January 2006
John Robbins takes job at National Gallery
John Robbins, formerly Assistant Director, Cultural Resources, NPS, assumed
the duties of Deputy Administrator, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC,
at the beginning of January 2006. The Office of the Gallery’s
Administrator is responsible for day-to-day operations of the museum and
for capital projects.
Robbins is a licensed architect and has worked on public and private new
construction, planning, preservation, and museum projects throughout the
United States, including the restoration of the Statue of Liberty, and the
Decorative Arts Galleries at the new J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
He was the first Richard Morris Hunt Fellow in Historic Preservation
(sponsored by the American Architectural Foundation and the French Heritage
Society) in 1990.
In 22 years as a preservation architect and manager in the NPS, Robbins has
worked at the park, regional-office, and headquarters levels, starting at
the Denver Service Office in 1976. Between 1994 and 1999 he was the
Executive Director of the National Center for Preservation Technology and
Training. Beginning in 1999, Robbins was the Assistant Director for
Cultural Resources. He was also manager of the National NAGPRA program,
chief of the Historic American Buildings Survey, and the chief appeals
officer for the Federal historic preservation tax incentives program.
Contact: Frank McManamon, [log in to unmask]
NPS Archeologist Douglas D. Scott retires
The NPS lost a distinguished archeologist when Douglas D. Scott retired on
January 3, 2006, after over thirty years of service to DOI bureaus. He was
the BLM Montrose, CO, District Archeologist from 1975 to 1983. In December
1983 Scott transferred to the NPS Midwest Archeological Center, as Chief,
Rocky Mountain Research Division until 1996, and was a senior staff
archeologist until 2005.
Scott is recognized internationally as a leader in battlefield archeology.
His research at the Little Bighorn, Big Hole, Bear Paw, Wilson's Creek, Pea
Ridge, and Monroe's Crossroads battlefields has gained him a worldwide
reputation. In 1984 and 1985, he directed innovative metal detecting
surveys and excavations at Little Bighorn Battlefield NM, where he
developed a forensic approach to the archeological investigation of scenes
of past human conflict. He has advised and assisted similar research at
other locations, including Fort Bowie NHS, Palo Alto Battlefield NHS,
Glorietta Battlefield, Pecos NHP, and other places. In 2000 he received
the NPS Cultural Resource Management 2000 Award for his work at the Sand
Creek Massacre site.
In the 1990s Scott was assigned to the Physicians for Human Rights
organization, where he applied archeological methods to the investigation
of war crime scenes in El Salvador, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia. In
1992 he received the Department of the Interior's Meritorious Service
Award, and the Department's Distinguished Service Award in 2002.
Scott’s professional service work has included president of the Colorado
Council of Professional Archaeologists and the Nebraska Association of
Professional Archeologists, and membership on the Board of Directors and
various committees of both the Society for Historical Archaeology and the
Plains Anthropological Society. He will assume the presidency of the
Society for Historical Archaeology in January 2006.
Contact: Frank McManamon, [log in to unmask]
AIA presents award to leaders in American archeological resource management
and protection
The Archaeological Institute of America presented its 2006 Conservation and
Heritage Management Award to three individuals whose careers have advanced
the investigation, interpretation, and protection of archeological sites,
collections, and records. The combined work of Hester A. Davis, William
Lipe, and Charles R. McGimsey has influenced archeological and cultural
resource management practices in the United States and beyond national
borders.
Hester A. Davis has worked tirelessly for the development and
implementation of volunteer archeology programs at local and national
levels. Her work has focused attention on the destruction of archeological
resources as part of publicly funded and/or permitted activities. William
Lipe developed a view of archeological sites as a non-renewable resource
not only to be investigated, but also preserved. After co-organizing the
first national Cultural Resource Management (CRM) meeting, he co-edited the
first detailed text on the theory, legal basis, method, and practice of
what has become CRM policy. Charles R. McGimsey led efforts to
professionalize archeology by creating and enforcing professional ethics
and standards. He directed efforts to expand federal responsibilities to
include archeological resources that are affected by federal construction
projects and those projects funded, permitted, or licensed by federal
agencies. His 1972 book, Public Archeology, was the first systematic
description and analysis of state and national archeological laws and
programs.
These three individuals have been articulate and vocal advocates for
protecting the archeological record, and have been instrumental in
continuing the work started one hundred years ago with the 1906 Antiquities
Act. Together, their work and publications have had a significant impact
upon archeological heritage management practices within the U.S. and
internationally.
