Dr. Jim Knight (far left) and Dr. Amanda Regnier (far right) were among the artifact experts on hand at the Camden Artifact Identification gathering this past January (photo by Teresa Paglione). See more of Teresa Paglione's photos on box.net. and see Amanda Hill's photos on snapfish.
An AAS grant helped Erin Phillips examine the Smithsonian's collection of Hemphill-style Moundville pottery, which has preserved pre-contact Southeastern Indian images such as this winged serpent (line drawing by Erin Phillips).
AAS members and guests at the Roseland Plantation fieldtrip and dig this summer (photo by Ashley Dumas). See more of this AAS event: Teresa Paglione's photos on flickr.
A late Archaic projectile point (photo by John Richburg)
The brick and stone remains of a salt-boiling furnace at the site of two previous AAS field trips (photo by Ashley Dumas).
The AAS 2006 Public Education Grant helped Ben Hoksbergen construct a full-size replica of a Mississippian house and farm. To find out more about this project and AAS Grants, see the AAS Grants web page.
AAS members measuring the depth of a test hole at Tannehill State Historical Park on an AAS field trip.
This copper axe was recently stolen from Cahokia (photo courtesy of Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site). More information is available below.
Pay your dues or send a donation to AAS (a non-profit organization) online! Go to Dues & Donations for instructions for this simple and quick way to be a part of archaeology in Alabama.
Upcoming Archaeology Events in the Southeast:
- September 18, Dothan: The Center for Archaeological Studiesi (CAS), University of South Alabama, is holding a public archaeology forum on September 18, 2010 at Landmark Park from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Interact with professional archaeologists, contribute to the archaeological knowledge base, and learn about the various facets of archaeology in the Wiregrass. CAS would especially like to document artifact collections from the Wiregrass region that might be related to the Alabama Department of Transportation I-10 Connector Right-of-Way. CAS would also like to invite anyone who has any historical documents regarding the Mixon, Cobb, McAllister, Seay, or McEntyre farms/families dating to the early twentieth century to bring those for scanning. If you, or anyone you know, has collections please bring them out to be documented! The doors will open at 9:00 am and a collection of artifacts from the Wiregrass will be on display. These artifacts relate to archaeological investigations conducted by the CAS in the region and will demonstrate the richness of the local archaeological record. A short presentation on the regional/project archaeology will be given at 10:00 by Dr. Philip Carr. Following the presentation we will begin documenting artifact collections and examining historical documents. Artifact documentation will include photographs, culture-historical typing, basic metric measurements, and technological analysis. A knapper will be on-site demonstrating how stone tools were made. Dr. Carr is Associate Director of the Center for Archaeological Studies, and has 20 years of archaeological experience in the Southeast, ten of which have been in south Alabama. Sarah Price is a staff member of the Center for Archaeological Studies with ten years of experience in the Southeast. Mr. Scotty Kirkland is a historian, and Dothan native, who works at the University of South Alabama Archives and is the project historian. If you are a member of AAS in the area, and would like to help coordinate or assist on the actual day, please contact Sarah Price seprice7@yahoo.com.
- Post your upcoming archaeology events on the AAS web site! Send your event information to web@alabamaarchaeology.org to let AAS members know what is happening in your area.
Archaeology in the News:
- Guidelines for authors for the Journal of Alabama Archaeology. The Journal of Alabama Archaeology remains the primary forum for the publication of papers on the prehistoric and historic archaeology of Alabama, however papers on related topics in the Southeast are welcome. Papers from students, amateur, and professional archaeologists are solicited. The guidelines and style guide for authors, a PDF file, is available to download.
- AAS is on Facebook! Look for the Alabama Archaeological Society on Facebook and become a fan!
- A Confederate cannon from the CSS Alabama is finally coming to Alabama. The Confederate sloop, the CSS Alabama, never made it to Alabama, but one of it's cannons is currently being restored and will soon be on display at the Museum of Mobile. For more information, read the Post and Courier article. Also, see the University of Alabama's Hoyle Museum online digital collection of images of the CSS Alabama.
- Distinguished Southeastern Archaeologist, Frank Schnell, dies at age 69. Archaeologist Frank T. Schnell, Jr., 69, died on January 18, 2010. According to an article on the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer Web site, his wife Gail said he fell from a ladder in their home in Bradenton, Florida. The Columbus native was known for his deep knowledge of area history and culture, much of it gleaned from extensive field work on prehistoric Indian mound villages such as Singer-Moye near Lumpkin, the Rood mounds near Omaha and the Cemochechobee mounds near Fort Gaines, Georgia.
