*September 2016 Archeology E-Gram*
*NPS NEWS*
*New Superintendent Named for Anacostia Park, Historic Homes and Capitol
Hill Parks*
Tara Morrison will become the next superintendent of National Capital Parks
– East. Morrison began her NPS career as an archeology intern in
Washington, D.C. She was a park ranger at Boston African American NHS, and
the first superintendent of African Burial Ground NM, New York City. There,
Morrison worked with the African descendant community and led development
of the visitor center. Since 2011, Morrison has served as superintendent of
Rock Creek Park.
Morrison received a BS in African American studies from Northeastern
University and a graduate certificate in museum management from the
University of South Carolina, where she completed graduate coursework in
anthropology with a concentration in historical archeology. Morrison will
begin her new position December 7, 2016.
*50th Anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act Toolkit*
The National Historic Preservation Act was signed into law October 15,
1966, by Lyndon B. Johnson. To commemorate the anniversary, the NPS has
created a NHPA50 Tool-Kit. The toolkit contains a discussion guide, social
media plan, and a Jr. Ranger booklet (also shipped to all parks earlier in
the year).
Additionally, a grassroots social media movement is developing using the
hashtag #hugyourhistory. On or around October 15, national park staff are
encouraged to post to their social media pages a photo of someone hugging a
cultural resource that relates to the NHPA. This could be a historic
building, a historic landmark, or maybe a maintenance staff person hugging
the archeologist monitoring their work as part of Section 106. Gently hug
a museum object or battlefield monument. Attempt to hug your trowel
without poking your eye out. Stop by your local SHPO or THPO and give them
a hug (they probably need it!). The possibilities are endless!
To download the toolkit, go to https://www.nps.gov/article
s/hispresjuniorrranger.htm
*Contact: *Kelly Clark, (305) 296-5578 or (305) 224-4226
*Emily Button Kambic Joins National Capital Region*
Emily Button Kambic, an American Council of Learned Societies Fellow, has
joined the NPS National Capital Region (NCR) Office of Resource Stewardship
and Science for a two-year fellowship. She will be the Cultural Resources
Public Outreach Coordinator. Kambic will oversee efforts to share cultural
resource research and information and assist expanding collaboration
between NCR and local colleges and universities, and with the Chesapeake
Watershed CESU Coordinator.
Kambic’s research interests focus on the formation of multicultural
American communities in the 19th century American whaling industry. Her
doctoral dissertation from Brown University focused on Native American and
African American whaling families in Sag Harbor, NY, exploring strategies
of household economic survival, cross-cultural community building, and
ethnic differentiation. Her MA research addressed the cultural biographies
of artifacts from Arctic indigenous whaling communities in American museums.
The American Council of Learned Societies Public Fellows program provides
scholars in the humanities and social sciences with experience in the
government and nonprofit sectors. Kambic is one of twenty scholars selected
in 2016 to take up a two-year, full-time position at a nonprofit and
government organization across the United States.
*Urban Archeology Corps Program in Lawrence, Massachusetts*
Eight students ages 16 -17 participated in the Urban Archeology Corps (UAC)
Program in Lawrence, Massachusetts, this summer. To better understand how
residents of Lawrence interact with their city today, the students
conducted interviews and a surface survey of trash in nearby Misserville
State Park. They also conducted archival research of the history of
immigrant workers in the local mills.
Students visited Saugus Ironworks NHS, Lowell NHP, and Boston African
American NHS. Many of them had never visited a national park. Learning
about the industrial past and history of immigrants of Lawrence encouraged
students to question how the image of Lawrence evolved over time. As many
of the students who participated are first and second generation immigrants
in this heavily Latino immigrant city, this question resonated both
intellectually and personally.
Students chose art forms to share and interpret their research for a
broader audience. They developed an interpretive art piece and dance, a
slam poem, an interactive poster presentation, and a picture chapter
scrapbook to share during a public event on August 12, 2016. The program
was made possible through a partnership with the NPS Northeast Regional
Office and Washington Office; and Groundwork Lawrence.
The Urban Archeology Corps (UAC) engages youth aged 16-25 in local urban
archeological projects. Through their work experience with the UAC,
participants become familiar with the National Park System, local parks,
and archeology; and acquire important professional skills. Now in its fifth
year nationally, the UAC introduces youth to the archeological process
including excavation, historic preservation, research, cataloguing,
interpretation, and civic engagement; and instructs participants in the
importance of stewardship and public preservation. Youth are introduced to
new career paths and learn important professional and academic skills,
while utilizing digital technologies to create products that provide
tangible demonstrations of the value of the program.
*Friends Group Receives Award from National Park Service for Archeology
Project*
A project to find and study the site of the Parker's Revenge Battle in
Minute Man NHP was one of 20 projects nationwide to receive the 2016 NPS
Director's Partnership Award. The Friends of Minute Man NHP who worked with
NPS staff, the Lexington Minute Men Association and numerous individuals
during a multi-year project discovered the location of the second skirmish
of the Lexington militia led by Capt. John Parker and the British Army on
the first day of the American Revolution.
