January 2008, Archeology E-Gram
Carving from First European Expedition in Utah Found at Glen Canyon NRA
An inscription from the Dominguez-Escalante expedition in 1776 has been
found on a on a sandstone
wall near Lake Powell in Glen Canyon NRA. The Spanish inscription "Pasa
Por Aqui" - meaning "pass by here" - followed by the year "1776" was
discovered near the Crossing of the Fathers on the Utah-Arizona state
line. Jim Page, who heads the Graffiti Removal and Intervention Team
(GRIT) that found the carving, said that the style of the letters and
scientific analyses, along with journals kept by the Catholic priest
Silvestre Velez de Escalante, make it nearly certain that someone in the
small band of early explorers chiseled the unsigned message.
The expedition, led by the priest Francisco Atanasio Dominguez, left
Santa Fe, on July 29, 1776, in search of a new overland route to a
mission in Monterey, CA. After the group made its way north through
Colorado, it turned west into Utah, crossing the Green River near
present-day Jensen. Near Lund, they decided to return to New Mexico,
arriving back in Santa Fe on January 2, 1777. "[Escalente’s] diary
pinpoints them being in the area November 6 or 7," Page said. "They were
impacted by a storm system on their way back to Santa Fe and were on the
verge of starvation.”
The inscription has been authenticated through study of its cursive
style and measurement of the amount of lead from the atmosphere
deposited on the carving. The carving, unfortunately, has been damaged
by later graffiti that reads "Rob and Kathi 1994" chiseled in the
outline of a heart. "It's a terrible thing," Page said. "I don't think
people understand the damage they have done."
Kevin Schneider, a spokesman for the NPS, said 3 million people a year
visit the park and, until recently, no one had recognized the
significance of the inscription. "It's a priceless piece of history,"
he said, "and should be protected." Schneider said the inscription is
in the process of being nominated for the National Register of Historic
Places. To protect the historical inscription from further vandalism,
its precise location will not be made public.
For more information about Glen Canyon NRA, go to
http://www.nps.gov/glca/
(From an article by Mark Havnes in The Salt Lake Tribune)
Jewel Cave NM Celebrates Centennial
On February 7, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt signed a proclamation
that established Jewel Cave NM under the authority of the 1906
Antiquities Act. The monument was established to protect the small, but
extraordinarily beautiful cave, which is known for the jewel-like
calcite crystals that line the cave walls.
Jewel Cave has the most extensive known collection of different types of
calcite crystals. The most abundant formations are called dogtooth spar
and nail-head spar. Helictites twist and turn as though they were
formed in a chamber without gravity. Another formation, called popcorn,
grows in small knobby clusters. Veins of calcite deposited in a
crisscross pattern are called boxwork. Frostwork, needle-like
formations of calcite or aragonite, is as delicate as blown glass. Some
formations are translucent, formed of pure calcite. Other crystals
contain additional minerals and appear yellow, red, or opaque white.
Individual crystals range in size from a grain of rice to a goose egg.
When Jewel Cave NM was proclaimed in 1908, less than half a mile of cave
had been discovered. Currently, Jewel Cave is the second longest cave
in the world, with a current length of over 141 miles. Exploration
continues to reveal the hidden miles of passages beneath the Black
Hills, South Dakota. Beginning in the 1950s, explorers Herb and Jan
Conn mapped over 62 miles of cave passages.
Jewel Cave NM will celebrate its centennial through a series of events,
programs, and exhibits that will highlight the theme "Generations of
Discovery.” The centennial celebration will formally begin on February
9, 2008, in the visitor center of the monument with a special program to
commemorate the anniversary. Honored guests and former cave explorers
Herb and Jan Conn will present a program on their 21 years of
exploration as they mapped over 60 miles of cave passages, beginning in
1959. The caving parties led by this husband-and-wife team made 708
trips into the cave and logged 6,000 hours of exploring and mapping. A
new generation of cavers has continued to push the known boundaries of
Jewel Cave, but the mystery of its magnitude remains. As the Conns once
said, “We are still just standing on the threshold.” Other special
guests will join the Conns for this celebration, which will kick off a
series of monthly programs focusing on a variety of topics related to
the past, present, and future of Jewel Cave.
