February 2007, Archeology E-Gram
Projects on Assateague Island and Cape Krusenstern Highlighted
The NPS Archaeology Program has added two new web pages describing
archeological projects that have taken place in national parks. Each of
these is adapted from an Archeology E-gram Projects in Parks story. The
loan agreement between Spain and the park for artifacts from Spanish
shipwreck sites at Assateague Island National Seashore in Virginia is
described here:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/sites/npSites/assateague.htm
The survey and inventory of the Cape Krusenstern beach ridge
archeological complex at Cape Krusenstern National Monument in Alaska is
described here:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/sites/npSites/capeKrusenstern.htm
New Technical Brief on Archeological Damage Assessment
“Archeological Resource Damage Assessment: Legal Basis and Methods,” by
Martin E. McAllister, is now online on the Archeology Program website as
Technical Brief #20:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/pubs/techBr/tch20.htm. This technical
brief describes and explains the archeological resource damage
assessment process, including the legal basis and procedures for field
damage assessment, value and cost determinations, and report
preparation. Archeologists involved in ARPA investigations must fully
understand the archeological resource damage assessment process and how
to carry it out correctly because the credibility of such damage
assessments directly affects the outcome of these cases and the criminal
or civil penalties imposed.
The Archeology Program Technical Briefs series consist of short reports
that address technical, methodological, and substantive issues in public
archeology and ethnography. For a complete list of technical briefs, go
to http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/PUBS/TECHBR/index.htm
NPS Archeologist Receives Award
NPS Archeologist Thomas C. Windes was awarded the Byron S. Cummings
award for 2006 by the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society.
The Cummings award is given annually for outstanding research and
contributions to knowledge in Southwestern anthropology. Tom is
recognized as a leading scholar in Chaco culture, both in Chaco Canyon
and beyond. A long-time employee of the NPS, he has been an author or
co-author of more than 65 publications and reports.
As part of his interest in chronology, Tom has collected hundreds of
samples and helped to refine the Southwest Master curve. This work has
resulted in the preservation of thousands of tree ring records, and the
derivation of thousands of dates that have revolutionized the
archeological chronologies of many areas. Among the many significant
outcomes of this research are refined internal chronologies for sites in
Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, Natural Bridges, and elsewhere; the
demonstration that construction of Pueblo Bonito began half a century
earlier than previously thought; the characterization of Chacoan
wood-use; the detailed chronology of Spanish and Anglo occupations in
the middle Pecos Valley; the dating of Colonial and more recent
structures in the Rio Grande Valley; and many others.
AIA Recognizes Contributions by Patty Jo Watson
The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) has awarded Patty Jo
Watson the Pomerance Award for Scientific Contributions to Archaeology
for her interdisciplinary research in paleoethnobotany and
ethnoarcheology. Watson’s work with paleoethnobotany has been conducted
in both Salts Cave, KY, and in the Middle East. Her work in Salts Cave
has changed the manner in which eastern North America is studied, and
has set a high standard for research in both the New and the Old World.
One of the most significant contributions is the refinement and
application of flotation technology to the recovery of ancient seeds and
small bones. Watson has published many influential works, including
Archaeological Ethnography in Western Iran, and Explanation in
Archeology: An Explicitly Scientific Approach. Her service to
professional archeology includes work with the American Anthropological
Association, the Society for American Archeology, the National Academy
of Science, and the Archaeological Institute of America.
New Colonial NHP Historic Jamestowne Visitor Center Opens
As part of the quadricentennial celebrations, the new Historic
Jamestowne Visitor Center opened its doors on January 2, 2007. The
18,000-square-foot facility provides a variety of orientation services,
including museum exhibits, audio-visual programs, and personal
interpretive services. Interactive museum exhibits tell the story of
Jamestowne’s 92 years as capital of Virginia. The exhibits within the
center are intelligently assembled and offer a compelling personal face
to the diverse peoples who occupied the land during Jamestown's early
days and its 92-year tenure as the first capital of Virginia.
However, of major appeal is a multimedia show entitled "Jamestowne:
America's Birthplace,” shown in a circular theater holding 160 seats
offering expansive, 180-degree vistas. In the audio-visual “immersion”
experience, nine computers control more than 3,000 images as a
multi-media overview of Jamestowne’s rich history and personalities. It
is a wonderfully designed presentation that cleverly blends limited
video, still shots, graphics, visual and auditory effects, music, and
animation-type movement. For the hearing impaired, the program offers
subtitles of the narration and even sound effects and musical style.
The program openly approaches the subject of the initial negative impact
the Englishmen from the Virginia Company had on the Powhatan chiefdom
and the fact that ancestral Native Americans occupied these lands for
more than 10,000 years before the settlers landed. It openly addresses
the role colonists played in establishing a slave state society.
Despite this, the Jamestowne colonists also gave the future nation
positive legacies. Primary among them was the establishment of
representative government in 1619.
A new, elevated footbridge leads from the new visitor center to the
historic town site, providing a panoramic view of Jamestowne. From the
bridge’s terminus at the Jamestowne Tercentenary Monument, visitors may
visit the Jamestowne Rediscovery archeological excavations or take a
stroll through New Towne, site of the Jamestowne's post-fort population
center from the 1620s to 1699, when the capital moved to Williamsburg.
For more information about Jamestowne, go to
http://www.nps.gov/jame/index.htm.
David Barna and Virginia Gazette writer John Shulson contributed to this
news item.
