*June 2016 Archeology E-GramNPS NEWS*
*Mount Rainier National Park’s Chief Archeologist Greg Burtchard to
Retire*Mount
Rainier NP chief archeologist and cultural resource liaison Greg Burtchard
has announced his upcoming retirement. Burtchard began graduate studies at
the University of New Mexico in 1968. Following a three-year hiatus to
complete military service, he received an M.A. in anthropology in 1973 and
subsequently a PhD.
Burtchard first worked as a BLM archeologist, conducting an environmental
assessment for a proposed coal mining venture in an area that included
Chaco Canyon, Navaho lands, and Aztec Ruins. After moving to the Pacific
Northwest in the 1980s, he worked at Washington State University’s Center
for Northwest Anthropology, and at University of Washington’s Office of
Public Archaeology. In 1987, with Kenneth Ames, Burtchard developed and
directed Portland State University’s Laboratory of Archaeology and
Anthropology. He developed an ecologically-based model to explain Holocene
subsistence and settlement patterns in northwest montane settings while
working on Mount Hood.
In 1991, Burtchard joined the International Archaeological Research
Institute in Honolulu as a research associate. He directed projects on
Hawai`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Kaho`olawe, Kaua`i, Guam, and Republic of Palau.
While in Hawai`i, he developed a population density driven model to explain
settlement and cultural change for the islands. While there, he also
directed archeological projects at John Day Fossil Beds NM in Oregon, and
Mount Rainier NP in Washington.
Burtchard was hired by the NPS in March 2000. Since coming to Mount
Rainier NP, his responsibilities have focused on coordinating the park’s
cultural program generally, implementing the park’s research design;
working to incorporate the park’s prehistory and history into interpretive
programs; and establishing more effective working relationships with the
park’s six traditionally affiliated tribes.
*By Darin Swinney
<[log in to unmask]" target="_blank">https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1&tf=1&[log in to unmask]>*
*National Park Service Archeologist George Fischer Passes*
Retired NPS archeologist George Fischer passed May 29, 2016, in
Tallahassee, Florida, after a recent decline in health. He initiated
underwater archeology in the NPS. A native Californian, Fischer was born in
Susanville on May 4, 1937. He did undergraduate and graduate work at
Stanford University, and began his career with the NPS in 1959. Fischer
worked in six parks, the Washington, D.C. Office, and the Southeast
Archeological Center, from which he retired in 1988. He founded and
oversaw the NPS underwater archeology program, and was involved with many
shipwreck excavations, such as the 1554 Padre Island galleons, 1733 galleon
San Jose, 1622 galleon Rosario, 1748 British warship HMS Fowey, and 1865
steamboat Bertrand.
Fischer was also instrumental in developing the underwater archeology
program at Florida State University. He was a founding member of the
Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology. He taught underwater archeology
at Florida State University (FSU) and co-instructed inter-disciplinary
courses in scientific diving techniques.
In lieu of flowers, George asked for donations in his honor to Lighthouse
Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP), 81 Lighthouse Avenue, St.
Augustine, FL 32080.
*Archeologist is Cultural Resources Program Manager for C&O Canal National
Historic Park*
Sophie Kelly has been selected as the new Cultural Resources Program
Manager for C&O Canal NHP. Kelly has a Ph.D. in Anthropology and was most
recently employed as a Foreign Affairs Officer for the U.S. Department of
State. Previously, she served as the Cultural Resources Manager for the
Arizona State Parks system and a Cultural Specialist for the Tribal
Government of the Gila River Indian Community. She has also served as
managing editor of a research journal on cultural heritage protection and
preservation. Kelly was also an NPS NPCE intern in the Washington, DC,
Archeology Program Office.
Kelly will be joining the Division of Resources Management on July 10.
