April 2009 Archeology E-Gram
Susan Bender Leaves NPS
Susan Bender has left her position as archeologist at the Alaska Region
Office to pursue her dream of owning her own business. She was the ASMIS
coordinator for the Alaska Region for several years. She demonstrated a
mastery of the technical skills necessary to maintain the databases and was
the primary driving force in assuring that the Alaska Region's information
was updated on time.
Susan is now the sole proprietor of "Compost Alaska," an erosion control
company based in Anchorage. Susan will be consulting with construction
workers about landscape and terrain features and determining how to best
comply with Federal clean water regulations by installing filtering "socks"
filled with compost. At her going away party, she admitted that her
archeological training will come in handy in her new job. Although she is
missed by all her NPS colleagues in Alaska, we wish her well in this new
and exciting line of work!
Steve Adams Named NPS Midwest Region Cultural Resources Assistant Regional
Director
Stephen “Steve” E. Adams, formerly superintendent of the Lewis and Clark
NHT, is the new Associate Regional Director for Cultural Resources for the
NPS Midwest Region. He studied anthropology at the University of Arkansas,
Fayetteville, and graduated with a bachelor of arts in 1970. Following
military service in Vietnam, Adams received his master of arts in
anthropology from the University of Arizona in 1974.
A 37-year veteran of Federal service, Adams’ early NPS career included
assignments focused on interpretation, cultural and natural resources
management, visitor protection, archeology, and historic preservation at
Padre Island NS, San Antonio Missions NHP, the Navajo Lands Group, and the
Western Archeological and Conservation Center. He was chief of the cultural
resources management branch in the Southwest Region. He transferred to Pea
Ridge NMP as the superintendent in 1992, then served as superintendent at
Brown v. Board of Education NHS for nearly five years, developing and
opening the site before taking over the leadership role at Lewis and Clark
NHT in July 2004.
As Associate Regional Director, Adams will be the principal advisor on
cultural resources matters to 54 parks. This includes archeology, historic
architecture and landscape, museum collections and records management,
ethnography, and administration of the National Register program and
National Historic Landmarks designations in the region.
NPS Submerged Resource Center Moves
The NPS Submerged Resource Center has moved. The new address is
National Park Service Submerged Resources Center
12795 W. Alameda Pkwy.
Denver, CO 80225
The center was formed in 1980 to inventory and evaluate submerged resources
in the National Park System and to assist other agencies, nationally and
internationally, with underwater heritage resource issues. It is staffed by
underwater archeologists and photographers to provide expertise as needed
by managers of national parks with submerged lands. The Acting Chief is
David L. Conlin.
For more information about the Submerged Resource Center, go to
www.nps.gov/submerged
Live Civil War Artillery Shell Found and Removed from Petersburg NB
A visitor to the Petersburg NB reported finding an object resembling a
cannonball on March 24 and led park staff to the location, where they
determined that the object was a Civil War artillery shell. The park
contacted the Virginia State Police bomb squad, who removed the round to a
remote area outside the park and rendered it safe. The park curator
identified the ordnance as a Confederate twelve-pounder shell, possibly a
Napoleon round, the most commonly used artillery projectile during the
Civil War. It also could have been fired from a twelve-pounder howitzer.
Both smoothbore cannons could fire this round, filled with black powder, as
far as three quarters of a mile. The shell should have exploded before
hitting the ground. This ordnance was discovered almost a year to the day
from when the last artillery round, an eight-inch mortar shell, was found
in the park. The shell will be placed in the park museum collection and
information about its location will be documented for further research.
Specifics on the location have been withheld from the public to deter relic
hunters.
For more information about Petersburg NB, go to www.nps.gov/pete/
Carol Shull in Washington Post
Carol Shull, Chief of Heritage Education Services, was featured in the
Washington Post on April 17, 2009. Shull, who has worked in the NPS since
1972, created the ‘Teaching with Historic Places’ program. The program uses
historic properties, including archeological sites, listed in the National
Register of Historic Places to enhance traditional classroom instruction of
history, social studies, geography, and other core subjects. The heart of
the program is a series of 135 online class-room ready lesson plans based
on the National Register list.
Shull also founded the NPS ‘Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
Series,’ created in partnership with National Conference of State Historic
Preservation Officers, other government agencies, and private
organizations. The 47 online travel itineraries in the ongoing series
feature more than 2,000 historic places, including archeological sites, in
49 states, the District of Columbia, and some U.S. territories. The most
recent itinerary, ‘American Presidents,’ aids travelers in exploring the
lives and contributions of 43 American Presidents.
“Learning from historic places can be powerful and transformative,” said
Shull. “People of all ages can enjoy and learn from authentic historic
properties that embody and illustrate our history and give our communities
their unique character and identity.”
To read the entire article, go to
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/17/AR2009041702618.html
To learn more about Teaching with Historic Places and the Shared Heritage
Travel Itineraries, go to the April 2007 and December 2007 Archeology
E-Gram www.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm
UNESCO World Digital Library Launched
A website offering free access to rare books, maps, manuscripts, films and
photographs from across the globe was launch April 21 at UNESCO
headquarters in Paris. Its cultural content from libraries and archives
worldwide is available in seven languages - Arabic, Chinese, English,
French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish - and includes material in
additional languages. UNESCO and 32 partner institutions launched the
project, which was developed by the world's biggest library, the US Library
of Congress. The World Digital Library was the brainchild of the Librarian
of Congress, James Billington, who attended the launch of a prototype
website for the project in Paris in October 2007. Libraries and cultural
institutions from Brazil, Britain, China, Egypt, France, Japan, Russia,
Saudi Arabia, and the United States contributed both content and expertise
to the project to digitize priceless cultural material and make it
available on the Internet.
To use the World Digital Library, go to www.worlddigitallibrary.org
BLM Produces Film on Southwest Indians
Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, a vast plateau interrupted by numerous
canyons stretches from Cortez, Colorado, northwestward into Utah. A
productive agricultural region today, the Great Sage Plain contains
numerous ruins of an ancient civilization that puzzled the earliest
European explorers but resonates today in its living Native American
descendants. For the past hundred years, archeologists and Native people
have collaborated to paint the picture and tell the story of the vibrant
culture that once thrived here. The Cultural Heritage of the Great Sage
Plain is the latest video feature on the nonprofit streaming-media web
site, The Archaeology Channel. This compelling story is the subject of the
ancestral Puebloan people in Colorado and Utah who developed a remarkable
culture and agricultural adaptation before moving their settlements
southward centuries ago. The BLM Anasazi Heritage Center produced this film
to share the story.
To view the video, go to www.archaeologychannel.org.
Archeology Internship at Grand Canyon NP
The Grand Canyon Association (GCA) is currently accepting applications for
an internship program at Grand Canyon NP. Successful applicants will have
an opportunity to gain professional experience, develop working
relationships with NPS resource managers, and contribute to the
preservation and protection of the Grand Canyon. Based at Grand Canyon
Village on the South Rim, the internship will support the park’s Archeology
Program which inventories, monitors, and manages archeological resources
within the park. Currently, just over 4,000 sites have been documented.
Sites range from the Paleo-Indian to historic periods with most sites
associated with Ancestral Puebloans, dating between AD 900 and 1100. Site
types include pueblos, granaries, rock art, artifact scatters, and historic
sites.
The primary focus of the internship will be conducting site monitoring at
various locations on the North and South Rims. Activities include visiting
previously recorded sites, assessing impacts and threats to the sites,
updating photographs, using GPS to log site locations, and documenting the
overall site condition. After a short training period, the incumbent will
be expected to work largely independently. The intern will enter all field
data into the Grand Canyon Archeological Database and prepare a report
documenting their findings. The precise scope of the intern’s project will
be determined based on their interest and skills. The applicant may have an
opportunity to assist with other projects such as site inventory and ruins
preservation.
For more information or to apply, e-mail a cover letter, resume, and
reference contact information to: Leona Begishie, PO Box 399, Grand Canyon
Association, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023.
Projects in Parks: Archeological Stewardship in National Parks: “It Takes
a Village”
Archeological resources are essential American heritage, and listed in the
enabling legislation of nearly two thirds of our national parks. The
stewardship of archeological resources, however, was a function of the
Federal government decades before the NPS was created. From the beginning,
this stewardship has involved the efforts of many Americans. Citizens
concerned about vandalism of the ancient Casa Grande ruins, located between
Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona, in the 1880s successfully petitioned
Congress to protect and preserve the site. In 1892, a Federal preserve was
created and within a few years, structural conservation work at the ruins
by archeologists from the Smithsonian Institution was underway. In 1906,
passage of the Antiquities Act, the designation by President Theodore
Roosevelt of Montezuma Castle National Monument and El Morro National
Monument, and the creation of Mesa Verde National Park expanded the Federal
government’s archeological resource stewardship role.
Enactment of the Antiquities Act culminated a quarter-century of advocacy
by concerned citizens, national institutions, government officials,
political leaders, and regional boosters. This generation-long effort
involved a diverse group, which is reflected by the wide range of experts
and specialists who contribute to effective archeological stewardship in
the 21st century.
In 1916, the NPS was created with the key responsibility of managing
national parks, monuments, and reservations
… by such means and measures…[that will] conserve the scenery and the
natural and historic objects [including archeological resources] and
the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in
such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the
enjoyment of future generations (16 USC 1).
