January 2009 Archeology E-Gram

Civil War Soldier's Remains Discovered
In December 2008, park staff at Antietam NB and NPS National Capital Region
archeologists excavated a recently discovered grave that held the remains
of a Union soldier.

A visitor to the park gathered bones that had been disturbed by a burrowing
animal and notified park personnel of the find and the location of the
grave.


Based on excavation findings, it appears that the remains are those of a
man 18 to 21 years old. He was likely from a New York regiment. The remains
have been sent to the Smithsonian Institute for further analysis.
Eventually, the soldier will be reinterred either in the National Cemetery
at the Antietam National Battlefield or at a location appropriate to family
or military associations, insofar as either can be determined.



NCPTT Grant for Aerial Thermal Infrared Research Yields Results
Christopher Fennell, University of Illinois, recently concluded research on
the utility of aerial thermal infrared methodology to identify structural
features at historic period archeological sites.  Fennell's work was funded
by a 2007 grant from the National Center for Preservation Technology and
Training (NCPTT). Working at the 19th century town of New Philadelphia, the
first town platted and legally registered by an African American in the
United States, Fennell partnered with Bryan Haley, University of
Mississippi, and Tommy Hailey, Northwestern State University of Louisiana,
to collect and process survey data utilizing a powered parachute ultralight
aircraft and a high resolution thermal camera.  Haley and Hailey pioneered
this survey technique, in part using a prior NCPTT grant.

The aerial thermal data sets were geo-referenced and integrated using
geographic information systems software, and relatively hot and cold
thermal anomalies were then examined in relation to the 1836 town plan and
other comparative data. Many of the anomalies appear to correlate with the
known locations of buried residential foundations. Time Team America has
investigated one of the anomalies through excavation in partnership with
Fennell and Haley, and Fennell plans to systematically test other anomalies
using a soil corer in his upcoming field schools funded by NSF and the
University of Illinois. Fennell suggests that the aerial thermal infrared
technique holds promise for detecting buried structural foundations, but
less substantial elements of the town infrastructure, such as buried gravel
or earthen roads, were better detected using terrestrially-based methods of
geophysics.

Fennell's grant report will soon be available on the NCPTT website
www.ncptt.nps.gov/.
Haley's report is available at www.anthro.uiuc.edu/faculty/cfennell/NP/
Fennell's full excavation report is available at
www.anthro.uiuc.edu/faculty/cfennell/NP/.
Contact: David W. Morgan, 318-356-7444

Program Director needed for Archaeological and Historic Preservation
Program, National Training Institute for the Preservation of Iraqi Cultural
Heritage
The Cultural Heritage Project (CHP) in Iraq, a State Department Program,
being implemented by International Relief and Development (IRD), is
designed to focus US and international resources and expertise on
rebuilding the professional capabilities of Iraq’s museum, heritage and
archaeology organizations for conservation, preservation and management.
This is a two-year project funded by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and
administered by IRD. One of the program areas is the establishment of a new
conservation and historic preservation Institute in Erbil, Kurdistan, to
serve preservation and training needs throughout Iraq. IRD is advertising
for the position of Program Director to be stationed in Erbil to lead the
Archaeological and Historic Preservation Program at the newly established
National Training Institute for the Preservation of Iraqi Cultural
Heritage. For more information and to apply, please read the complete
position description on-line through the “Careers” section of the IRD
website at www.ird.org.

George Wright Society Biannual Conference
Every two years, the George Wright society organizes and is the primary
sponsor of the U.S.’s premier interdisciplinary conference on parks,
protected areas, and cultural sites. This year, the conference, “Rethinking
Protected Areas in a Changing World,” will be held March 2-6 in Portland,
OR.

More information is available at www.georgewright.org/gws2009.html

Man Sentenced in ARPA Case
In early 2003, a joint investigation begun by the NPS, FBI, BIA, BATF,
USFWS and Colville Confederated Tribes revealed that Kenneth Milette, 68,
of Newport, Washington, possessed archeological resources taken from
Glacier NP, Lake Roosevelt NRA, Bighorn Battlefield NM, and the Spokane,
Coeur d’Alene, and Nez Perce Indian Reservations. Additionally, Milette
possessed prehistoric Native American human remains and a variety of
prohibited wildlife, including a fully mounted golden eagle. In the fall of
2003, Milette agreed to sell his collection of nearly 1,500 artifacts to an
undercover NPS agent for $750,000. Milette also agreed to sell items whose
possession violated NAGPRA, the Lacey Act, the Eagle Act, and Migratory
Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). A buy/bust operation followed by the service of
search warrants was completed in November 2003. A damage assessment valued
the Federal and tribal archeological resources at $58,500.

