Thanks for your E-gram(s), which I enjoy reading.
You probably have got a correction for the reference to Ocmulgee in the first paragraph. The Ocmulgee National Monument is in Macon, Georgia (not NM), which makes more sense in reference to the southeast and Creek Indians.
Allen
-----Original Message-----
>From: Karen Mudar <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Nov 29, 2012 3:36 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: NPS Archeology E-Gram November 2012
>
>November 2012 Archeology E-Gram
>
>Dava Davy McGahee Announces Her Retirement
>Dava Davy McGahee, cultural resources manager for Capitol Reef NP, will
>retire on December 1, 2012, after 21 years of Federal service, almost all
>with the NPS. McGahee grew up on the Gulf of Mexico in Florida and received
>a BA in anthropology from the University of South Florida. Her field work
>as an anthropologist was done in Guatemala through the Universidad de San
>Carlos. Later, she earned an MS in sociology, an MA in world history, and
>certification as a funeral director. McGahee began her Federal career in
>1972 with the VA as an adjudicator. She transferred to the NPS and was
>assigned to Saguaro NM. She then moved to her first park ranger position in
>law enforcement and living history interpretation at Guilford Courthouse
>NMP. The next opportunity was at Ocmulgee NM as the archeologist,
>overseeing the Southeast Region archeological collection. McGahee
>supervised the American Indian living history partner program with the
>Creek Nation and the resurfacing of an earth lodge. She also established a
>National Environmental Study Area (NESA) and wrote the Teachers’ Guide for
>the Mother Earth NESA. The next challenge took McGahee to the newly
>established Guadalupe Mountains NP as the first chief of interpretation.
>Here she wrote The Pinery Station, produced the parks first media with the
>artists-in-residence program, and developed designs for visitor center
>exhibits.
>
>McGahee took a break in service to manage a growing family of five
>children. She and her husband opened a restaurant in New Mexico called
>“Essential Ingredients.” McGahee later taught school in Connecticut and
>developed an after-school environmental education business “Nature Fun
>Club.”
>
>In 1995, McGahee rejoined the NPS in Santa Fe as a curation technician
>working on NAGPRA research. In 1998, she was permanently re-instated at San
>Antonio Missions NHP, where she rotated to manage three of the four
>missions, Rancho de las Cabras, the visitor center, and the volunteer
>program over the next twelve years. Here McGahee developed permanent
>exhibits at Mission San Francisco de la Espada, Mission San José y San
>Miguel de Aguayo, and Mission San Juan Capistrano, earning Star Awards. She
>also implemented 24 cell phone tours for sites throughout the park.
>McGahee’s liaison work for Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan with Florentine
>Films resulted in the filming of “Untold Stories: San Antonio Missions:
>Keeping History Alive” as part of The National Parks series. McGahee was
>offered her “dream job” as the cultural resources program manager at
>Capitol Reef NP in 2010.
>
>McGahee was twice the recipient of the Edwin C. Bearss NPS Fellowship award
>(2002 and 2003) and awarded an NPS Conrad-Wirth Grant in 2004-2005, as well
>as the Spirit of Service Award – Learn and Serve America - in 2007.
>
>McGahee’s next life chapter includes hiking and kayaking adventures with
>her husband and friends, travel, scuba diving and snorkeling, and
>volunteering. McGahee can be reached on Facebook. She will check snail mail
>at 7970 West River Bend Rd., Crystal River, FL 34428. Her friends and
>colleagues wish her all the best for her retirement.
>
>Physicist Given National Honor for Archeological GeologyJohn Weymouth,
>emeritus professor of physics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has
>been selected for a national honor from the Geological Society of America.
>Weymouth has been named the 2012 recipient of the Rip Rapp Award for
>outstanding contributions to the field of archeological geology. He was
>among a small number of scientists with training in physics who worked to
>develop instruments and methods that would help archeologists locate
>subsurface features at sites. Researchers continue to learn from his
>unparalleled body of work, which spans four decades.