*NPS Southeast Archeology Center Hosts Girl Scout Archeology Event*
On May 14 and 15, 2016, the NPS Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC)
inaugurated a Girl Scout Ranger Program (GSRP) activity. Girl Scout Juniors
(grades 4 and 5) from the Girl Scout Council of the Florida Panhandle
(GSCFP) participated. Ranger-led activities included archeology field
fundamentals, dating techniques, and an orientation to archeological sites
protected within NPS units. Woven throughout were resource protection
messages highlighting the importance of protecting these historic and
prehistoric resources. The girls shaped and fired pottery, tried their
hands at atlatl tossing, explored geocaching, and participated in mock lab
and excavation activities. Each Scout received a workbook to further
individual research and education.
The GSRP is a cooperative effort between the NPS and the Girl Scouts of the
USA to promote opportunities and activities that align with the missions of
each organization while advancing shared program goals.
*Contact:* Thadra Stanton (850-580-8412) or Meredith Hardy (850-580-8428).
Learn more about SEAC online and on Facebook.
*By Margo Schwadron*
*Petersburg National Battlefield Investigates Looting in Park*
Law enforcement officers at Petersburg NB in Virginia identified a large
number of looters’ pits at Petersburg NB during the week of May 23, 2016.
The pits were likely dug to search for metal identified by metal detectors.
Petersburg was the site of the largest and longest prolonged siege of the
Civil War.
To ensure a strong ARPA case, should the perpetrators be apprehended,
Cultural Resources manager Julie Steel initiated an archeological damage
assessment. NPS Northeast Regional Office Archeologist Bill Griswold headed
the archeological investigation. NPS Cultural Resources GIS historian David
Lowe, who was conducting other research in the park, and park staff
assisted with mapping and recordation.
"This is an affront to the memory of people who fought and died on this
field and it is destruction and theft of history from the American people,"
said Petersburg NB Superintendent Lewis Rogers. "This kind of aberrant
behavior is always disgusting but it is particularly egregious as Memorial
Day weekend arrives, a time when we honor the memories of our friends and
family.
Depredation of archeological resources on Federal lands is a crime covered
by the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. Violators, upon conviction,
can be fined up to $20,000.00 or imprisoned for two years, or both. The
public can help by calling in any tips or other information. The toll-free
number is 888-653-0009; callers can leave a message.
*Acadia National Park Celebrates Centennial*
Acadia National Park is celebrating its centennial! On July 8, 1916,
President Woodrow Wilson, using the Antiquities Act, signed a Presidential
Proclamation to establish Sieur de Monts National Monument, later, in 1929,
changed to Acadia National Park.
Archeological resources document over 6,000 years of human occupation.
Archeological investigations on Mount Desert Island found native
settlements and shell middens containing ceramics and tools along the
seashore. The Abbe Museum's archeological collections contain objects from
the park spanning 10,000 years, including archeological materials
pertaining to the ancestral Wabanaki, the Carroll Farm Homestead, Islesford
(Little Cranberry Island), and Saint Croix Island.
In the early 17th century, Samuel Champlain, cartographer for a French
expedition, described the landscape and the native peoples in his journal
of exploration along the coast. Soon after, the coastal Indians were joined
by Jesuits, who established a mission. Their settlement was destroyed by
the English, commencing a period of struggle for control over the area. By
1820, farming and lumbering vied with fishing and shipbuilding as major
occupations. Over the next several decades, artists and journalists helped
to popularize the region to affluent summertime vacationers. Today, around
3 million people every year enjoy the 48,000 acres protected by Acadia NP.
To learn more about Acadia NP and celebrations, go to
https://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm.
*National Park Service Buys Powhatan Village*
The NPS has purchased the historic Werowocomoco site in Gloucester County,
Virginia. The village on the banks of the York River was occupied by
Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas in 1607 when English settlers arrived
in Virginia. English settlers described Werowocomoco in the early 1600s,
but its location was lost over time until 2003 when archeologists announced
its rediscovery.
In 2014 the Werowocomoco site was added to the National Park System's
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.
The federal government purchased the 260-acre property for $7.1 million on
June 15, 2016. It remains closed to the public and several phases of a
planning process could take the NPS nearly two years to complete before a
design or concept is developed.