NPS Jon Jarvis honored the Friends of Minute Man, stating that "through the
Parker's Revenge Project, Friends of Minute Man led collaborative efforts
to research, map, interpret, and re-create the site of an important battle
that occurred during the opening days of the American Revolution. Their
financial and volunteer support to Minute Man National Historical Park
resulted in a large-scale archival and archeological analysis of the site,
discovery and analyses of significant artifacts, and a deeper understanding
of a pivotal battle and its impact on all that would come to transpire."
Project archeologist Margaret Watters of the NPS Northeast Region
Archeology Program has given 13 public talks on the project to date.
*By Caitlyn Kelleher, Wicked Local*
*National Museum of African American History and Culture Opens in
Washington DC*
On September 24, 2016, President Obama inaugurated the National Museum of
African American History and Culture. It is the newest of the 13 museums on
the National Mall in Washington, DC. The handsome building stands at the
corner of Constitution and 15th St.
Among the NPS attendees was Betty Soskin, the oldest currently employed
National Park Ranger. She celebrated her 95th birthday, on September 22,
with a talk to a group of school children at the Main Interior Building.
Her birthday is the same date that President Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation (although it did not go into effect until January
of the following year). Soskin shared that her great-grandmother, who was
born in 1845, was a slave and that she lived until Soskin was in her 20s.
Everyone in the room, therefore, was one degree of separation away from a
chapter of American history that continues to resonate in current events.
The new museum reminds us that American history is incomplete without Black
history. It is open 364 days each year. Regular hours of operation are from
10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Although free, a timed pass is required for entry.
To learn more, go to https://nmaahc.si.edu/
*By Karen Mudar*
*New Mammoth Discovered at Channel Islands National Park*
A research team of NPS paleontologists and archeologists and staff from
Bugbee's Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, SD have discovered an intact – and
surprisingly large – mammoth skull at Channel Islands NP that may offer
clues both to the evolution of the Ice Age mammal and human migration into
North America.
The USGS have dated a charcoal sample found near the skull to 13,000 BP, a
time when the only mammoth species on the island was the pygmy mammoth.
Despite remarkably preservation, scientists were not able to easily
classify the skull, it being too large for a pygmy mammoth and too small
for a Columbian mammoth. The 14-foot Columbian mammoth migrated to North
America 1.5 million years ago, and then to the Channel Islands during the
past two ice ages. After the ice age ended, rising seas isolated the island
population, which evolved into the 6-foot pygmy mammoth. The discovery of
the skull may shed new light on mammoth adaptation to small isolated
islands.
The date also places the mammoth and Arlington man, thought to be the
oldest human remains in North America, on the island at approximately the
same time. A debate over whether humans caused the mammoths' extinction has
been ongoing in the scientific community, and a finding of man and mammoth
in close proximity will add to the discussion.
*Suicide Awareness Month*
September is Suicide Awareness Month. Suicide does not discriminate on the
basis of gender, age, background, or profession. A number of archeologists
who have made seminal contributions to the field have taken their own life,
including V. Gordon Childe. It is the third leading cause of death among
young adults.
The NPS Employee Wellness Program Office of Risk Management encourages
everyone to have a conversation to bring this hidden topic into the light.
These conversations are critical to eliminate the negative stigma
surrounding suicide and help those in need realize they are supported and
know where they can go for help. The program goal is to lose no more
colleagues to suicide; it will take everyone’s efforts to realize this
goal. Talk to your colleagues and be aware of the danger signs. Suicide
affects family, friends, and colleagues, whose lives are diminished by
every loss.
*FEDERAL NEWS*
*President Obama Creates the Atlantic’s First Marine National Monument*
President Obama created the Atlantic’s first marine national monument
September 15, 2016, using the Antiquities Act. The Northeast Canyons and
Seamounts Marine National Monument consists of nearly 5,000 square miles of
underwater canyons and mountains 130 miles off the southeast coast of Cape
Cod.
The designation carries a ban on commercial fishing, mining and drilling,
though a seven-year exception will occur for the lobster and red crab
industries. Recreational fishing will be allowed within the monument.
In all, the Atlantic Ocean monument will include three underwater canyons
deeper than the Grand Canyon and four underwater mountains. It is home to
such protected species as the sperm, fin and sei whales, and endangered
Kemp’s Ridley turtles. Species of coral found nowhere else on earth will
also be protected.
The new protected area is intended to ameliorate dangerous climate changes,
ocean dead zones and unsustainable fishing practices. More than 20
countries also announced plans to create their own marine protected areas.
*GRANTS AND TRAINING*
*2017 Albright-Wirth Grant Application Period Now Open*
The application period for 2017 Albright-Wirth Grants is now open. To be
eligible for Albright-Wirth Grant funds, an NPS employee may be from any
career field, grade level, or geographic location. Applicants must be a NPS
employee (permanent, full or part-time, seasonal, temporary, and term are
all accepted), have not received a grant for the previous three funding
cycles, and have at least three (3) cumulative years of NPS work experience
by September 4, 2016.