>
>Much of Weymouth’s work has been in assistance to the NPS. He has conducted
>geophysical investigations on more than a dozen park units, ranging from
>Fort Clatsop and Chaco Canyon to Abraham Lincoln’s Home and Hopewell
>Culture NHP.
>
>By Dawn Bringelson, Archeologist
>Midwestern Archeological Center
>
>New Archeologist at NPS National Center for Preservation Technology and
>Training (NCPTT)
>Tad Britt is the new Chief of the NCPTT Archeology and Collections program.
>His past experiences include serving as a Senior Researcher at the U.S.
>Army Corps of Engineers, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory,
>Champaign, Illinois. Britt has developed several technologies that have
>cross-disciplinary applications. He has co-invented a hand-held a mobile
>GIS / GIS enabled standoff mapping and image capture technology. Britt
>received the 2007 Federal Laboratories Consortium Award for Excellence in
>Technology Transfer. He holds a MA in anthropology, from the University of
>Mississippi.
>
>
>NPS Archeology Program Sponsors Webinars on Current Topics in Archeology
>The NPS Archeology Program has posted webcasts from an on-going webinar
>lecture series devoted to dissemination of information about current
>research in archeology. Topics range from recent developments in our
>understanding of Native American colonization of the New World to
>archeological investigations of World War II Japanese internment camps.
>
>To listen to the webcasts, go to
>http://www.nps.gov/archeology/tools/webinars.htm.
>
>Festival at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park Focuses on Hawaiian
>Culture
>On November 15 and 16, 2012, Kaloko-Honokohau NHP hosted a Hawaiian
>cultural festival for approximately 500 fourth grade students from local
>schools in the Kona area. This annual event, held every November, also
>commemorates the start of the Makahiki season, a time of peace and
>celebration in the Hawaiian culture. During this time of year, Lono, one of
>the four main Hawaiian gods, is acknowledged and recognized.
>
>Both days began with an oli (chant) by a kumu (teacher) who explained the
>significance of the Makahiki season. Many schools brought gifts to offer,
>usually food (such as taro which is used to make poi) wrapped in ti leaves
>(a local native plant). The offerings are in appreciation for this season
>of peace and abundance.
>
>Children’s activities included learning about the parts of a Hawaiian
>sailing canoe, the behavior of sharks, planting by the Hawaiian moon
>calendar, and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. Over 50 volunteers and
>staff participated in this event to help the students navigate all 14
>learning stations.
>
>By Jon Jokiel, Supervisory Park Ranger
>Kaloko-Honokohau NHP
>
>Petroglyph Boulder to be returned to Capitol Reef National Park
>Dava Davy McGahee has completed negotiations with Chaffey College President
>Henry Shannon to bring back a 19,800 pound artifact and cultural resource
>to Capitol Reef NP. The artifact is a basalt boulder with deeply-pecked
>petroglyphs and historic inscriptions on several surfaces. The boulder was
>a significant monolith to the prehistoric people who lived in the area now
>part of Capitol Reef NP. The historic inscriptions may have been inscribed
>by Mormon pioneers and others who settled in the area.
>
>The boulder was moved by a private individual in the 1950s from its
>original location in (then) Capitol Reef National Monument to a ranch in
>Teasdale, Utah. It was later moved again to its current location in a
>sculpture garden at the entrance to a museum on the Chaffey College campus.
>Before the boulder was moved from its original location, it was
>photographed by Noel Morss of the Peabody Museum in 1927, and by Charles
>Strevell and Charles Pulver during their 1935 archeological expedition for
>the Utah State Museum Association. The photographic documentation was
>crucial for identification of the boulder as being removed from Capitol
>Reef lands.
>
>This project will repatriate a significant cultural resource to the park
>that will be returned to the landscape it came from. It is also the
>capstone of a remarkable career of dedication and service, as McGahee
>retires in December.
>
>For more information about Capitol Reef NP, go to
>http://www.nps.gov/care/index.htm
>
>Students Participate in Workshop at Navajo National Monument
>Kayenta Unified School’s Outdoor Challenge Club participated in outdoor
>education activities and an ancestral Puebloan survival workshop offered by
>Navajo NM interpretation and resources staff on November 3, 2012. The club
>consists of high school students, with a high enrollment of Native American
>youth from the surrounding Navajo Indian Reservation.