*From story by Francis Hubbard, Daily Press*
*National Park Service Alaska Region Co-Organizer of Alaska Archaeology
Month*
April is Archaeology Month in Alaska and this year NPS was a lead
organizer, working with BLM, BOEM, and the Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation to
organize public education events and produce a poster that went to a
thousand schools, libraries, and museums across Alaska and beyond.
This year's theme is the Thule tradition--the immediate ancestors of
Inupiaq people living today across western and northern Alaska. Thule
people were successful whalers, artists, and traders and settled the entire
span of the North American arctic.
More information about the Thule tradition is available at:
http://www.alaskaanthropology.org/ and https://www.nps.gov/inup/index.htm
*Pottery Discovered at Cape Hatteras National Seashore Possibly Linked to
the Lost Colony*
NPS Archeologists working on Roanoke Island have discovered shards of 16th
century pottery that may be linked to the Raleigh Colonies. The latest find
came as archeologists from the NPS Southeast Archeology Center and the
First Colony Foundation conducted excavations in two areas of the Cape
Hatteras National Seashore threatened by erosion. The fragments are
believed to have been parts of an ointment or medicine jar. Similar shards
were discovered in the same area in the 1940s.
English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh sent several groups to the North
Carolina Coast in the 1580s. A 1585 mission that only lasted 11 months was
made up of only men. The group that landed in 1587 included both men and
women and saw the birth of Virginia Dare, known as the first English child
born in the New World. That group seemingly vanished. The discovery of
artifacts such as the medicine jar shards help in piecing together what may
have happened.
*Cultural Resources Updates in 2015 National Park Service Wilderness Report*
The NPS Wilderness Stewardship division has released the 2015 Wilderness
Report containing cultural resource contributions to wilderness
stewardship. The Cultural Resources and Wilderness working group for the
NPS Wilderness Leadership Council, chaired by Laura Kern, focused on four
priorities in 2015:
• Narrative guidance on cultural resources as part of the 5th quality of
wilderness character;
• Decision guidance for wilderness-appropriate application of the Secretary
of the Interior’s Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties for
historic structures and installations in wilderness, and criteria for
re-use of historic buildings;
• Solicitor-reviewed white paper summarizing guidance; and
• Connectivity between the WASO-led efforts to update RM-28A technical
reference material related to cultural resources as part of wilderness
character, and decision guidance on treatment of historic buildings and
structures, that is undergoing final review prior to being transmitted to
three Associate Directors. In final form, this guidance will be included as
part of RM-41.
Secondly, six NPS staff, including a cultural resource specialist, worked
with colleagues from the BLM, USFWS, and USFS to develop an implementation
plan for the 2020 Wilderness Vision. The group developed action items for
implementing the Wilderness 2020 vision.
To read the full report, go to
https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1981/upload/2015-NPS-Wilderness-Report.pdf
*By Karen Mudar*
*NPS Awards over $1 Million to Preserve American Battlefields *
The NPS announced $1.19 million grants to support 20 projects at
battlefields across the country. Awards were given to projects in 14 states
entailing archeology, mapping, cultural resource survey work,
documentation, planning, education, and interpretation. The grants are
administered by the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program. Federal,
tribal, state, and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and
educational institutions are eligible for the battlefield grants. Since
1996, the American Battlefield Protection Program has awarded 559 grants
totaling $18,442,955 to help preserve significant historic battlefields
associated with wars on American soil. Below is a list and description of
the 10 archeological grants:
· *Delaware: New Castle Historical Society $71,500*
This project will delineate the boundaries of the Fort Casimir Battlefield
and determine the extent of subsurface remains of the fort and related
sites in the surrounding area. The fort was built by the Dutch in 1651 and
was the site of a battle between the Dutch and English in 1664 that helped
establish English control of the Delaware Valley. Ground penetrating radar
and select subsurface testing will be used.
