Hi Everyone,

If you haven't already heard, Michigan Archaeology Day is October 6th at the State Historical Center in Lansing.  The event starts at 11:00 AM and runs until 3:00 PM.  Admission to the museum, events, activities, and parking are all free.

I've been in contact with the organizer and it is shaping up to be quite a big event.  A number of once-a-year displays representing sites from around the state will be on hand that include artifacts ranging in age from nearly 12,000 years old to those dating to the historic period.  Activities for the kids will be available including the ever popular atlatl spear throwing event.  Bob Love, president of the Michigan Flintknappers, will also be giving flintknapping demonstrations.

Four presentations will be given, including three that discuss 19th century historic sites:
11 a.m.
Snippets of the Past: Late Prehistoric Life in the Lower Grand River Valley
Presented by Dr. Michael Hambacher, Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group Inc.
	
12 noon
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Presented by Wayne Lusardi, Michigan Historical Center, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
	
1 p.m.
Pioneer Farmers of Pleasant Valley: Rediscovering a sesquicentennial farmstead in Brighton, Michigan
Presented by Tim Bennett, Michigan Archaeological Society
	
2 p.m.
Life at the Mt. Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School as Seen through Archaeology
Presented by Dr. Sarah Surface-Evans, Central Michigan University
	
The complete schedule of activities, speakers, and displays for Archaeology Day is available on the DNR website at http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-54463-283662--,00.html, but is listed below for your convenience.

Thanks,

Tim Bennett
Vice President
Michigan Archaeological Society




Michigan Archaeology Day
Date: Saturday, Oct 06, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM - 03:00 PM

Location: Michigan Historical Museum, Lansing

Here is your chance to meet professional archaeologists, to learn of their research and adventures and to see one-day-only exhibits from their archaeological digs and underwater archaeological explorations. Add to this a cartload of fun family activities, and by the end of the day, everyone will "dig" history!

Admission to the museum on Archaeology Day is free courtesy of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. For more information, please send us an e-mail or telephone (517) 373-3559.

The Michigan Historical Museum—flagship of the Michigan Historical Museum System—is located inside the Michigan Library and Historical Center, 702 West Kalamazoo Street, Lansing. The museum and visitor parking are on the north side of Kalamazoo Street, two blocks east of M. L. King Jr. Boulevard. Sunday admission and weekend parking are free. Here's more information about how to find us.

2012 PROGRAM
An archaeology information station in the museum lobby offers free handouts about archaeology from the State Archaeologist, State Historic Preservation Office; the Conference on Michigan Archaeology (COMA); the Michigan Archaeological Society (MAS); and the Michigan Historic Preservation Network (MHPN). Sean Dunham (COMA/MAS), Elaine Robinson (MHPN) and others will be on hand to answer your questions.

DEMONSTRATIONS
Archaic Hunting Skills. - Outdoors, between the visitors parking lot and the front entrance.  Practice shooting at a deer target, using darts and an atlatl (spear-thrower), like those used in Michigan forests thousands of years ago. Give it a try! Presented by Ron Burk and Mike Mauer, Michigan Archaeological Society, Saginaw Chapter.

Flintknapping: Stone Tool-Making - Museum, Second Floor
How did people hunt and butcher game before there were guns and steel knives? How did they tan hides or chop down trees using only tools made of bone and stone? Presented by Bob Love


PRESENTATIONS in the FORUM AUDITORIUM

Opening remarks from Dr. Dean L. Anderson, State Archaeologist

11 a.m.
Snippets of the Past: Late Prehistoric Life in the Lower Grand River Valley
Presented by Dr. Michael Hambacher, Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group Inc.
	
Recent excavations for the U.S. 31/M-231 Bridge Project documented a series of short-term Late Prehistoric occupations featuring large food processing pits and deep pits used for seasonal food storage in the lower Grand River Valley. Distinctive artifacts indicate that the primary use of the site post-dates about A.D. 1200, although evidence of earlier occupation exists as well. This talk will use these excavations to discuss the process of modern archaeology, how the site was used and what it tells us about a poorly understood part of Michigan's prehistoric past.

12 noon
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Presented by Wayne Lusardi, Michigan Historical Center, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
	
The State Maritime Archaeologist presents an overview of underwater archaeology being conducted in and around Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, based in Alpena. The sanctuary is an extension of a state underwater preserve and serves to protect more than 50 historic shipwrecks, most dating to the 19th century. Current research includes shipwreck survey and documentation, as well as artifact conservation.

1 p.m.
Pioneer Farmers of Pleasant Valley: Rediscovering a sesquicentennial farmstead in Brighton, Michigan
Presented by Tim Bennett, Michigan Archaeological Society
	
A discussion of the results of six seasons of archaeological field work as well as recent developments from a series of analytical techniques conducted at the Timothy and Lucretia Jones Warner Homestead, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Bennett is a descendant of the Warner family, who occupied the site for more than 170 years, dating back to 1841.

2 p.m.
Life at the Mt. Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School as Seen through Archaeology
Presented by Dr. Sarah Surface-Evans, Central Michigan University
	
Federal boarding schools are a dark legacy of the U.S. policy toward the "Indian Problem." One such school operated in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, from 1893 to 1933. Today, researchers at the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan and Central Michigan University are striving to uncover the school's past and preserve the stories of the children who attended it. Dr. Surface-Evans presents the results of recent archaeological investigations at the school and discusses plans to restore and nominate it to the National Register of Historic Places.


CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES
Museum Time Lab, First Floor
Join the Time Lab team!

    Participate in a mock excavation to learn how archaeologists document sites
    Learn why archaeologists love dirt and what it can tell us about the past
    Experiment with making and decorating your own pottery

Take home an archaeology activity book filled with coloring, crosswords, word searches and more!


EXHIBITORS & SPECIAL DISPLAYS
Museum, Second Floor

Artifacts from Fayette Historic Townsite, presented by Dr. John Halsey, State Archaeologist (Retired)

Artifacts from the Michigan Archaeological Society, presented by Don Simons, Michigan Archaeological Society

Grand Valley State University Archaeological Field School, presented by Dr. Jan Brashler, GVSU

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project, presented by Western Michigan University.
Archaeology at Fort Michilimackinac, resented by Dr. Lynn Evans, Mackinac State Historic Parks, Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Artifacts of the War of 1812, presented by Eric Perkins, Michigan Historical Center, Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Underwater Archaeology at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, presented by Wayne Lusardi, Michigan Historical Center, Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Nautical Archaeology of Northwestern Michigan, presented by Dr. Mark Holley, Northwestern Michigan University

Archaeology of the Warner Farmstead, presented by Tim Bennett, Michigan Archaeological Society

Archaeology at the Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum, presented by Dr. Lou Ann Wurst, Western Michigan University

Archaeology of One-Room Schoolhouses, presented by Dency Terrell, Val Valoppi, Ann Zinn and Dr. April Beisaw

Central Michigan University Archaeological Field School, presented by Dr. Sarah Surface-Evans, CMU

Michigan State University Campus Archaeology, presented by Katy Meyers, MSU

From Michigan to the Mediterranean - Archaeology of the Ancient World, presented by Dottie Sims, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan