June 2008 Archeology E-Gram
16th Century Artifacts Uncovered at Fort Raleigh NHS
An archeological excavation undertaken to answer some of the many questions
regarding the mystery of the Lost Colony underway at Fort Raleigh NHS,
North Carolina, has turned up a number of important discoveries, including
copper plates and 16th century English artifacts.
In 2006, the Southeast Archeological Center conducted a ground penetrating
radar (GPR) survey in three areas of the park. NPS archeologists determined
that two rectangular- shaped anomalies warranted additional field
exploration. Archeologists used radar tomography technology to provide an
accurate picture of what was buried beneath the surface. (For more
information about the GPR survey, see the February 2008 Archeology E-Gram).
A team of archeologists and geophysicists began work at the sites earlier
this year. At one of the sites, they uncovered 14 copper plates and some
16th century English artifacts. The copper squares were pierced at opposite
corners and were lying edge-to-edge in the ground, indicating that they had
been strung together like a necklace. The other artifacts included an
English tobacco pipe bowl, a gray flint (a probable gunspall), a small lead
ball, Spanish olive jar sherds, one crucible sherd, and three delftware
glazed ceramic sherds.
The second small rectangular-cut pit contained 17 white and 1 blue glass
Venetian glass beads of a type that English colonists brought to America to
trade. Other finds included 16th-century type Native American and European
potsherds, nails, part of an iron knife, and a Native American red clay
tobacco pipe.
Results of the recent research question whether the newly discovered
artifacts were deposited by the Indians or the English colonists. Between
1585 and 1587, English colonists established a settlement on Roanoke
Island. The settlement was abandoned and the colony members disappeared
after three years elapsed without supplies from England, leading to the
continuing mystery of their subsequent history.
Federal Chief Archeologists Meet
The Federal Chief Archeologists met on June 18, 2008, at the National Park
Service. Frank McManamon, NPS; Jeff Altschul, SRI Foundation; Keith
Kintigh, Arizona State U., led a discussion focused on preservation,
access, and use of public archeological information, through development of
digital networks. Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Altschul,
Kintigh, and several others are working to develop a plan for a digital
information infrastructure, with a strong focus on CRM, gray literature
documents, and databases created as a part of archaeological research.
Barbara Little, NPS, led a discussion on identification of priorities and
recommendations for public archeology.
NPS Releases Report to Congress on Preservation of Revolutionary War and
War of 1812 Sites
The NPS has released the “Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation
of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States” to the
public. In order to determine the significance of the sites and to asses
long and short term threats to their integrity, Congress passed The
Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Historic Preservation Study Act of 1996
(P.L. 104-333, Section 603; 16 USC Ia-5 Notes) which mandated the
preparation of the report.
“This comprehensive study is an outstanding achievement and will help
assure the protection of the many important Revolutionary War and War of
1812 areas nationwide,” said Mary A. Bomar, NPS Director. “I am proud that
the National Park Service produced this landmark study, and that we
preserve and protect many of the areas highlighted in the report.”
The report is perhaps the broadest Federal effort ever undertaken to
determine the status of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 resources. Years
of study were successful in identifying the sites of almost 3,000 events
associated with the two wars, including 60 sites within the National Park
System.
The “Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War
and War of 1812 Sites in the United States” is available by accessing the
following link at: www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/Rev1812Study.htm.
The NPS has also developed a web site to highlight many of the sites
preserved by the NPS, State and local governments, and public and private
entities at nps.gov/pub_aff/rev1812/intro.htm.
Fitch Foundation Offers Grants
The James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation will award a research grant
up to $25,000 to midcareer professionals who have an advanced or
professional degree and at least 10 years experience in historic
preservation or related fields, including architecture, landscape
architecture, architectural conservation, urban design, environmental
planning, archaeology, architectural history, and the decorative arts.
Additional smaller grants, up to $10,000, are made at the discretion of the
Trustees. The grants are intended to support projects of innovative
original research or creative design that advance the practice of historic
preservation in the U.S.
The application deadline is September 19, 2008.
Contact: Erin Tobin, Executive Director, at [log in to unmask]
For more information, go to www.fitchfoundation.org
Pecos Conference to be Held in Flagstaff
The 2008 Pecos Conference will be held August 7-10 in Flagstaff, AZ. Themes
for this year’s conference include the “Clovis Comet” theory, the early
agricultural period in the American Southwest, and the current status of
archeological mega-databases. The conference will also honor the
contributions of David A. Breternitz to the Museum of Northern Arizona and
Southwestern archeology; and celebrate the centennial of both the Coconino
National Forest and the Rocky Mountain Forest Experiment Station, and the
80th anniversary of the Museum of Northern Arizona.
First inspired and organized by A.V. Kidder in 1927, the Pecos Conference
has no formal organization or
permanent leadership. Open to all professional and avocational
archeologists and the general public, the
Pecos Conference is an important opportunity for students of Southwestern
prehistory to meet.
The 2008 conference is sponsored by the Coconino NF, Rocky Mountain Forest
Experiment Station, Museum of Northern Arizona, NPS, and Northern Arizona
University.
Contact: David R. Wilcox (982) 774-5211 ext. 244.
For more information about the Pecos conference and to register, go to
http://www.swanet.org/2008_pecos_conference/index.html.
HUD Develops Consultation Tribal Directory
HUD has developed a Tribal Directory Assessment Tool (TDAT) to assist with
NHPA Section 106 compliance and tribal consultation. NHPA requires that
Federal agencies make a ”reasonable and good faith effort" to identify
federally recognized Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and
Alaska Natives and to consult with them on projects in which they are
interested. TDAT was designed to quickly identify tribes and provide
appropriate tribal contact information to assist with initiating Section
106 consultation. Two key aspects of TDAT are its ability to 1) link
tribes’ areas of interest down to the county level and 2) perform a variety
of queries related to tribes.
To view TDAT, go to www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/environment/tribal/index.cfm
Projects in Parks: Clay Tobacco Pipes at Fort Union NHS
by J. Byron Sudbury and William J. Hunt Jr.
Large-scale excavations at Fort Union Trading Post NHS, on the Upper
Missouri River, resulted in a large collection of cultural material
spanning four decades from 1828 to 1867. A large and diverse assemblage of
clay tobacco pipes from these excavations offers a unique opportunity to
observe chronological changes in pipe styles. American politics are
reflected by the representations of presidential candidates on the bowls of
the pipes. The growth of the American clay pipe industry, as well as
continued influx of pipes from other countries, is also observed in the
assemblage. The Fort Union Trading Post clay tobacco pipe collection and
analysis of the collection will serve as a basis for developing a time line
for clay tobacco pipes used during the early and middle 19th century fur
trade.
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