>
>Students could not have asked for a better day, weatherwise, and for a
>better mix of rangers. The hands-on educational activities presented
>included ancestral Puebloan yucca fiber weaving, atlatl throwing by
>interpretation ranger Patrick Joshevama, flint knapping education by
>archeologist Brian Yaquinto, and hands-on fire starting the ancestral
>Puebloan way with interpretation ranger Max Benally. There was also a tour
>to the ancestral Puebloan site of Betatakin with archeologist Matthew
>Marques.
>
>By Curlinda Mitchell,
>Lead Interpretive Park Ranger, Navajo NM
>
>2012 Cultural Resource Activities at Carlsbad Caverns National Park
>BAER/BAR Project
>In FY 2012 the park received BAER/BAR (Burned Area Emergency
>Response/Burned Area Rehabilitation) funding to assess and monitor
>potential wildfire damage to archeological sites within the footprints of
>the 2011 Loop Wildfire and the 2012 Horse Canyon Wildfire. The park hired
>Robert Carpenter, archeological technician, who, with YPP students,
>monitored sites in the two wildfire areas. Damage from the wildfire was
>assessed as moderate with most vegetation burnt; no suppression or
>vandalism impacts; fire effects of cracking/spalling on cultural and
>natural rocks, burned stump/root holes, and fire and minor smoke/soot
>damage to remaining vegetation.
>
>YPP Year 2
>Carlsbad Caverns NP completed the second year of a YPP (formerly YIP)
>project in which college students Nicole Herzog and Michael Ordemann, led
>by NPS employee Samuel Denman, relocated and documented archeological sites
>in the park. This past summer provided experience in NPS archeological
>procedures and gave interns a broad overview of NPS cultural resource
>management and skills in field archeology. The students received
>instruction in safety, use of GPS units, conducted archeological surveys of
>major park projects, assessed wildfire-affected sites, photo-recorded
>National Register District sites, assisted in the annual museum inventory,
>assisted in a BAER damage assessment project, updated site files, and
>conducted research on projectile point typology and chert sources for a
>park Cultural Resource Management Plan. The students also received training
>from the biology and cave resources specialists and observed bat flights
>and the more rarely seen javelinas, deer, rattlesnakes, and a mountain
>lion.
>
>Loop Fire Cultural Resources Report Available
>On June 13-15, 2011, the Loop Fire burned 8,261 acres within the boundaries
>of Carlsbad Caverns NP. Survey was conducted in compliance with the BAER
>team led by Richard Gatewood from June 27 – July 21, 2011. Based upon the
>known boundary of the fire, 115 archeological sites were found to have the
>potential for damage from this event. Cultural resources staff completed
>the report on the 2011 Burned Area Emergency Response (Baer) Assessment of
>Archaeological Sites in Walnut Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns National Park by
>Robert Z. Selden Jr., Leigh A. R. Cominiello, and Joel P. Lennen. 82 pp, 51
>figures; 6 tables, maps, bibliography. Available in pdf from David Kayser
>at (575) 234-6717.
>
>Rock Art Management Plan
>NPS archeologist Andrew Veech completed the Carlsbad Caverns National NP
>Art Management Plan to be part of the Carlsbad Cavern NP Cultural Resource
>Management Plan.
>
>New NPS Website Provides Information for Native AmericansThe NPS has
>announced the launch of a website to connect Native Americans with NPS
>cultural resources programs. Connecting with Native Americans brings
>together information about programs and policies that affect Native
>Americans and the NPS. The website contains information about the cultural
>resources programs in the Washington Office and will expand to include
>information from NPS regional offices and parks. Included on the website
>are “Quick Guides for Preserving Native American Cultural Resources” that
>provide information on the National Historic Preservation Act and
>associated laws and programs to assist in the protection and preservation
>of tribal historic places and cultural traditions.