For more information about Jewel Cave go to www.nps.gov/jeca/index.htm
(From contributions by Eric Peterson on www.howstuffworks.com/)
NPS Submerged Resources Center Receives Award
The NPS Submerged Resources Center received an Award of Merit from the
Society for Historical Archaeology during the Society's 2008 Conference
on Historical and Underwater Archaeology in Albuquerque, NM. It was
presented to the Center for its interdisciplinary approaches to
shipwreck studies and efforts to inventory and evaluate submerged
resources in the National Park System. The award was presented to
Daniel J. Lenihan, who directed the Center from its establishment until
his retirement, and Larry E. Murphy, the current director.
Created in 1980, the Center's core mission is to provide expertise to
managers of national parks with submerged lands and assist other
agencies with underwater heritage resource issues. Some of the parks
that have benefited from the Center's pioneering work include Apostle
Islands NL, Channel Islands NP, Dry Tortugas NP, Fort Sumter NM, Glacier
NP, Glen Canyon NRA, Golden Gate NRA, Isle Royale NP, Lake Mead NRA,
Pictured Rocks NL, Point Reyes NS, Statue of Liberty NM, USS Arizona
Memorial, and Yellowstone NP. Efforts for other agencies include
assessments for local governments in the Bikini and Kwajalein Atoll
Lagoons; and work with the U.S. Navy on H.L. Hunley, USS Housatonic, and
the Boca Chica Channel shipwreck near Key West, Florida.
Reports about these and other projects are posted on-line at
www.nps.gov/history/history/hisnps/submerged.htm.
Special NOAA Exhibition Highlights Shipwreck Exploration and Discovery
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) invites the
public to get that sinking feeling February 2-10, 2008, at Shipwrecks!,
a free exhibition about the fascinating world of shipwreck exploration
and discovery. This special event at NOAA’s Silver Spring, MD,
headquarters will feature shipwreck artifacts, robot subs, talks by
undersea explorers, and hands-on activities for kids of all ages.
Visitors will also be captivated by engaging exhibits about life aboard
ship, navigation, safety at sea, and more. The exhibition is open 11
a.m. to 4 p.m. daily (including weekends). Admission is free.
A series of public lectures will be held in association with the
exhibition, all beginning at noon:
Friday, February 1: Shipwrecks on the Alaska Frontier: Kad’yak and
Hassler
Frank Cantelas, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration
John Jensen, Sea Education Association
Learn about Alaska’s oldest shipwreck and a Coast Survey steamer that
had a second life as a Klondike gold rush passenger ship before it
mysteriously exploded and sank.
Monday, February 4: The Hunt for the USS Alligator: The U.S. Navy’s
First Sub
Jim Christley, Submarine History Enthusiast and Marine Artist
Join the search for the 140-year old Alligator. Last known location is
off the North Carolina coast. Learn the exciting history of this
mysterious vessel and the effort to find it.
Tuesday, February 5: World War II Shipwrecks in the Deep Waters of the
Gulf of Mexico
Robert Church, C&C Technology, Inc.
Dive into a recent effort by a diverse team of researchers to study the
wrecks of six ships that were sunk by German U-boats in the deep waters
of the Gulf of Mexico during World War II.
Wednesday, February 6: RMS Titanic: Exploring and Preserving a Maritime
Icon
Craig McLean, Deputy Assistant Administrator, NOAA Research
Ole Varmer, NOAA Attorney-Advisor
Get a first-hand account of NOAA’s 20-plus year involvement in one of
the most famous shipwrecks in history. This exciting talk will highlight
the exploration and history of the vessel and the laws related to the
wreck.
