June 2009 Archeology E-Gram

NPS Archeologist receives Department of the Interior Superior Service Award
The DOI has awarded the Superior Service Award to NPS Archeologist Michele
C. Aubry. The honor recognizes Michele’s significant and sustained
contributions in preserving and protecting cultural resources during her
31+ years with the National Park Service and the Department of the
Interior.
.
Michele led the effort to draft the Abandoned Shipwreck Act (ASA), which
was signed into law in 1988. She led NPS efforts to draft the ASA
Guidelines, which provide advice to the States and Federal agencies for
effectively managing shipwrecks in waters under their ownership or control.
Michele provides technical assistance to NOAA, Department of State, MMS,
DOJ, and other agencies and bureaus about the protection and preservation
of submerged resources, including shipwrecks. She has also been
instrumental in international activities dealing with submerged resources,
such as working on the UNESCO Draft Convention on the Protection of
Underwater Cultural Heritage, and working with the Government of Spain to
develop a long-term loan agreement between the NPS and Spain for curation
and public interpretation of the Spanish shipwreck collection recovered at
Assateague Island NS. In 1990, Michele led the working group that drafted
and promulgated 36 CFR 79 "Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered
Archeological Collections." These regulations highlight the ownership
responsibilities of Federal agencies for their collections, have been the
cornerstone for improved collection care and preservation in museums and
repositories across the country, and have influenced museum collections in
Canada, Europe, and Australia.

NPS Archeologist Terry Childs Moves to DOI
Terry Childs is leaving the NPS Archeology Program, WASO, for a position at
the Department of the Interior. She will be the Staff Curator, Office of
Acquisition and Property Management. Her colleagues at NPS congratulate her
on this advancement and look forward to working with her in her new
position.

Terry first worked for the NPS from 1979-1983 as a crew chief and ceramics
expert for the Cape Cod NS archeological survey. After receiving her
doctorate degree in anthropology in 1986 from Boston University, she
accepted a permanent position in the NPS in 1993. In the Archeology
Program, Terry was actively involved in Federal archeological curation
efforts for objects, records, and reports. As the coordinator of several
national databases, including the National Archeological Database, she was
concerned about the proper management and curation of archeological digital
data. Terry was also responsible for several NPS-specific databases,
including ASMIS (Archeological Sites Management Information System) and MAS
(Maintained Archeological Sites).

Terry was instrumental in developing the World Wide Web for cultural
resources when she led the NPS Cultural Resources Web Team from 1996-2003.
During this time, she developed “Managing Archeological Collections” a Web
course available for credit in DOI Learn (
www.nps.gov/archeology/collections/index.htm). Other curation-related
activities include a long term study on the costs related to curating
archeological collections (www.nps.gov/archeology/PUBS/studies/STUDY06A.htm
), which surveyed museums in 1997/98, 2002, and 2007/2008. In addition,
Terry led an inter-agency working group to develop procedures for
de-accessioning certain archeological objects for 36 CFR 79 “Curation of
Federally Owned and Administered Archeological Collections.”

Outside of public archeology and museum curation, Terry’s primary field
research interest has been the Iron Age of Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly
in the area of anthropology of technology. She has worked in Tanzania, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, and Uganda, and has published
extensively on this work. Terry is currently a Research Collaborator at the
Smithsonian Institution, focusing on African throwing knives. She also has
worked on various projects pertaining to native North American copper.

Terry is looking forward to the challenges of her new position at DOI, but
will miss terribly working with so many wonderful park and regional
archeologists in the NPS. We will miss Terry’s lively commentary and hard
work and wish her the best of luck.

NPS Archeology and Ethnography Programs Welcome Summer Interns
The NPS Archeology program is hosting three interns for the summer of 2009.
Jessica Facciponti, a graduate student at the University of Maryland,
College Park, is developing technical assistance for archeological
properties on the U.S. Tentative list for World Heritage listing. Maria
Grenchik, an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, is assisting with
the National Institute for the Preservation of Iraqi Cultural Heritage.
Kate Reutershan, newly graduated from Brown University, is working on the
topic of significance of ethnographic resources in everyday lives. Each is
working through the National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE).

NPS Archeologist is Key Speaker at Washington State Curation Summit
NPS Archeologist Terry Childs was the principal speaker at the Washington
State Curators Summit, Fort Vancouver NHS, in May 2009. She presented “The
Costs of Archaeological Curation: Trends and Issues.” After the
presentation, an open discussion included the curation of digital
associated records; culling and sampling; deaccessioning; public value of
collections; access and use; growth of collections; comparisons of issues
between states; and “accreditation of repositories” in Washington State.