>To visit the website, go to www.nps.gov/tribes. For further information or
>to provide feedback, contact Ronnie Emery or Rachel Brown at (202)
>354-6965.
>
>By Ronnie Emery
>NPS American Indian Liaison Office
>
>Hands-on Archeology Programs at Dayton Aviation Heritage National
>Historical Park
> “Digging into History” at Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP offers an
>opportunity for Title 1 students in grades 4-6 and their teachers to get
>out of the classroom and into the outdoors, whether throwing an atlatl,
>making a pinch pot or uncovering a mock excavation pit. One of the goals of
>the project is to instill in students the need for historic and prehistoric
>preservation and an appreciation of the fragility of the archaeological
>record and to make them aware of their own roles as potential stewards of
>the past.
>
>The program incorporates math, science, social studies, art, and language
>arts standards while generating a special kind of excitement as students
>work in teams honing their motor skills and social skills. Dayton Aviation
>Heritage NHP, a 2012 America’s Best Idea grant recipient, will continue the
>hands-on archeology programs in the spring.
>
>By Judi Hart, Educational Specialist
>Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP
>
>Man Punished for Removing Human Remains from Wilson’s Creek National
>Battlefield
>Coy Matthew Hamilton has admitted to removing human remains from the
>Wilson’s Creek NB. Hamilton admitted that on February 27, 2011, he found
>the human remains while canoeing through the national battlefield, looking
>for archeological artifacts. Recent heavy rains had eroded parts of the
>riverbank, and Hamilton saw a bone sticking out of an eroded embankment by
>the creek and dug into the embankment, removing additional bones. Through
>an intermediary, Hamilton turned the bones in to the NPS. He was identified
>during the ensuing investigation.
>
>In April 2011, Caven Clark, NPS cultural resource management specialist,
>performed an emergency restoration and repair of the excavation site. Clark
>determined that the remains belonged to a person at least 20 years old at
>the time of death. Gender could not be determined. Eight handmade,
>machine-tooled, bone buttons were also. These buttons were manufactured
>between 1800 and 1865. The buttons are consistent with buttons used during
>the Civil War. The buttons appear to be attachments for instep tabs
>typically used by mounted troops during that period.
>
>The date of the Civil War battle at Wilson’s Creek was August 10, 1861. The
>remains were found in an area of intensive fighting. Mounted, infantry, and
>artillery units were in and near the vicinity of the human remains. The
>shallow grave suggested an expedient but respectful interment. Differential
>disposal of Union and Confederate dead following the battle suggests that
>this individual was part of the Confederate forces killed during the
>battle, and quickly buried thereafter.
>
>Hamilton signed a pretrial diversion agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s
>Office, in which he admitted that he disturbed an archeological site and
>removed human remains from Federal lands. This conduct could have been
>prosecuted as a violation of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act
>(ARPA). Under ARPA, Hamilton could have been sentenced for up to two years
>in prison, and a fine of up to $20,000. Hamilton agreed to pay $5,351 in
>restitution, which reimburses the government’s costs of restoration and
>repair of the site. Additionally, Hamilton will perform 60 hours of
>community service under the supervision of the NPS.
>
>The Federal pretrial diversion program is an alternative to prosecution
>which seeks to divert certain offenders from traditional criminal justice
>processing into a program of supervision and services administered by the
>U.S. Probation Service. In the majority of cases, offenders are diverted at
>the pre-charge stage. Participants who successfully complete the program
>will not be charged or, if charged, will have the charges against them
>dismissed; unsuccessful participants are returned for prosecution.
>
>Chief Archeologist of Albanian National Park visits Fort Stanwix National
>Monument
>Dhimitër Çondi, Chief Archeologist of Butrint National Park in Albania,
>recently visited Fort Stanwix NM to learn more about the NPS protocols for
>the storage and preservation of archeological collections. Staff in the
>Division of Cultural Resources showed him historic, ethnographic, and
>archeological artifacts in the Marinus Willett Collection Management and
>Education Center. The staff also discussed environmental controls, pest
>control measures, and similarities of the NHPA Section 106 compliance
>process with those carried out at Butrint National Park.