- Letter from AAS Vice-President Richard Kilborn About the Destruction of the Oxford Indian Stone Mound in Oxford, Alabama. The State of Alabama has a rich pre-historic past that in some locations is evidenced by the presence of Indian Mounds...It is the author’s opinion that the State of Alabama needs additional laws to afford some degree of protection, preservation or complete controlled excavation when dealing with rare sites of such cultural significance as the Oxford Indian Stone Mound. Read the entire letter here.
- Genetic Data on Ancient American Populations Points to Single Ancestral Group: For two decades, researchers have been using a growing volume of genetic data to debate whether ancestors of Native Americans emigrated to the New World in one wave or successive waves, or from one ancestral Asian population or a number of different populations. Now, after painstakingly comparing DNA samples from people in dozens of modern-day Native American and Eurasian groups, an international team of scientists thinks it can put the matter to rest: virtually without exception, the new evidence supports the single ancestral population theory. Read more at Sciencedaily.com.
- Copper Axe Stolen from Exhibit at Cahokia: It was recently discovered that a copper celt (axe) had been stolen from one of the exhibit cases at Caholia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville, Illinois. The thieves apparently were able to compromise the security of the case at the "Fiber" display. The artifact was solid copper, 5 3/4" long, 2 1/2" wide, and 7/16" thick. One side had a textile psuedomorph, created by the mineralization of a textile in contact with copper deposited in soil. Although the original textile no longer exists, what remains--its psuedomorph--can provide information of the characteristics of the original cloth or bag in which the axe originally had been wrapped. There was a catalog number on it, "19 x 862". Other than some minor vandalism, this is the first artifact theft at the Interpretive Center since it opened twenty years ago. Please keep an eye out for this axe and if you see it or something similar for sale, please contact: William R. Iseminger, Assistant Site Manager/Public Relations, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, 30 Ramey Street, Collinsville, IL, 62234; or via email at cahokia.mounds@sbcglobal.net, or visit their website.
- New methods for dating an archaeological artifact, rock art: Rock art has been difficult for archaeologists to date employing scientific methods commonly used for archaeology. Recently, Marvin W. Rowe, professor of chemistry at Texas A&M, has applied the use of accelerator mass spectrometry, which requires a very small amount of material to be removed from a painting. For more information, see physorg.com, a web-based science, research and technology news service.
- A recent news item on a federal listserve: Archaeology Magazine Reports on Drugs and Looting The locus of archeological crime in the American Southwest and across the nation is shifting into the world of guns and drugs, reports Samir Patel in an article in the March/April issue of Archaeology Magazine. A strange synergy is developing with meth that puts every archeological site and collection at risk, Patel notes. Meth provides a surplus of energy that users need to work off, and artifact hunting to get the money for the next high is one way to do it. Meth looters are changing the face of looting in the U.S., and Southeast Asia and Europe may not be far behind. The looting-meth connection is reported by Federal archeologists and law enforcement officers across the nation. The involvement with drugs is problematic for law enforcement officers who pursue cultural resource crime. Once a looting suspect is caught, archeological resource violation laws take a back seat to drug charges. Drug and firearm possession carry much steeper penalties than ARPA violations, under most circumstances. Drug cases can make it easier to recover artifacts, as looters will more readily hand them over when faced with drug charges, especially if doing so will save them from ARPA charges. As a result, there is little risk for drug dealers who want to engage in antiquities trade. The entire article is available on-line at www.archaeology.org.
- Norwood Pottery in Mississippi: Archaeologists at the Center for Archaeological Studies at the University of South Alabama have recovered Norwood Pottery in Mississippi, farther west than this type of pottery has been found in the past. More information is available in the upcoming issue of the AAS newsletter, Stones & Bones (see the article).
- Fort Mims:The Fall 2007 issue of American Archaeology magazine, published by the Archaeological Conservancy, featured an article about Alabama's own Fort Mims, Clarifying an Historic Event: Archaeologists are working to uncover the details of the massacre at Fort Mims (a 3.5 meg PDF). The Archaeological Conservancy has generously allowed us to provide this digital copy of that article to AAS members. The Alabama Department of Archives and History, the Alabama Historical Commission, Sharon Blair, and the Center for Archaeological Studies, at the University of South Alabama, all contributed photographs for this article and also gave their permission for this digital copy.