· *Massachusetts: Town of Montague $81,000*
This project will conduct archeological fieldwork at the Battle of Great
Falls (Wissantinnewag-Peskeompskut) fought in 1676 as part of the King
Phillips War. This battle was part of 1675-1678 conflict between Native
American inhabitants of present-day New England and English colonists and
Native American allies between. Fieldwork will locate, sequence, and
document battlefield actions to create a preservation plan and assessment
of the site's eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic
Places.
· *New York: City of Plattsburgh $54,000*
This project will evaluate six New York battle sites from the Revolutionary
War and War of 1812. The Battle of Valcour Bay is one of the first naval
battles of the Revolutionary War. The other five sites are related to the
Battle of Plattsburgh, a deciding battle in ending the War of 1812. Through
regional planning, public engagement, document review, and archeological
assessment, this project lays the foundation for a strategic preservation
blue print and a plan for heritage tourism.
· *New York: Raymond W. Harvey American Legion Post 703 $80,000*
This project will conduct an archeological study to determine the integrity
of the Battle of Fort Anne's defining features. In 1777, a larger British
army defeated a Continental force that was retreating from a loss at Fort
Ticonderoga. Through an archeological study and development of a
preservation plan, the project will present a history of the battle for
future visitors and researchers.
· *New York: Seneca Nation of Indian Tribal Historic Preservation
Office $46,000*
This project will document location and boundaries of the Battle of
Bucktooth, believed to be the northernmost skirmish between Europeans and
the Seneca Tribe during the Western Campaign of the Revolutionary War.
Knowledge of the battle is based on Seneca oral histories. Through
archeological survey, the office aims to verify histories and set aside the
battle site as a historical landmark. The site can then be preserved and
interpreted for the Tribe and surrounding communities.
· *New York: SUNY Buffalo Research Foundation $23,200*
This project will conduct an archeological survey to assess and preserve
the site of the Battle of Scajaquada Bridge, fought in 1814 during the War
of 1812. The project will work with government agencies in planning for the
ecological restoration and redevelopment of Scajaquada Creek and
surrounding properties, and raise community awareness of the battle.
· *New York: Town of Lake George $50,000*
This project will compile an inventory of sites and features associated
with Fort George, the site of several battles of the French and Indian War
and the Revolutionary War. Period maps and primary documentary sources,
coupled with non-invasive archeological field reconnaissance and GIS
technology, will assist in the final report.
· *Oregon: Southern Oregon University $92,600*
This project will produce multiple property nominations to the National
Register of Historic Places for sites related to the Rogue River War
(1855-1856) in southern Oregon. Increased white settlement in the area
caused ire among the native Rogue River people, leading to several
conflicts. The project will conduct historical research, an archeological
survey, and GIS mapping to determine conflict boundaries.
· *South Carolina: Salve Regina University $39,000*
This project will conduct site documentation for Sadkeche Fight-associated
sites. At the beginning of the Yamasee War (1715-1717), a South Carolina
militia defeated a Yamasee Indian force which was advancing towards
Charleston. The project will conduct a military terrain analysis to produce
a map of the battlefield. A research design for future archeological
testing and a phased preservation plan will help educate the community
about the Yamasee War and the importance of battlefield preservation.
· *Virginia: Piedmont Environmental Council $35,000*
This project will research two previously undocumented Civil War battles -
Jacks' Shop and James City. The Battle of Jack's Shop, fought in 1863, was
a small but bloody cavalry engagement that ended inconclusively. The Battle
of James City, fought a month later, involved a series of failed cavalry
charges on both sides. Research will include documenting the extent of the
battlefields on the landscape using GIS mapping to create three
archeological research designs. This information will be used to inform
future archeological investigations of the battlefields.
More information about the American Battlefield Protection Program
Battlefield grants is available at:
www.nps.gov/abpp/grants/planninggrants.htm.