>
>Assisted by Tom Crist of Utica College, this is the second time the park
>has hosted a visiting archeologist from Butrint National Park. Butrint
>National Park was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992 and
>established as an Albanian National Park in 2000. The historic city of
>Butrint served as an international hub for centuries to Venetians, Romans,
>Greeks, Turks, and the French creating a complex and diverse record of the
>past.
>
>For more information about Fort Stanwix NM, go to www.nps.gov/fost.
>
>From story by Amy Roache-Fedchenko
>
>NPS Park NAGPRA Workshop in Southeast Region Open for Registration
>The NPS Park NAGPRA program is offering a training session in the Southeast
>Region about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
>(NAGPRA). The session will take place on January 29-30, 2013, at Castillo
>de San Marcos National Monument (CASA) in St. Augustine, FL. Park
>superintendents and resource managers as well as archeologists, curators,
>and other staff with NAGPRA duties are invited to attend. The training will
>provide a comprehensive overview of NAGPRA and prepare participants to
>respond to inadvertent discoveries and plan for intentional excavations as
>prescribed by the law. Issues of special concern to the Southeast Region
>will also be addressed. Other topics covered will include dealing with
>cultural items subject to NAGPRA in collections, evaluating repatriation
>requests, complying with the new culturally unidentifiable rule,
>consultation, disputes, and reburial on park lands. An optional tour of
>CASA will be offered on the afternoon of the second day.
>
>There are no fees or tuition for the training session. To register, log in
>to DOILearn and search for NAGPRA in the Parks (Course Code=NPS-CRS3401).
>The deadline for registration is January 15, 2013.
>
>For more information, contact Mary S. Carroll at 303-969-2300.
>
>National Park Service’s 2013 Archeological Prospection Workshop
>The NPS 2013 workshop on archeological prospection techniques, “Current
>Archeological Prospection Advances for Non-Destructive Investigations in
>the 21st Century” will be held May 13-17 at the Cedar Point Biological
>Station near Ogallala, Nebraska. This will be the twenty-second year of the
>workshop dedicated to the use of geophysical, aerial photography, and other
>remote sensing methods as they apply to the identification, evaluation,
>conservation, and protection of archaeological resources across this
>Nation. The workshop will present lectures on the theory of operation,
>methodology, processing, and interpretation with on-hands use of the
>equipment in the field. The field exercises will take place at Alkali
>Station near Paxton, Nebraska. Alkali Station was a major trail facility
>used by travelers on the Oregon and California trails, the Pony Express,
>the transcontinental telegraph, and the frontier army.
>
>Co-sponsors for the workshop include the NPS Midwest Archeological Center,
>the Lute Family, and the University of Nebraska’s Cedar Point Biological
>Station. There is a registration charge of $475.00. Lodging will be at the
>Cedar Point Biological Station.
>
>For further information, contact Steven L. DeVore, Archeologist, NPS,
>Midwest Archeological Center, Federal Building, Room 474, 100 Centennial
>Mall North, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-3873: tel: (402) 437-5392, ext. 141;
>fax: (402) 437-5098. Application forms are available on the Midwest
>Archeological Center’s website at http://www.cr.nps.gov/mwac/.
>Projects in Parks: is taking a break this month.
>
>Projects in Parks is a feature of the Archeology E-Gram that informs others
>about archeology-related projects in national parks. The full reports are
>available on the Projects in Parks web page
>http://www.nps.gov/archeology/sites/npSites/index.htm or through individual
>issues of the Archeology E-Gram.
>
>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 NPS and other public agencies. Recipients are
>encouraged to forward Archeology E-Grams to colleagues and relevant mailing
>lists. The Archeology E-Gram (with pictures!) is available on the News and
>Links page www.nps.gov/archeology/public/news.htm on the NPS Archeology
>Program web site.
>
>Contact: Karen Mudar at [log in to unmask] to contribute news items, stories for
>Projects in Parks, submit citations and a brief abstract for your
>peer-reviewed publications, and to subscribe.
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