Thursday, February 7: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie: A Dive into a
Slave Ship’s Past
Michael H. Cottman, Senior Writer, BlackAmerica.com
Join Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cottman as he describes his
underwater odyssey to a sunken 17th century slave ship. Learn about the
ship’s role in his ancestors’ history, their story, and the
African-American scuba divers who helped explore the wreck. (Presented
in association with NOAA Chapter Blacks in Government.)
Friday, February 8: Explorations of the Airship USS Macon, the Last
Flying Aircraft Carrier
Chris Grech, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Bruce Terrell, NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program
Go deep off the California coast with researchers as they explore the
wreck of one the largest flying objects ever built.
NOAA’s Silver Spring Campus is located at 1301 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, near the Silver Spring Metro Station. Public parking is
available.
More information about the exhibit and the lectures is available at
www.preserveamerica.noaa.gov/heritageweek.html
New U.S. World Heritage Tentative List
On January 22, 2007, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced
14 new sites to be included on the U.S. World Heritage Tentative List.
The 14 properties can be considered for nomination by the United States
to the UNESCO World Heritage List for the next ten years. Currently
there are 20 World Heritage Sites in the United States already listed.
The UNESCO World Heritage List recognizes the world’s most significant
cultural and natural treasures. The preparation of a Tentative List is a
necessary first step in the process of nominating a site to the World
Heritage List, because a country cannot nominate a property unless it
has been on its Tentative List for a minimum of a year. Countries also
are limited to nominating no more than two sites in any given year.
World Heritage Sites are designated under the World Heritage Convention,
an international treaty for the preservation of natural and cultural
heritage sites of global significance. The United States was the
primary architect of the Convention, which was proposed by President
Richard M. Nixon in 1972, and was the first nation to ratify it. There
are 851 sites in 140 of the 184 signatory countries.
The U.S. Tentative List is scheduled to be formally submitted to the
UNESCO World Heritage Centre by February 1, 2008. There are three
archeological properties on the list:
Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, Ohio
Nine prehistoric sites containing more than 40 monumental ceremonial
earthworks in precise geometric shapes reflect the sophistication of
Ohio Hopewell culture 1,000-2,000 years ago. The sites are located
within three archeological preserves, one in each of three of the
principal northern tributary valleys of the Ohio River - the Little
Miami, the Scioto, and the Muskingum. The preserves are Fort Ancient
State Memorial, between Cincinnati and Dayton; the five sites in
Hopewell Culture NHP, an NPS unit near Chillicothe; and the Newark
Earthworks State Historic Site in Newark and Heath. These are among the
largest earthworks in the world that are not fortifications or defensive
structures, and they contain extensive deposits of finely crafted
artifacts. Their scale is imposing: the Great Pyramid of Cheops would
fit inside the Wright Earthworks; four structures the size of the
Coliseum of Rome would fit in the Octagon earthworks; and the circle of
monoliths at Stonehenge would fit into one of the small auxiliary
earthwork circles adjacent to the Octagon.
Poverty Point National Monument and State Historic Site, Louisiana
Poverty Point NM is located on a bayou near the west bank of the
Mississippi River. It is an integrated complex of three or four earthen
mounds, six enormous concentric semi-elliptical earthen ridges, a large
flat plaza, and several borrow areas constructed 1700 - 1100 years ago.
It was the largest and most elaborate earthworks of its time in North
America and was built by a foraging society of hunter-gatherers, which
makes it without parallel in world archeological and ethnographic
records. It may be the largest hunter-gatherer settlement that has
ever existed and its design was absolutely unique. How and why such a
society could have so totally transformed the landscape is still not
understood.
Serpent Mound, Ohio
Serpent Mound is the largest documented surviving example of a
prehistoric effigy mound in the world. It is part of the tradition of
effigy mound building among several American Indian cultures of eastern
North America. This sinuous earthen embankment more than 1200 feet long
includes an oval feature at one end that may be the serpent's eye, part
of its head, or a secondary object, such as an egg, grasped in its open
jaws. Indications are that Serpent Mound was built by the Fort Ancient
Culture about the year AD 1120. Serpent Mound also was aligned
astronomically to mark the passage of the seasons.