*From story by Jeremy Barnum*
* FEDERAL NEWS*
*Secretary Jewell Honors Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Archeologist*
A BOEM archeologist was among four cultural preservation officers that
received the prestigious Secretary of the Interior’s Historic Preservation
Award for outstanding efforts to protect America’s diverse cultural and
historical heritage. Secretary Jewell commended the awardees for their
extraordinary individual creativity and expertise in the preservation of
historic and cultural resources, including enhancing federal preservation
efforts in marine archeology.
Brian Jordan, has been a tireless advocate in the establishment and
stewardship of the first BOEM Historic Preservation program. His efforts to
identify submerged paleo-cultural landscapes have played a critical role in
the preservation of such places and elevated the voice of tribal culture on
the Outer Continental Shelf. Jordan has stewarded a significant legacy of
historic preservation activities, bringing the agency to the forefront of
marine archeology.
Created by the National Historic Preservation Act, the Secretary of the
Interior’s Historic Preservation Award is the only
congressionally-mandated, cabinet-level recognition acknowledging the
dedication and expertise of historic preservation professionals within
federal, tribal, state, and local government agencies.
*The Federal Archeologist’s Bookshelf*
“New Evidence for the Timing of Arctic Small Tool Tradition Coastal
Settlement in Northwest Alaska” Andrew Tremayne (NPS Alaska Regional
Office), Alaska Journal of Anthropology Vol. 13, No. 1; 1-19.
Abstract: This paper presents the results of a survey of the oldest beach
ridges located at Cape Espenberg in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve,
Alaska. The goals were to locate and test Arctic Small Tool tradition
(ASTt) sites to develop a coastal settlement chronology and to establish
whether marine resources were exploited. At the outset of this project four
ASTt sites were known at Cape Espenberg, two with associated radiocarbon
dates. Upon completion, ten new ASTt sites with eleven radiocarbon dates
were added to the record. Analysis of the radiocarbon dates indicate ASTt
occupations at Cape Espenberg began at least 4,500 years ago and lasted a
millennium. Comparisons among ASTt sites throughout Alaska suggest the
coast was settled prior to the interior. The site designated KTZ-325
yielded the oldest securely dated evidence for sea mammal use in Northwest
Alaska, supporting the hypothesis that ASTt people had a maritime economy
in place at the start of their florescence in Alaska and beyond.
(You may remember this feature from earlier issues of the E-Gram. We are
reviving it to celebrate accomplishments of our colleagues. Send us a copy
of the article (or reference to the book) and we will announce it. Thanks
to Jeff Rasic for his suggestion to bring back the Federal Archeologist’s
Bookshelf!)
*Archeologists Petition Obama for Bears Ears National Monument*
The latest push for a Bears Ears National Monument comes from a group of
more than 700 archeologists who have signed a letter to the president
asking him to create a national monument if Congress does not pass a bill
adequately protecting the area’s fragile archeological sites. The
proponents for the 1.9 million-acre parcel in southeast Utah cite looting
and vandalism as a reason to create the national monument. The land is
currently managed by multiple agencies, including the BLM and USFS.
Two congressmen have drafted a separate bill to protect 1.1 million acres
in the Bears Ears region. The main difference between the proposals is that
the draft bill works to balance economic development and preservation while
the monument status would be more oriented toward preservation. National
monument designation for the area could spur additional tourism in San Juan
County, which already benefits from tourism generated by a national
monument. The Natural Bridges NM, located west of Blanding, Utah, attracted
nearly 95,000 visitors in 2015.
The proposed Bears Ears National Monument would include the current Natural
Bridges NM. Archeologists say the national monument designation would
provide more protection from looters, especially commercial looters.
“These archeological sites, these artifacts, are the footprints of our
people,” said Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, director of the Cultural Preservation
Office for the Hopi Tribe. “We do not see these sites as ‘ruins’ or as
being abandoned. The spirits of our ancestors still inhabit the Bears Ears.
When these sites are looted or damaged, not only our history but our future
is disrespected.”