Concerns for their preservation and careful treatment arose at the same
time as concerns for the long term conservation of natural resources and
scenic areas like Yellowstone and other early national parks.
Archeological stewardship has become more scientific and systematic since
those early days. Those who are now responsible for ensuring that the
correct treatments are applied to archeological resources learn from past
practices. We follow procedures that have worked to preserve and protect
archeological resources. Future stewardship, in turn, will be improved by
careful attention to and repetition of effective current practices.
One current effort that demonstrates a systematic approach to archeological
stewardship in the NPS is the development of a module within the Facilities
Management Software System, specifically for maintained archeological
sites. Many archeological sites are maintained actively through treatment,
such as wall stabilization, masonry repointing, or erosion control. Some
treatments are needed to ensure that an archeological site is safe for
public interpretive programs or that the site’s condition does not
deteriorate due to public use. Other sites, threatened with erosion by
water or wind, need to be stabilized periodically. Regular maintenance
activities, such as site burial or creation of an artificial barrier to
restrain natural or induced erosion, sometimes are necessary. Good
archeological stewardship requires that appropriate treatments for sites
are integrated into the overall NPS maintenance program.
Archeological site maintenance highlights a crucially important aspect of
archeological stewardship—it is not an activity that is, or can be, carried
out only by archeologists. NPS archeologists provide the expertise to
identify, evaluate, and document archeological resources, and they are
essential sources of knowledge about local history and prehistory.
Archeologists should be integral participants in all aspects of park
management. However, if good archeological resource stewardship is to be
realized, archeologists cannot be the only experts involved. Park
interpreters; law enforcement officers; maintenance specialists such as
masons and landscapers; park superintendents; and the public all play an
important part in archeological resource protection.
At Independence NHP, for example, the park was confronted with a large
archeological collection from important sites on Independence Mall that had
to be cataloged before it could be accessioned into the park collection for
long term maintenance and use. The outside partner whose activity had
required the investigations that resulted in the collection were reluctant
to commit funding for cataloging and curation of the collection.
Eventually, the park was able to integrate the cataloging activity into its
interpretive program and the outside partner provided support for the
cataloging project and curation. The superintendent and senior park staff
all were essential in bringing about this positive outcome. NPS
archeologists throughout the park system are engaged in such cooperative
projects for archeological stewardship every day.
This kind of cooperation is essential because a wide range of expertise,
much of it beyond the training and experience of archeologists, is
necessary for effective archeological resource stewardship. Also, the NPS
is responsible for a large number of archeological resources which cannot
be adequately cared for by the approximately 210 NPS archeologists (this
number includes both about 160 permanent positions and other temporary
appointments in 2009) available. There are nearly 70,000 archeological
sites recorded and documented in the NPS archeological inventory system
(Archeological Sites Management Information System). NPS archeologists
estimate that there are many more sites as yet undiscovered and
undocumented. In addition, the NPS National Catalog includes millions of
archeological artifacts and other material, data, and records, collected
from NPS archeological sites that must be cared for and made accessible for
cultural, educational, interpretive, management, and scientific uses.
Finally, there are thousands of archeological reports that provide
information about NPS archeological sites that are essential for
management, public interpretation, research, and resource protection.
Ensuring that the NPS consistently provides good archeological resource
stewardship is likely to become more challenging in the next decades.
Changes in climate are increasing temperatures, changing weather patterns,
and raising sea levels. Wildland fires in parks are becoming more frequent.
Fire events and the rehabilitation activities that are necessary to restore
natural systems afterwards can adversely affect archeological sites in the
fire areas. Rising sea levels and storm surges already are eroding
archeological sites from Acadia NP and Cape Cod NS to park units along the
Bering Sea.
NPS archeologists, along with colleagues in a variety of other professions
and specialties, will be needed to meet these challenges. However, current
hiring and retirement patterns among NPS archeologist positions indicate
that retirements are far outpacing new hiring, and have been for at least
the past decade. As a result, any key NPS archeologist positions are vacant
or temporarily filled. It may be that by its centennial year, 2016, the NPS
will find itself with 40% fewer archeologists that it had at the turn of
the 21st century. This is no way to begin a second century of archeological
resource stewardship. Linking and strengthening Federal stewardship and an
educated public will ensure that archeological resources will be available
into the 21st century and beyond.
Adapted from It Takes a Village: Archeological Stewardship in National
Parks (2009) by Francis P. McManamon. Used with permission of Editorial
Advisor, Mark E. Herberger and Editor Teresa Ford. Ranger:The Journal of
the Association of Park Rangers 25(2):6-7.
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. The Archeology E-Gram is available on the News and
Links page www.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm on the Archeology Program
web site.
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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