Federal Agents Bust Looting Ring
A two-year undercover operation led by BLM and FBI agents has cracked a
ring of grave robbers who looted pristine archeological sites in the
American Southwest, desecrated ancient American Indian burials and stole
priceless artifacts, selling them to dealers and collectors who were
associated with the network.
Law officers from the BLM and FBI and U.S. Marshals, joined by local and
state law enforcement partners, arrested 23 individuals, and executed a
dozen search warrants in four states. The defendants, from Utah, New
Mexico, and Colorado, were named in 12 indictments handed down by a Salt
Lake City grand jury for multiple violations of Federal law. Two defendants
in the cases have subsequently committed suicide.

Federal agents have identified more than 250 artifacts stolen by the ring,
with an estimate value exceeding $335,000, including decorated Anasazi
pottery, burial and ceremonial masks, a buffalo headdress, and ancient
sandals known to be associated with Native American burials. The Four
Corners region, rich in archaeological resources, contains priceless and
sacred artifacts of vital importance to Southwest American Indian
communities. The looting of the archeological sites also means the
permanent loss of archeological, cultural, and historical information
because the artifacts can not now be associated with specific locations
within sites.

“Let this case serve notice to anyone who is considering breaking these
laws and trampling our nation’s cultural heritage that the BLM, the
Department of Justice, and the Federal government will track you down and
bring you to justice,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “As
these alleged criminals are prosecuted and as federal agents continue to
hunt down wrong doers, BLM cultural resources staff will work to ensure the
proper recovery, identification, repatriation, and storage of the artifacts
that have been confiscated.”

“Looters robbing tribal communities of their cultural patrimony is a major
law enforcement issue for federal agencies enforcing historic preservation
laws in Indian Country,” said Interior Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs
Larry Echo Hawk. "Today's action should give American Indians and Alaska
Natives assurance that the Obama Administration is serious about preserving
and protecting their cultural property."

The indictments were announced by Secretary Salazar; Assistant Secretary
Echo Hawk; Deputy Attorney General David Ogden of the U.S. Department of
Justice; Brett L. Tolman, U.S Attorney in Utah; and Timothy J. Fuhrman,
Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office. The ring
is charged with multiple counts of violating ARPA and NAGPRA as well as
theft of government property, depredation of government property, and theft
of Indian tribal property.

Colorado Springs Man Convicted on ARPA Charges
Charles Lindsey, Colorado Springs, CO, pled guilty in June to one ARPA
misdemeanor. The investigation of Lindsey started in 2005 when his ex-wife
reported his looting behavior to NPS and BLM Special Agents. Lindsey's
ex-wife reported that her son came home from a vacation trip to Glen Canyon
NRA with Lindsey and his grandmother, and told her that Lindsey had taken
numerous pot sherds and stone points from locations near the Defiance House
and Rincon areas of Lake Powell.

The investigation determined that Lindsey had also taken a pot and a large
metate from Mesa Verde NP, as well as vertebrate fossils from BLM lands and
dinosaur remains from Badlands NP. These items, as well as others and three
large sifting screens used to find artifacts, seized during execution of
search warrants, will be forfeited to the government as part of the plea
agreement.

Lindsey, who had been a Park County Sheriff's Deputy as well as an
Investigator for the Colorado Division of Gaming, will receive one year
unsupervised probation as part of the plea agreement. The investigation was
a joint effort between BLM, NPS, DOI OG, and USFS special agents.

Husband and Wife Sentenced on ARPA Charges
William and Misty Graves were formally sentenced in US District Court for
looting an archeological site in Buffalo National River in violation of
ARPA in June 2009. As a result of a plea agreement, William A. Graves was
sentenced under one felony count, resulting in six months imprisonment, and
one year of supervised probation. Misty Graves was sentenced under one
misdemeanor count, and received one year of supervised probation. The two
have also been ordered to pay $4,613.00 in restitution to the park.

NPS rangers were alerted to the recent looting of a known archeological
site in the park’s upper district in January 2009. After two days of
surveillance, Rangers Lee Brumbaugh, Kelly Charbonneau, and James Purcell
installed surveillance equipment near the site. While installing the
equipment, rangers observed William A. Graves walking toward the area.
Graves was carrying digging tools and wearing boots that matched
impressions left in the recently excavated looter holes. Misty Graves,
Graves’ wife, remained at a trailhead area with their vehicle. She was
found to be in possession of artifacts and a pick. Further investigation
and crime scene analysis positively linked the Graves’ to the site. NPS
Special Agents and rangers executed a search warrant of the Graves’
residence, resulting in the discovery of numerous items associated with
collecting artifacts and other evidence linking them to excavating
activities in the park. After a six month investigation, the Graves’ were
indicted by a Federal grand jury. Graves admitted to digging in the park
and relinquished 71 stone tools, projectile points, or other artifacts that
he said originated from the site.