*From story by Hannah Grover / The Daily Times, Farmington, N.M.*
*Quarrel’s Quarrel with Federal Prosecutors Over Over ARPA Violation*
Michael Quarrel, 81, of Deming, New Mexico, was sentenced in federal court
in Las Cruces to two years of probation for violating the Archaeological
Resources Protection Act (ARPA). The sentence was announced by U.S.
Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Clark Beene of the
BLM Region 5 of Office of Law Enforcement and Security. Quarrel also was
ordered to pay $1,542.48 in restitution to cover the cost of damages he
caused to an archeological resource while committing the crime. While on
probation, Quarrel will be banned from lands managed by BLM.
The sentence was imposed based on a guilty plea entered by Quarrel on
January 15, 2016, to a felony charge of violating ARPA on September 30,
2013, by excavating, removing and damaging an archeological resource
located on federal lands. Quarrel admitted that he violated ARPA by
digging and removing several pieces of broken Mimbres pottery. This is
Quarrel’s second ARPA conviction; in 2003, he was sentenced to two years of
probation for illegally excavating in an archeological site in the Gila NF.
*From Deming Headlight*
*Native Americans Protest Planned Auction in France*
American Indian leaders and representatives of the federal government
called for a halt to a planned auction of Native American objects. In an
emergency meeting at the National Museum of the American Indian, they
condemned the auction at the Eve Auction House in Paris as illegal and in
violation of international human rights laws. Among the 400 items in the
auction catalogue are a warrior jacket made of human scalps and sacred
items from the Hopi Tribe and Acoma Pueblo.
The Native American objections to the Eve Auction House and its art
auctions go back several years. Various nations have filed lawsuits, and
American embassy officials have tried to intervene. Nothing has worked.
While the sale of Native American human remains and sacred objects is
against the law in the United States, it is legal in other countries.
The planned sale of an Acoma tribal treasure was canceled after a Paris
auction house withdrew the item from bidding. The Eve Auction House’s
decision to cancel the sale of a shield used in Acoma religious ceremonies
came after a week of intense lobbying by the Acoma tribe and high-level
federal government officials, including Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
Jewell wrote a letter to Catherine Chadelat, president of France’s auctions
authority, the Council of Voluntary Sales, asking the French government to
step in and block the transaction. “We have reason to believe that this
object was stolen,” Jewell wrote. “I respectfully request that you prevent
its sale and direct the Eve Auction House to work with the tribe on its
repatriation.” Jewell also asked the French official to help the U.S.
government identify the American citizen who sold the artifact to the
auction house “so that justice may be served.”
Congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico has introduced a resolution calling
for international collaboration to end the black market of cultural and
sacred objects and Congressional hearings on the matter are planned.
*From stories by Peggy McGlone, Washington Post; and Michael Coleman,
Albuquerque Journal*
*Planned Auction of Items from Reservations Raises Questions*
Tribal leaders are questioning the ethical and legal implications of an
auction featuring more than 100 items collected on Pine Ridge and Rosebud
Indian Reservations, including three guns from the 1890 Wounded Knee
massacre and a ceremonial pipe that belonged to Lakota Chief Red Cloud.
Bidding for items gathered from the late 1880s through the early 1900s
opened June 11, 2016, through Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. Similar
auctions have spurred condemnation by many Native American tribes whose
leaders believe sacred and ceremonial items, such as pipes, should be
returned to the tribes, and, most recently, prompted the federal government
to intervene.
The collection belongs to Paul Rathbun, whose grandfather and
great-grandmother gathered the items when the family owned a general store
near Pine Ridge. Rathbun said his grandfather and great-grandmother
salvaged the three guns after they arrived at the site of the Wounded Knee
massacre and found many of their Native American friends dead. Rathbun's
grandfather developed a friendship with Chief Red Cloud. Red Cloud gifted
to Raymond the ceremonial pipe heading to auction.