Milette was indicted by a grand jury in September 2008, on four felonies
(two ARPA counts and one count each for MBTA and Lacey Act violations) and
two misdemeanors (NAGPRA and Eagle Act). In October 2008, Milette pled
guilty to two felony ARPA counts, a NAGPRA count and a felony MBTA count.
He was sentenced in December to three years of probation and six months of
home confinement with electronic monitoring, ordered to pay over $17,000 in
restitution and other costs, and directed to pay for three anti-looting ads
in regional newspapers. The artifacts and human remains will be returned to
their appropriate parks and tribes.

Paul Hartwig Retires
Paul Hartwig, NPS Southeast Region Associate Regional Director for
Stewardship and Science, retired on January 3, bringing his 29 years of NPS
service and 36 years of government service to a close. Throughout his
career in the NPS Southeast Region, Hartwig worked closely with NPS
archeologists. At various times, he supervised the Southeast Archeological
Center.


Born and raised in Montana, Hartwig received a BA in history from Linfield
College, McMinnville, Oregon, and an MA in history from the University of
Montana, Missoula. He was the historical program coordinator (Deputy SHPO)
for Oregon State Parks from 1972 to 1977, and served as director of the
Division of Archeology and History (as governor’s appointee and SHPO) for
the state of Louisiana from 1977 to 1979.


Hartwig joined the NPS in 1980 as the Assistant Regional Director for
Cultural Programs for the Heritage, Conservation, and Recreation Services’
Southeast Region. He became the Deputy associate Regional Director for
Cultural Resources for Southeast Region in 1981 and served in that position
until 1994, when he took over the desk office for Southeast Region’s Gulf
Coast Cluster.


In 1995, Hartwig became the superintendent of the Gulf Coast Cluster System
Support Office and was assigned as the Caribbean liaison officer in San
Juan, Puerto Rico, from 1996 to 1997. He served as superintendent of San
Juan National Historic Site from 1997 to 2002.


In 2002, Hartwig was selected as Associate Regional Director for Resource
Stewardship and Science for Southeast Region and served in that position
until his retirement. He had a brief stint as acting superintendent at Jean
Lafitte NHP from January to June of 2004.

Hartwig and his wife, Annie, plan to stay in the Atlanta area, so they can
be close to their daughter, Ana-Maria, a first lieutenant with the U.S.
Army’s 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

ARPA Violator Pardoned by Bush
David Lane Woolsey, convicted in 1992 of digging up Native American
artifacts on Federal land was pardoned by President George W. Bush. Woolsey
was convicted of an aiding and abetting violation of ARPA was and sentenced
to three years probation and 100 hours of community service. Woolsey wanted
the pardon so he could get his gun rights back and go hunting with his son.
A Federal felony conviction strips a person of his or her right to possess
a weapon or to vote. Unless granted clemency from the president, a Federal
felony conviction stays with a person his or her entire life. Woolsey
sought the pardon about 2 1/2 years ago, filling out an application for
clemency on the Internet.


Woolsey and co-defendant Jimmy G. Barney were seen by hikers in 1991,
digging in an ancient Indian ruin at Boulder Creek near Escalante. Both men
ultimately pleaded guilty. Federal prosecutors sought to send a
"significant message" about a trend of archeological site vandalisms. The
prosecutions came at a time when authorities were cracking down on
archeological thefts, Woolsey's former attorney, Ed Brass, said. The
penalty could have been two years in prison, but U.S. District Court Judge
Thomas Greene settled on probation and community service.

Projects in Parks: Documenting Tipi Rings along the Bad Pass Trail, Bighorn
Canyon NRA
Students and researchers involved in research on the historical and social
landscapes of the Greater Yellowstone watershed ecosystem have identified
over 1,000 tipi rings in Bighorn Canyon NRA. Most are located along Bad
Pass Trail that linked the Bighorn Mountains to the plains. The project is
mapping the rings, conducting limited excavations, and dating a select
number. The oldest ring discovered so far is over 2,500 years old. (The
full report will be available on the NPS Archeology Program website
Research in the Parks web pages.)

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.
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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.

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