will be offered through the University of Missouri-Kansas City, but is open to all current university students in good academic standing.
This field school will focus on one of the most traumatic events in American history. During the Civil War, the Union Army ordered Bates County, Missouri, forcibly depopulated in order to stop guerilla warfare raging on the Kansas-Missouri border. General Order 11 included the complete destruction of all towns, farms, livestock, and crops in Bates County, and the relocation of the county’s entire population.
The field school will research the effects of this order, particularly the ability of the county’s people to recover economically and socially after the war. Although this program focuses on pre- and post-Civil War-era archaeological sites, students will receive training in research techniques employed by archaeologists around the world. This field school is valuable to students planning advanced work in archaeology, students seeking employment in contract (CRM) archaeology, or those who merely want to experience field research in archaeology.
Interested parties are encouraged to contact Ann Raab via email at annmraab@ku.edu for more information

The Scott Joplin House State Historic Site in St. Louis
June 16–July 4, 2008
The Scott Joplin House site is operated by the Missouri State Parks to celebrate the life and music of Scott Joplin, the King of Ragtime, who lived at this St. Louis residence from 1900 to 1903. The goal of this project is to expand this historic site’s interpretation to include Joplin’s neighborhood history and to transform the site into a community cultural center.
This project is partially funded by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and a multi-million dollar U.S. Department of Education Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program grant (GEAR-UP) obtained by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. A portion of the GEAR-UP grant is earmarked for a history and archaeology program that utilizes the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site to increase high school graduation and college enrollment rates in eight St. Louis school districts. Participating students and teachers will be introduced to archival research, oral histories, and archaeological excavations. A teacher workshop will be held in the summer of 2008 and a high school excavation program will be in 2009 and 2010.
A previous excavation season was conducted in 2006 and focused on several nineteenth-century row houses and a billiards hall that sat immediately across the alley from Joplin’s residence. These row houses were first utilized in the 1890s and early 1900s as female boarding houses for white, young, and single, divorced, or widowed women with most between the ages of 20 and 26. By 1920, this neighborhood had transformed into a predominately African-American community. This continued until the 1960s when these homes were razed. The 2006 excavations uncovered an alley shed, an ash pit, and thousands of artifacts.
The 2008 field season will investigate the rear yard of Scott Joplin’s home, uncovering portions of his privy, outbuildings, and general yard activities. Information gathered from this field study will be used to expand the interpretation of the Scott Joplin State Historic Site through new exhibits and educational programming. These excavations will be performed as a college course through Missouri Valley College for three (3) credit hours. Participants will be introduced to historic research methods and archaeological field techniques. Registration is open to any college student in good academic standing. If you are not a current student at Missouri Valley College, then you must enroll as a “Visiting Student” for the summer semester and submit a Visiting Student Form and apply online for admission (Note: transcripts are NOT required for admission).
Housing will be provided at the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ Oak Hall. For a description of the accommodations and/or to reserve a room, please call 314-516-4399. Each student will be responsible for providing their own food. Transportation can be made available between the student housing and the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site (2658 Delmar Boulevard).
Tuition = $510 ($170 per credit hour x 3 credits)
Equipment & Supplies Fee = $50
Housing = $500 (a parking permit is an additional $54)
Total Cost = $1,060 + food expenses
Community volunteers are also encouraged to participate in the excavations, artifact analysis, archival research, oral history research, and educational programs. You can also volunteer your time and vision on a community steering committee. This committee is overseeing this heritage project and is formulating recommendations for the future mission of the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site and its surrounding neighborhood.
For more information, please contact Dr. Tim Baumann at 660-831-4044, or baumannt@moval.edu

Archaic Stone Tool Manufacture at the Jones Mill Site, Arkansas
June 13–June 29, 2008
The co-sponsored Arkansas Archeological Survey/Society annual Training Program and excavation has been conducted at a variety of sites throughout Arkansas since 1972. The 2008 Training Program will be an investigation of Archaic novaculite stone-tool manufacture and exchange at the Jones Mill site (3hs28) in Hot Spring County, Arkansas. The site may have served as a home base during the Middle and Late Archaic periods for local groups of hunter-gatherers who worked novaculite from nearby quarries. The novaculite debris and tools will be studied to reconstruct tool-manufacturing strategies and assess production specialization. The Jones Mill site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Volunteers in the Training Program will be given guided instruction on field methods and the opportunity to participate in field excavation over a two-week period in June. Week-long seminars on a variety of topics such as basic excavation, laboratory methods, site survey, lithics, and ceramics are also offered to those wanting more in-depth knowledge. Detailed information will be posted by late March on the Arkansas Archeological Society web site. The minimum length of stay for volunteers is three days, the minimum age is eight years old with a guardian, and no experience is required.
Participants must cover their own expenses and make their own arrangements for room/board. Camp sites or local hotels will be recommended. Space is limited, so arrangements should be made early. Information will be posted on the AAS web site by late March.
Registration fees for the Training Program depend on length of stay. Cost is not yet determined, but is estimated to be about $45-$65.
Contact Barbara Scott
Arkansas Archeological Survey, 2475 N. Hatch Ave.
Fayetteville, AR 72704-5590
479-575-3556
bhscott@uark.edu
Application Deadline: May 14, 2008

Pawnee Indian Village, Republic County, Kansas
Participants in the 2008 Kansas Archeology Training Program (KATP) field school will have a rare opportunity to excavate at a nationally significant site in a spectacular setting. The Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site (14RP1) sits on the bluff overlooking the Republican River in Republic County. From May 31 through June 15, 2008, the KATP field school will recover new and valuable information about this fortified village that was occupied by the Kitkahahki band of the Pawnee tribe in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Three organizations will collaborate in sponsoring the 2008 KATP field school: the Kansas Historical Society (KHS), Kansas Anthropological Association (KAA), and University of Kansas (KU). The Pike Valley Junior High School in Courtland will be the project headquarters for registration, classes, artifact-processing lab, and indoor and outdoor camping. The school also will be the location for numerous evening programs that will be open to the public free of charge.
In addition to the field and laboratory work, the field school will offer six formal classes that can be taken to earn college credit through Emporia State University or simply to learn more about a particular topic. They are Archeological Fieldwork, Basic Laboratory Techniques, Archeological Site Survey, Paleoethnobotany, Surveying Historic Buildings, and Geoarcheology.
Details of the project will be included in the registration packet, which is available in hard copy and posted on the KHS web site at kshs.org/resource/katpcurrent.htm. The packet contains forms for KAA and/or KHS, Inc. membership; registration, scheduling, and medical information forms; options for lodging, camping, and food; a map of pertinent project locations; a list of recommended equipment; instructions for enrollment in formal classes; details about the KAA certification program; and a schedule of accompanying activities.
Registration forms submitted by May 2 qualify for a participation fee of $20 for KAA and KHS members and $80 for nonmembers. After May 2, the participation fee increases to $30 for members and $90 for nonmembers.
Although field and laboratory activities continue without stopping for the 16-day period, volunteers may participate for a single day or the entire time. Participants must be at least 10 years of age, and those younger than 14 must plan to work with a parent or other sponsoring adult at all times. A legally responsible adult must accompany participants between 14 and 18 years of age.
For more information about the project, contact
Virginia A. Wulfkuhle, Public Archeologist
Kansas State Historical Society
6425 SW 6th Ave
Topeka KS 66615-1099
785-272-8681 ext. 266
785-272-8682 FAX
vwulfkuhle@kshs.org