The Horace M. Albright-Conrad L. Wirth Grant Program annually awards
funding for personal and career development projects to NPS employees. The
program is funded by the National Park Foundation and administered by the
NPS WASO, Leadership Development Group. Last year over $98,000 in award
funding was distributed to 25 grant recipients.
Applications received after October 20, 2016 will not be considered.
Applications will only be accepted through http://share.nps.gov/awg.
*Contact:* Lisa Matarazzo ([log in to unmask]).
*Advisory Council Offers Training*
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) Office of Federal
Agency Programs has opened registration for Fall 2016 Section 106 Webinar
Series. Training includes the beginning level "Defining the Area of
Potential Effects," the new intermediate level program on "Preservation
Compliance and Property Disposal," and the advanced level "Overview of
Program Alternatives."
A small group format of 25 participants allows for student interaction with
colleagues and the instructor. Intermediate level programs assume basic
familiarity with the Section 106 review process, while advanced topics are
designed for experienced users of the regulations. ACHP staff instructors
lead these hour-long learning experiences.
A complete list of course dates, program descriptions, and registration
instructions are posted on www.achp.gov/sec106webinar.html.
Spaces remain in fall offerings of the ACHP classroom courses for those
seeking more comprehensive Section 106 training. “Section 106 Essentials”
will be offered in Washington, DC on October 4-5 and in Houston, Texas on
November 15-16 (an Allied Event with NTHP PastForward Conference).
Course details and the full season calendar are available at
www.achp.gov/106select.html.
*Contact: *Reid Nelson, [log in to unmask]
*SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC:* *Giant Hail Killed More than 200 in Himalayas*
For decades the skeletal remains of more than 200 people, discovered in
1942 close to the glacial Roopkund Lake in the remote Himalayan Gahrwal
region, have puzzled historians, scientists and archeologists. Were they
soldiers killed in battle, royal pilgrims who lost their way and succumbed
to hypothermia, or Tibetan traders who died of a mysterious illness?
Roopkund is a high altitude glacial lake in the Uttarakhand state of India.
It lies in the lap of Trishul massif and is famous for the hundreds of
human skeletons found at the edge of the lake. The area is uninhabited, in
the Himalayas at an altitude of 16,499 feet.
The first forensic investigation of one of the area's most enduring
mysteries has concluded that hundreds of pilgrims - whose frozen corpses
are being disgorged from ice high in the mountain - were killed by one of
the most lethal hailstorms in history.
Scientists have discovered that they date from the 9th century CE, and
believe that they died from sharp blows to their skulls, almost certainly
by giant hailstones. "We were amazed by what we found," said Pramod
Joglekar, a bio-archeologist at Deccan College, Pune, who was among the
team who visited the site 16,500ft above sea level. "In addition to
skeletons, we discovered bodies with the flesh intact, perfectly preserved
in the icy ground. We could see their hair and fingernails as well as
pieces of clothing."
The most startling discovery was that many of those who died suffered
fractured skulls. "We retrieved a number of skulls which showed short, deep
cracks," said Subhash Walimbe, a physical anthropologist at the college.
"These were caused not by a landslide or an avalanche but by blunt, round
objects about the size of cricket balls."
The team concluded that hailstones were the most likely cause of the
injuries after consulting Himalayan historians and meteorological records.
Wolfgang Sax, an anthropologist at Heidelberg University, cited a
traditional song among Himalayan women that describes a goddess so enraged
at outsiders who defiled her mountain sanctuary that she rained death upon
them by flinging hailstones "hard as iron."
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the heaviest hailstones on
record weighed up to 2.2lb and killed 92 people in Bangladesh in 1986. The
team believes that those who died at Roopkund were caught in a similar
hailstorm from which they were unable to find cover. The balls of ice would
have been falling at more than 100 mph, killing some victims instantly.
Others would have fallen, stunned and injured, and died soon afterwards of
hypothermia.
"The only plausible explanation for so many people sustaining such similar
injuries at the same time is something that fell from the sky," said
Walimbe. "The injuries were all to the top of the skull and not to other
bones in the body, so they must have come from above. Our view is that
death was caused by extremely large hailstones."
The scientists found glass bangles, indicating the presence of women, in
addition to a ring, spear, leather shoes and bamboo staves. They estimate
that as many as 600 bodies may still be buried in snow and ice by the lake.
Bone samples collected at the site established the date of death as AD 850.
The team has yet to resolve the identity of the nomads. DNA from tissue
samples suggested that the group was closely related. One match pointed to
a community of high-caste Brahmins in central India.
The investigators agreed that the victims were Hindu pilgrims from the
plains, rather than the mountains, because of their large size and good
health.
* From story by David Orr, 2004, Telegraph*
Archeology E-Gram, distributed via e-mail on a regular basis, includes
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Contact: Karen Mudar at [log in to unmask] to contribute news items and to
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