Contact: Frank McManamon, [log in to unmask]
National Archeological Database Reports Module Update
The Archeology Program has updated the National Archeological Database,
Reports (NADB-R) module (www.cast.uark.edu/other/nps/nadb/nadb.mul.html.)
by correcting thousands of misspellings and standardized thousands of terms
in the database. As a result of this update, users can expect more
accurate and complete results when searching the database. NADB-R is a
publicly-accessible, national bibliographic database of over 350,000
records, and focuses on reports generated by archeological investigations
for public projects across the United States and its territories. A search
on NADB-R is a critical first step in archeological project planning, and
helps reduce redundancy and increase efficiency in cultural resource
management efforts. The National Park Service partners with the State
Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO) and the Center for Advanced Spatial
Technologies (CAST) at the University of Arkansas to provide the public
with access to NADB-R.
Contact Martha Graham, [log in to unmask]
DOA, Fort Hood, TX, hosting Archeological Damage Assessment training
The U.S. Army, Fort Hood Cultural Resource Program, will host an
Archeological Damage Assessment Class, March 20-24, 2006, at Fort Hood, TX.
This course provides training for archeologists who prepare archeological
damage assessments to provide assistance in archeological resource law
violations cases (ARPA and the uniform regulations) on federal and Indian
lands. Damage assessments are required for criminal prosecutions and civil
penalties under ARPA. These archeological damage assessment procedures also
can be used effectively in preparing cases involving violations of other
laws, such as state archeological protection statutes. The course will be
taught by Martin McAllister and Assistant US Attorney Wayne Dance. The
course is open to everyone, but military personnel are encouraged to
participate. The deadline for registering is February 24, 2006.
Contact: Cheryl Huckerby, Fort Hood Cultural Resource Manager and Class
Coordinator, [log in to unmask]
NPS sponsors Remote Sensing workshop
The NPS’s sixteenth annual archaeological prospection techniques workshop,
Current Archaeological Prospection Advances for Non-Destructive
Investigations in the 21st Century, will be held May 15-19, 2006, at Fort
Frederica NM, St. Simons Island, GA. This workshop series is dedicated to
the use of aerial photography, and geophysical and other remote sensing
methods to identify, evaluate, conserve, and protect archaeological
resources. In 2006, the workshop will focus on the theory of operation,
methodology, processing, interpretation, and on-hands use of field
equipment. Application forms are available at www.cr.nps.gov/mwac/.
Contact: Steven L. DeVore, [log in to unmask]
Federal Archeologists featured in National Geographic
Paul Rubenstein and Michael “Sonny” Trimble were featured in “Genocide and
the Science of Proof,” by Lew Simons, in National Geographic Magazine,
January 2006. Rubenstein and Trimble have been involved in a DOJ project to
assist the Iraqi government develop evidence for trials and tribunals by
locating, recovering and examining human remains from mass graves created
during the former Iraqi regime. Rubenstein, the deputy Federal
Preservation Officer for the COE, served as the director of operations of
the Iraq Mass Graves Team Forensic Analysis Facility at a secure military
installation near Baghdad. The facility received human remains for
examination and extended care from the team's archeological field group.
Trimble, the Director of the COE Curation Center of Expertise in St. Louis,
directed the team's archeological operations and serves as the Iraq Mass
Graves Program Director. The program is unique for its use of
archeological methods to locate, excavate, record and remove human remains
for examination.
Contact: Dr. Michael "Sonny" Trimble, [log in to unmask]
Projects in Parks: Site Excavation in Katmai NP&P, AK
Archeologists in Katmai National Park and Preserve recently completed an
excavation project on the Brooks River that has contributed information to
change interpretations about the prehistory of the region. The excavation,
which was initiated after visitors discovered human remains eroding out of
the river bank, was planned and carried out after consultation with the
Council of Katmai Descendants. Archeologists uncovered remains of a
multi-room house with a cold trap entrance that was dated to A.D.
1400-1650. Information about project results is available in Brooks River
Cutbank: An Archeological Data Recovery Project of the National Park
Service (2005), University of Oregon Anthropological Paper No. 64, and can
be purchased through the Department of Anthropology (1218 University of
Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403). A limited number of free copies are still
available at the Lake Clark Katmai Studies Center, 4230 University Dr.
Suite. 311, Anchorage, AK, 99508).
NPS employees can learn more about this project by going to the Archeology
E-Gram: Projects in Parks webpage on Inside NPS.
Contact: Barbara Bundy, [log in to unmask]
“Projects in Parks” is a feature of the Archeology E-Gram that serves to
inform others of interesting archeology-related projects in a national
park. To contribute project information, contact Karen Mudar,
[log in to unmask]
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 and new subscribers are accepted. Past issues of
the Archeology E-Gram are available on the Archeology E-Gram webpage,
accessed through the Archeology homepage, on InsideNPS. Contact Karen
Mudar, Archeology Program, NPS, at (202) 354-2103, [log in to unmask] to
contribute news items and to subscribe.
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