Buffalo NR archeologist, Dr. Caven Clark, was instrumental in the
investigation and provided expert testimony during the sentencing
proceedings. Rangers from Buffalo NR and Hot Springs NP, as part of the
Cultural and Archeological Response Team (CART), assisted during the course
of the investigation.


For more information about CART, go to the Project in Parks feature of the
August 2007 Archeology E-Gram at
www.nps.gov/archeology/pubs/egrams/0708.pdf.

Archeology Course Held For Trail Builders
More than 50 agency and partner organization staff and volunteers
participated in an “Archeology for Trail Builders” workshop in early May
organized by the NPS Ice Age and North Country National Scenic Trails
staffs. This unique training opportunity brought staff and volunteers from
both national scenic trails to the College of Menominee Nation, Keshena,
WI, to learn from archeologists at the college, the NPS Midwest
Archeological Center, the USFS, and Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources. Additional instruction was provided by the Wisconsin SHPO and
the Menominee Nation THPO.

The two-day training course focused on learning and developing skills to
understand and appreciate complex relationships between the landscape,
cultural resources, and the development of foot trails. Topics included an
overview of the prehistory and history of the Great Lakes region, how to
read a landscape like an archeologist, the Section 106 process and how it
applies to planning and developing multi-jurisdictional trails, tribal
concerns, and identifying and protecting cultural resources that may be
encountered in trail work. The second day of training was spent visiting
prehistoric, historic, and traditional cultural sites on the Menominee
Reservation. Historic village sites, gardening and farming sites, and a
lumber camp sites were include in the field trip.

NAGPRA Training
The NPS Park NAGPRA Program is offering a 1½ day training session about the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) July 14 -
15, 2009 at Gulf Islands National Seashore. Park superintendents and
resource managers as well as archeologists, curators, and other staff with
NAGPRA duties are invited to attend. The session will provide a
comprehensive overview of NAGPRA and prepare participants to respond to
inadvertent discoveries and plan for intentional excavations as prescribed
by the law. Topics will include NAGPRA basics, collections, intentional
excavations and inadvertent discoveries, culturally unidentifiable and
unclaimed, consultation, evaluating repatriation requests (claims),
disputes, transfer of control or custody, the Kennewick Man case, reburial
on park lands, contaminated collections, funding, and sources of
information and assistance.

There are no registration fees or tuition for the training session. The
training is open to all regions; attendees need not work in the Southeast
Region. To sign up or for more information, contact NPS Park NAGPRA Program
Manager Mary Carroll at 303-969-2300.

Projects in Parks: Projects in Parks Needs You!
Have you conducted an interesting archeology-related project in a national
park that you would like others to know about, or know someone who has? One
way to tell people about your project is through the Archeology E-gram.
Send a description (up to 500 words) of your project, an abstract, one or
two photographs, and any website links that you’d like distributed to
[log in to unmask] The photos should be in
.jpg format, at least 800 x 600 at 72 dpi (1200 x 1600 at 150 dpi is
preferred); don’t forget to include captions and credits. We’ll put your
abstract in the Archeology E-gram, and the full text and photos on the NPS
Archeology Program website. Any interpretation, conservation, education, or
research projects in parks that pertain to archeology are welcome.

Archeology E-Gram, distributed via e-mail on a regular basis, includes
announcements about news, new publications, training opportunities,
national and regional meetings, and other important goings-on related to
public archeology in the National Park Service and other public agencies.
Recipients are encouraged to forward Archeology E-Grams to colleagues and
relevant mailing lists.  The Archeology E-Gram is available on the News and
Links page www.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm on the Archeology Program
web site.

Projects in Parks is a feature of the Archeology E-Gram that informs others
about archeology-related projects in national parks.  Prospective authors
should review information about submitting photographs on the Projects in
Parks webpage on InsideNPS.  The full reports are available on the Projects
in Parks web page inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=279&id=3670
on InsideNPS or through individual issues of the Archeology E-Gram on the
on the News and Links page http://www.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm on
the Archeology Program web site.

Contact: [log in to unmask]  to contribute news items, stories for “Projects in
Parks,” and to subscribe.