DOI to provide training in Managing Museum Property
The Interior Museum Program, Department of the Interior (DOI), is
sponsoring Managing Museum Property, a five day (36 hour) course
providing training in the fundamentals of managing museum property. The
training targets Federal property managers, interpreters, historians,
archeologists, natural history specialists, and other resource
specialists with museum responsibilities, as well as staff in
repositories that manage Federal collections. Topics to be covered
include:
· An overview of the DOI Museum Program
· How Museum Collections Support DOI and Bureau Missions
· Identifying Museum Property
· Managing Archive Collections
· Guidance on Reporting Requirements
· Scope of Collections Statements
· Museum Documentation (Accessioning, Cataloging, Loans, Inventory,
Insurance, and Deaccessioning)
· Museum Collection Preservation (Environmental Factors, Monitoring
and Controls, Integrated Pest Management, Handling Museum Objects)
· Exhibiting and Storing Museum Property
· Museum Protection (Fire Protection, Security, and Emergency
Management)
The class will be held April 2-6, 2007 at the National Park Service's
Western Archeological and Conservation Center in Tucson, AZ. There is
no tuition for this training event. Additional information and an
application can be found at the Interior Museum Program website at
www.doi.gov/museum/managing.html
Contact: Ronald C. Wilson, [log in to unmask]
NPS Announces Ocean Park Stewardship Action Plan
The NPS has announced the release of the Ocean Park Stewardship Action
Plan, a comprehensive plan for restoring and maintaining ocean resources
in the National Park System for current and future generations.
Supported by President Bush’s U.S. Ocean Action Plan and the Department
of the Interior, the Ocean Park Stewardship Action Plan was drafted with
input from the NPS National Leadership Council, park superintendents and
various partners. The plan will focus the organizational and scientific
capacity of the NPS on conserving marine, estuarine, and Great Lakes
resources in collaboration with state and federal agencies and park
stakeholders.
“This comprehensive program represents our commitment to restore and
maintain productive fisheries, habitats, and wildlife in the ocean
parks, and ensure the recreational opportunities they afford to hundreds
of communities and millions of visitors” said Mary Bomar, Director of
the NPS. “I am pleased that the Ocean Park Plan highlights
collaborations with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and private partners, including our recent agreement for a seamless
network of ocean parks, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries, and
estuarine reserves.”
The National Park System contains more than 5,100 miles of beaches;
coral reefs; kelp forests; wetlands; historic shipwrecks and forts; and
other coastal archeological sites. These jewels of the coastal zone
attract over 75 million visitors every year. These parks play a
critical role in conserving the nation’s maritime and Great Lakes
heritage. In 74 parks, spanning 25 coastal states and U.S. territories,
people come to camp, fish, snorkel, scuba dive, boat, and watch
wildlife.
To read and learn more about the Ocean Park Stewardship Strategy and
coastal and oceanic parks in the National Park System, visit the Above
and Below the Waves: Coastal and Oceanic Treasures in the National Park
System website at http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/oceans/conserve.htm.
NPS Archeologist Rob Hommon Retires
Robert J. “Rob” Hommon, archeologist in the Pacific West Region, retired
in September 2005 after 22 years of federal service, 12 of those years
with the NPS.
Rob earned a Ph.D. in archeology from the University of Arizona in 1976.
In 1983 he began working for the Navy in the Pacific as an archeologist.
He was extensively involved in a number of projects, including the
archeological inventory of Kaho’olawe. In 1993, Rob joined the NPS in
the Pacific Area Office in Honolulu as the Pacific Area Archeologist.
In this capacity, he provided oversight for a variety of cultural
resources programs, handled compliance and consultation issues, field
assessments, monitoring and archeological survey projects, and served as
a science advisor for cultural resources in the Pacific West Region.
Rob has written and published extensively on complex Pacific societies,
with a special emphasis on Hawaiian societies. Among his many
accomplishments he completed an ethnographic history of Ka’awaloa.
Rob retired to Pacific Grove, CA, and is currently working on a book for
the NPS about the cultural resources of the state, county, and national
parks throughout Hawaii and the Pacific. His many friends and
colleagues wish him well in his retirement, and look forward to reading
his book.
Projects in Parks: The Middle Ford Ferry Tavern Project, Monocacy NB
In 2003, NPS archeologists began a multi-year archeological study of the
Thomas Farm, located within the boundaries of Monocacy NB, between
Frederick, MD, and Washington, DC. One of the most important results of
the Thomas Farm study, however, relates to the farm’s pre-Civil War
history – the discovery of the Middle Ford ferry and tavern site, both
of which were in operation by the middle part of the eighteenth century
on an important route through Frederick County.
The results of both archeological and historic research at the site
provide insight into the earliest settlement and occupation of Frederick
County and the surrounding region, chronicling over 80 years of
expansion and transformation. The vital trade and transportation routes
transformed Frederick County into a gateway to the west, facilitated the
growth of population and industry, and spurred the development of roads,
bridges, and thoroughfares that remain in use even today. This research
project provides the NPS with a unique opportunity to interpret the
Battle of Monocacy within a broader context: the development of Colonial
transportation and trade routes which made the Monocacy region of
strategic importance to both North and South during the Civil War.
NPS employees who can access the NPS intranet can learn more about this
project by going to Projects in Parks <
http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=279&id=3670> on
InsideNPS.
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. Past issues of the Archeology
E-Gram are available on the Archeology E-Gram webpage
http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=279&id=3867 on
InsideNPS; and on the What’s New page
http://www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/NEW.HTM on the Archeology Program
website.
Projects in Parks is a feature of the Archeology E-Gram that informs
others about archeology-related projects in a national park.
Prospective authors should review information about submitting
photographs on the Projects in Parks webpage. The full reports are
available on the Projects in Parks webpage
http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=279&id=3670 on
InsideNPS; and through individual issues of the Archeology E-Gram on the
Archeology Program website.
Contact Karen Mudar, Archeology Program, NPS, (202) 354-2103,
[log in to unmask] to contribute news items, stories for “Projects in
Parks,” and to subscribe.
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