There is one Mixed Natural and Cultural Sites on the list:
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Hawaii
This 1,200-mile-long string of islands and adjacent waters extending
northwest from the island of Kauai represents the longest, clearest, and
oldest example of island formation and atoll evolution in the world.
Scattered in the deep ocean are some 10 small islands with reefs and
shoals. In this remote and still relatively pristine part of the
Pacific, marine life remains abundant and diverse, with a large number
of endemic species, and a wide array of threatened and endangered
species. Native Hawaiians reached these islands at least 1,000 years
before any other people and planted settlements on some of them, where
there are important archeological sites. The islands retain great
cultural and spiritual significance to Native Hawaiians. The islands
figured as well in the European exploration of the Pacific and in
Pacific whaling, communications, and early aviation. One of them,
Midway, became the focus of its namesake battle in June 1942--the
turning point of World War II in the Pacific. The monument is jointly
managed by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the State of Hawaii.
The World Heritage nomination criteria can be found on the NPS Office of
International Affairs (OIA) website http://www.nps.gov/oia.
General information about the Tentative List process is posted on the
OIA website at
http://www.nps.gov/oia/topics/worldheritage/tentativelist.htm.
The earlier NPS preliminary staff report, including summaries of
information on all 35 sites that were considered for the Tentative List,
is available at: http://www.nps.gov/oia/TLEssayFinal.pdf.
The original Applications submitted to the NPS for the candidate sites
can be found at
http://www.nps.gov/oia/NewWebpages/ApplicantsTentativeList.html.
Contractor Convicted in ARPA Case
While investigating an unrelated matter, law enforcement rangers at Mesa
Verde NP learned that an employee of Kirkland Construction, which had
been engaged in a park repaving project, had been collecting and
removing artifacts from locations near the construction site. Robert
Gee, a truck driver for Kirkland, had been seen with a bag full of pot
sherds and had been overheard talking about how he’d taken the sherds
and an artifact described as a “grinding stone” from the park. Based on
the description of the grinding stone, rangers believed that Gee had
taken a mano and metate.
A search warrant was issued by the federal magistrate’s office in
Durango and executed by park rangers with assistance from a BLM ranger,
a BLM special agent and Cortez County PD officers. A total of 252 items
were found and recovered, including pot sherds, flakes, paleontological
specimens, stone tools and a mano and metate. Cortez officers also
found and seized drug paraphernalia. Gee took the items from the park
over a month-long period. The day after the warrant was served, Gee
took rangers and a park archeologist to the location where he’d removed
the metate. The area was a known and previously surveyed archeological
site. On January 8, 2008, Gee pled guilty to ARPA charges and was
sentenced by the federal magistrate. He was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine
and $1,000 in restitution to the park, banned from entering all NPS
areas for three years, and required to write a letter to the local
newspaper explaining his crime and how it hurt the national parks and
describing the sentence he’d received.
Robert Wilson, Supervisory Archeologist, NPS SEAC, Retires
Robert C. “Bob” Wilson, Supervisory Archeologist at the NPS Southeast
Archeological Center (SEAC), retired on January 4, 2008, after 22 years
with the NPS and 3 years in the US Army. Bob began his NPS career as a
temporary employee at SEAC during the 1970s, working on several
projects, including an early survey at Cumberland Island National
Seashore in 1974-75. He was also the principal investigator on a large
survey project at Big South Fork NR&RA in 1978-79. After pursuing
graduate work in Anthropology at the University of Florida, Bob joined
SEAC in 1985 to oversee the archeological site data program. He served
on several service-wide committees that led to the development of the
current NPS archeological inventory and management program, ASMIS. In
1988, he conducted testing and evaluation of the French Warehouse Site,
an important early colonial French site, on Ship Island, Mississippi.
