February 2006
NPS Relocates Staff at Boott Mills
Due to emerging structural issues at Boott Mills, Lowell NHP, NPS Northeast
Region archeological staff based in that building have been moved to the
Counting House, located immediately adjacent to the mill. Work is now
underway to stabilize and repair the structure; the repair is estimated to
take several weeks. Staff can be reached via their cell phones and email
addresses. Messages can also be left on their normal phone numbers.
Contact: Allen Cooper, [log in to unmask]
More parks featured on the Archeology Program website
Profiles of Chaco Culture NHP and Olympic NP are the most recent additions
to the Antiquities Act Centennial webpage. In 1907, citing the newly
enacted Antiquities Act legislation, President Theodore Roosevelt preserved
Chaco Canyon’s expansive pueblo ruins and irreplaceable artifacts for
future generations. President Roosevelt also established Olympic NP, then
known as Mount Olympus, in 1910. Originally preserved to protect a large
herd of rain forest elk found only in the Northwest, the park’s pristine
forests, rugged coastal cliffs and steep river valleys are home to at least
9 endemic species of plants and 16 endemic species of animals. Olympic NP
also includes a wide range of significant archeological sites, including
high-altitude ancient sites that are the subject of current research by NPS
archeologists (see Projects in Parks on InsideNPS
<inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=279&id=3670&lv=3&pgid=1356> for
more about this research). Profiles of other national monuments and parks
can be found on the Antiquities Act Centennial pages at
www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/sites/antiquities/index.htm/
Contact Barbara Little, [log in to unmask]
New Archeological Technical Brief on Archeology Program website
The latest addition to the Archeology Program website technical brief
series is “Archeological Collections and the Public: using resources for
the public benefit” by Teresa S. Moyer. Moyer uses a case study approach
to highlight benefits to the public, identified by the managers of
collections repositories, of maintaining archeological collections. This
and other archeological technical briefs are on the Archeology Program
website at www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/pubs/techBr/.
Contact: Barbara Little, [log in to unmask]
NPS Relocates Staff at Boott Mills
Due to emerging structural issues at Boott Mills, Lowell NHP, NPS Northeast
Region archeological staff based in that building have been moved to the
Counting House, located immediately adjacent to the mill. Work is now
underway to stabilize and repair the structure; the repair is estimated to
take several weeks. Staff can be reached via their cell phones and email
addresses. Messages can also be left on their normal phone numbers.
Contact: Allen Cooper, [log in to unmask]
NPS hosting Archeological Damage Assessment training
The NPS, BLM, NM Historic Preservation Division and Museum of Indian Arts
and Culture will host an Archeological Damage Assessment Class, April 3-7,
2006, in Santa Fe, NM. This course provides training for archeologists who
prepare archeological damage assessments in archeological resource law
violations cases. 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
March 3, 2006.
Contact: Phil Young, Class Coordinator, [log in to unmask]
NPS hosting Archeological Law Enforcement Training as SAA
San Juan NHS, Christiansted NHS, and NPS Southeast Archeological Center are
sponsoring Introduction to Archeological Law Enforcement at the Society for
American Archaeology annual meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The class
will be held April 25-26, 2006, in the Troop Quarters room at Fort San
Cristobal, San Juan NHS. Introduction to Archaeological Law Enforcement
provides a basic introduction to dealing with archaeological resource crime
using the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 and other legal,
investigative and prevention tools. The instructors for this class are
Wayne Dance and Martin McAllister. There is no tuition fee or class
registration form, but participants should contact a class coordinator by
April 1, 2006, to reserve a space.
Contact: NPS George Smith [log in to unmask]); ARI Archaeologist
Martin McAllister, [log in to unmask])
National Trust and ACHP announces nominations for Federal Partnership Award
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the National Trust for
Historic Preservation announce the call for nominations for the 2006
National Trust/ACHP Award for Federal Partnerships in Historic
Preservation. The joint award honors outstanding Federal partnerships that
have achieved exemplary preservation of historic resources. Partners may
include Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, not-for-profit
organizations, individuals, businesses, State and local governments, and
other non-Federal persons or organizations. Nominated projects or programs
can include one or more non-Federal partners and more than one Federal
agency. This national awards program provides an opportunity for you to
showcase an agency’s commitment to a preservation ethic and gain public
awareness of its accomplishments. The award brochure and nomination form
are available at www.nationaltrust.org/preservation_awards. The deadline
for nominations is March 1, 2006.
Contact: Awards Coodinator, [log in to unmask]
Coordination Meeting for Archeological Sites in Grand Canyon NP
A meeting to coordinate monitoring and treatment of archeological sites in
Grand Canyon NP that are affected by the operations of the Glen Canyon Dam
was held in Phoenix, AZ, on January 23 and 24. NPS archeologists and
resource managers from GRCA and GLCA, the Bureau of Reclamation (which is
responsible for the effects of dam operations), and the USGS (which
provides scientific research data for the area) participated. NPS Chief
Archeologist Frank McManamon and Reclamation Chief Archeologist Tom Lincoln
attended, at the request of the participants, to provide a national
perspective on the issues of archeological site monitoring and treatment.
The participants reviewed and updated existing plans for the coordination
of activities and for the development of a common approach to site
monitoring and the development of site treatment plans..
Contact: FP McManamon, [log in to unmask]
NPS MWAC Archeologist Tom Thiessen retires
After working at the NPS Midwest Archeological Center in one capacity or
another almost continuously since 1969 when he was a crew member at the
Bendish and Fort Rice sites in North Dakota, Thomas D. Thiessen retired
earlier this month. Tom also served as a VIP in 1972, participating in
archeological inventories at the Oahe Reservoir, ND. Later that year, he
was hired as a staff archeologist and in 1975 he was reassigned to the
Denver Interagency Archeological Services Program in the former Rocky
Mountain Region. Tom also worked as an interpretive ranger at Knife River
Indian Villages NHS in 1976, and returned to MWAC in 1977 where he
remained until his retirement. For the past 10 years, Tom has served as
Park Archeology program manager, overseeing all Center archeology in the
Midwest Region parks. At one time or another, he oversaw virtually all
aspects of the Center's operation.
Tom received his M.A. in Anthropology in 1976 from the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln; his Masters Thesis title is Middle Missouri Tradition
Occupational Sequences for the Cannonball and Knife-Heart Regions. He is a
well-respected historian and ethnohistorian, with deep and abiding
interests in an amazingly broad range of subjects. Among these are: the
early fur trade on the American and Canadian Plains and Great Lakes, the
Indian Wars on the American northern and central plains, the Spanish
American War (particularly the Philippine Insurrection), World War I,
German and Russian Imperial histories, the Boer War, and (as his last name
might suggest) Iceland and the Vikings.
Tom served tirelessly compiling information and preparing archeological and
historical summaries of the Blood Run site and Loess Hills as part of
studies examining their eligibility to become part of the national park
system. Over the course of his career, Tom prepared 75 reports for the
Center, either as sole author or as co-author. His publications include
Early Fur Trade on the Northern Plains: Canadian Traders Among the Mandan
and Hidatsa Indians, 1738-1818 (with Raymond W. Wood); People of the
Willows: The Prehistory and Early History of the Hidatsa Indians (with
Stanley Ahler and Michael Trimble); and Emergency Archeology in the
Missouri River Basin: The Role of the Missouri Basin Project and the
Midwest Archeological Center in the Interagency Archeological Salvage
Program, 1946-1975.
Tom’s friends and colleagues wish him all the best in his retirement.
Projects in Parks: New Mexico SiteWatch assists NPS to care for
archeological sites
In 2002, the NM SHPO initiated an archeological site stewardship program
with a pilot chapter that monitored archeological sites in Gila NF. Since
then, SiteWatch has established new chapters and provided stewardship
training across the state. SiteWatch coordinator Phil Young estimates that
more than 200 volunteers will be trained and registered with a federal
agency to monitor archeological sites by the end of 2006. Nationally, site
stewards help federal agencies to protect, preserve, and document
archeological sites on public and private lands, and are important partners
in the fight against looting and vandalism.
NPS employees who can access the NPS intranet can learn more about
SiteWatch and about site stewardship programs by going to Projects in Parks
<http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=279&id=3670> on
InsideNPS.
“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. Past features are available on the Projects in Parks webpage,
accessed through the Archeology homepage, on InsideNPS. 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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