*By Regina Garcia Cano, Associated Press*
*University of Northern Colorado Gets Bureau of Land Management Funding for
Archeology*
The BLM has awarded $75,000 to researchers at the University of Northern
Colorado (UNC) who want to create a National Register of Historic Places
Archeological District. Since 2003, UNC Emeritus Professor Robert Brunswig
has surveyed 38,000 acres in Rocky Mountain NP, and his team has revealed
the earliest prehistoric Ute Indian site in the region. The ongoing
project, which has also identified more than 500 sacred and high altitude
hunting sites and excavated dozens of prehistoric archeological sites, will
now turn to preparing a nomination for the National Register of Historic
Places.
To learn more about this research, listen to Brunswig’s NPS ArcheoThursday
webinar Change in Holocene Treeline, Paleoclimate, and High Altitude
Hunting Systems in Rocky Mountain NP at
www.nps.gov/training/NPSArcheology/html/index.cfm#r.
*Tribal Land Issues Prompt Change in Bakken Pipeline Work in Iowa*
Iowa officials have agreed to allow work on a four-state oil pipeline to go
forward after Dakota Access LLC submitted a plan to avoid disrupting a
sacred site, an American Indian burial ground. State and federal officials
previously blocked work on the planned Bakken oil pipeline in three Iowa
counties after questions were raised about potential disruption of a sacred
site significant to Sioux tribal members. This includes areas where the
pipeline would cross the Big Sioux River and the Big Sioux River Wildlife
Management Area, the Des Moines River in Boone County, and the Mississippi
River in Lee County.
Dakota Access LLC was given an amendment on its permit to dig at the
wildlife management area. Instead of a trench, the pipeline will be built
about 85 feet underground using special boring equipment. State
Archaeologist John Doershuk said the company’s plan is satisfactory, but
Indigenous Environmental Network organizer Dallas Goldtooth says his group
opposes the construction.
*From story by William Petroski, The Des Moines Register*
*GRANTS AND TRAINING*
*Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to Offer ARPA Training*
FLETC and USFS are co-sponsoring “Archeological Resources Protection
Training Program” (XP-ARPTP-602) Asheville, North Carolina, on August
08-12, 2016. This 37-hour course provides training in archeological
investigation and prosecution. The class culminates in a 12-hour
archeological crime scene practical exercise where law enforcement officers
and archeologist work as a team to investigate and document a crime scene.
Attendees will gather and process physical evidence, write incident
reports, executive summaries, search warrants, damage assessments, and
provide testimony in a courtroom scenario. This training is open to all law
enforcement officers, prosecutors, and Federal archeologists.
USFS employees should contact Stacy Rogers at (912) 267- 2471 for
registration. Other Federal employees should contact their national academy
representatives at FLETC to register.
*Contact: *FLETC instructor Charles Louke (912) 280-5138.
*NAGPRA for Archeologists: Methods, Dialogue, and Technologies*
The NPS National NAGPRA Program, National Center for Preservation
Technology and Training, and the Friends of NCPTT will offer a four-day
course on the statute, regulations, requirements, and compliance aspects of
NAGPRA, September 19-22, 2016. Classroom instruction will include
discussions with NAGPRA representatives from Indian tribes who will share
their responsibilities and experiences. The workshop will conclude with
demonstrations of innovative technologies that can be used for documenting
artifacts prior to repatriation as well as for current and future research.
The class will be held in the Garden Level Room, 10B12795 West Alameda
Parkway, Lakewood, CO 80228. The cost is $500 per participant.
*Contact: *Tad Britt, NPS, (318) 521-5641
*Metal Detecting for Archeologists*
The NPS National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT),
the Friends of NCPTT, Connor Consulting and the LAMAR Institute will offer
a course on metal-detecting for archeologists, November 18 - 20, 2016.
Metal detector applications and use generally have become accepted in
historical archeology, but it is clear that few professional and student
archeologists have received training in metal detector capabilities or use.
Instructors are professional archeologists, many well-known for their work
in using metal detectors on military and domestic sites.
Classroom portion will be held at the New Ebenezer Retreat and Conference
Center, Rincon, Georgia. Classes will be held in the Mildred Kessler
Building. The field portion of the training will be held on the site of the
New Ebenezer Revolutionary War defenses.