In 1994, Bob was promoted to Associate Director for Archeological
Collections and Information Management and assumed responsibility for
the SEAC collection management program. He held this position until his
retirement. As Associate Director, he directed significant improvements
to the storage and management of SEAC’s collections, wrote chapters in
more than ten park Museum Collection Management Plans, established NPS
SERO standards for cataloging artifacts, helped guide SEAC through a
Competitive Sourcing (A-76) review, oversaw significant portions of
recovery work for museum collections damaged by Hurricanes Ivan and
Katrina, and provided numerous other types of collections assistance to
parks in the Southeast and Northeast. He was often able to assist parks
with work that needed to be completed on short deadlines and to high
standards.
Bob’s friends and colleagues wish him the best in his retirement.
Allen Bohnert, Chief, Museum Services, Southeast Region, Retires
Allen Bohnert, who started out his NPS career as the Museum Curator at
Mesa Verde NP in 1979, retired from the NPS on January 4, 2008. He also
served as both the NPS Southeast and Southwest Region’s coordinator for
implementing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
(NAGPRA). Allen also participated in the development of the museum
management program for the Tuskegee Airmen NHS. He was the lead of the
archeology sub-group to develop significance criteria for NPS museum
collections.
Allen has held a National Endowment for the Arts internship at Carnegie
Museum of Natural History, and holds a Master of Arts degree in Museum
Science from Texas Tech University.
Allen’s friends and colleagues wish him all the best in his retirement.
Fort Vancouver NHS Celebrates 60 Years with Calendar
Fort Vancouver NHS is celebrating 60 years as a national park with a
handsome calendar! In honor of the occasion, twelve objects have been
chosen for the calendar from the two million artifacts in the Fort
Vancouver collections. These artifacts represent the Native American,
fur trade, and military periods at the fort. Smaller, inset,
photographs provide additional details and context for appreciation of
the larger images.
Additional information about the objects is available in online versions
of catalog records and artifact studies. You can even take a tour and
view the actual artifacts!
To take a tour, read more about the collections, or purchase a calendar,
go to www.nps.gov/fova/.
NPS Searches for Lincoln’s Boyhood Home
NPS archaeologists from the Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC) used
shovels, sifters and magnetometers to search for artifacts of Lincoln's
boyhood and the footprint of the tiny cabin where the nation's 16th
president lived from ages 2 to 7. The house site was thought to be in
the NPS unit at Knob Creek, KY, where the park is planning to expand
visitor facilities.
The prospects of digging for Lincoln artifacts drew many volunteers like
Doug Bennett, who lives near Hodgenville, KY. Enthusiasm was high,
because finding the Lincoln cabin would have been a big deal, especially
on the eve of his bicentennial birthday celebration. The field, where
the Lincolns once farmed, was dotted with piles of dirt as NPS
archeologists and volunteers conducted test excavations. Development
during the last century, however, likely obliterated any trace of
Abraham Lincoln's boyhood at his Knob Creek home, since very few
material remains from the 19th century were recovered. The construction
of the nearby highway, or of a tavern, to be renovated by the NPS, may
have destroyed the small cabin.
The excavations were a prelude to Kentucky’s kickoff of a sprawling,
two-year national Lincoln bicentennial. Kentucky will play a pivotal
role in that celebration, officials say. The inaugural event happens on
February 12 when President Bush has been invited to deliver the keynote
address at a ceremony at Lincoln's birthplace in Hodgenville. A day
earlier, Louisville will be host to a gala at the
Kentucky Center, with music, displays, and an appearance by TV actor Sam
Waterston as Lincoln.
For more information about Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHS,
www.nps.gov/abli/.
(From story by Chris Kenning, Louisville Courier Journal; John Friedlein
News-Enterprise (Elizabethtown, KY))
Projects in Parks: Projects in Parks is taking a break during the month
of January, and will return in February.
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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