Cost is $300.00
*Contact: *Tad Britt, NPS, (318) 521-5641
*SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC: How Climate Change Threatens Coastal Archeological
Sites*
It’s a foggy day at the shore of Redwood NP on the Northern California
coast. The headlands are shrouded in mist and the gray-blue ocean churns
against the shore. “This place is called Shin-yvslh-sri~ – the Summer
Place,” says Suntayea Steinruck a member of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and
Tribal Heritage Preservation Officer for Smith River Rancheria. Her
ancestors lived, hunted and fished around what used to be a small village
on this site.
John Green is also Tolowa, a member of the Elk Valley Rancheria, and traces
his family back to a village in the area. He says there were likely a small
group of plank houses on this site, occupied by a few families. This spot
was part of a network of Tolowa villages up and down the southern Oregon
and northern California coastline. “You have everything here. But you got
to remember that your land was out in the ocean a lot further than it is
now. A lot of it has been washed away,” Green says.
This has been especially true in the past few decades. Redwood NP
archeologist Michael Peterson says in this spot, the cliffs have retracted
about three feet just since 2007. “This is a combination of everything bad:
increasing climate change, increasing of terrific weather, storms,”
Peterson says. “I’ve seen whole redwood logs lying up on top of rocks that
are like 12 feet above high tide area.” Erosion has been happening all
along the Northwest coast for thousands of years. But recently there’s been
a change in the intensity and frequency of coastal storms. “The whole
acceleration has increased, and we’re definitely losing sites more
rapidly,” says Rick Minor, an archeologist with Heritage Research
Associates in Eugene, Oregon.
Minor says archeologists in California are already beginning to come
together to address the effects of climate change, but Oregon and
Washington are lagging behind. But it’s difficult to hold back the ocean –
especially in areas that are prized for their natural beauty.
Redwood NP has been working with the local tribes to stabilize the ground
at the old Tolowa village site. At heavily used sites like this one,
national park visitors themselves present an additional challenge. Park
staff have built fences and trails to keep visitors out of erosion-prone
areas. They’ve laid down jute fiber to stabilize the ground and encourage
vegetation growth along the steep cliffs. “At any place you have historic
or prehistoric activity, with climate change, erosion issues, with an
increased number people … will have increased number of artifacts coming to
the surface,” Peterson says. “Some of the things that we want to install,
or could install, they distract from the visual effect. A cement wall along
here would work really well… but we try not [to do] things like that on
historic property.”
The park has had problems with looting involving artifact hunters who
knowingly break the law and average hikers who don’t know any better. One
person was even caught with human remains. The park and tribes are working
to increase their presence in these areas to prevent this from happening,
since they know these sites can’t be recreated. “You can’t just put
another 4,000 Tolowa De’nii people back out on a site for 10,000 years and
have it grow back,” Suntayea Steinruck says.
They may soon need to decide if they should go in and learn what they can
about this village site archeologically before it’s too late. One idea is
to study old waste shell deposits or “shell midden.” “Rather than letting
them erode down the slope and they’re gone forever, we can use these clam
shells out here for oxygen isotope analysis. That’ll tell us something
about climate change in the past,” says Peterson.
For Suntayea Steinruck, the situation raises a complex dilemma; on one hand
is Steinruck’s desire to preserve and respect her cultural history by
leaving the village site undisturbed. But that value is pitted against her
interest in saving what she can from the effects of climate change. “I see
the coastal bluffs eroding and then my traditionalist side want to kick in
and say, ‘our ancestors are falling into the ocean, what do we do?’ How do
we maintain their resting spots to where they’re not disturbed? Or how do
we address them in a way that is culturally appropriate?” Because the blunt
truth is, despite park efforts, the cliffs at the Summer Place are still
washing away. “I think that’s a heavy burden a lot of us have to bear,
because we have to look at that reality of it,” she said.
*by Jes Burns, Earthfix*
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