Please pass the word to any college or high school students, potential=20
volunteers, or secondary school teachers about the opportunities with the=
=20
1996 field season at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury.
 
BOSTON UNIVERSITY ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL
IN HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Massachusetts
June 10 through July 13, 1996
 
 
Instructor/Director:  Professor Mary C. Beaudry
Program Fee:  $1500
Room and Board (optional): $1400
Credit:  8 credits total
Location, Spencer-Pierce-Little Farm, Newbury, Massachusetts
Duration:  28 field days between June 10 and July 13
 
Application Deadline:  May 15, 1996
 
Instruction in the techniques of archaeological survey and excavation as=20
part of a multidisciplinary investigation of the Spencer-Peirce-Little=20
Farm and its environs.  The farmhouse is a late first-period (ca. 1690)=20
brick and stone house with cruciform plan=D1the only one of its kind in New=
=20
England.  The property, ca. 230 acres in size, is owned by the Society=20
for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.  Located in rural=20
Newbury, Massachusetts, in the 17th and 18th centuries the farm was home=20
to a succession of merchant families with close ties to nearby=20
Newburyport, a port town bustling with the activities of shipbuilders,=20
artisans, mariners, and merchants.  The 1996 field season will explore=20
the significance of this relationship and will examine the role of the cult=
ure
of agriculture and agricultural reform in the development of=20
New England regional culture through detailed investigation of the=20
changing layout of the farmyard.  The excavations will continue and=20
expand upon efforts in reading the archaeological signature of women as=20
productive members of the household through recovery and interpretation=20
of the material culture of dairying, food preparation, and the tools of=20
needlework and sewing.  Guest lectures on colonial New England culture=20
and field trips to archaeological sites in Salem and Sturbridge,=20
Massachusetts, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will provide background and=
=20
comparative detail for the comprehending the excavated remains.
 
Class Schedule/Instruction
Field instruction takes place 6 days a week (Monday though Saturday).  Fiel=
d=20
instruction includes all the techniques involved in survey and excavation=
=20
in addition to lectures on field conservation, zooarchaeology,=20
environmental archaeology, and local history.  Guest lecturers discuss=20
the social and family history of the Spencer-Peirce-Little site,=20
architectural history and analysis, and other relevant topics. =20
Laboratory instruction includes washing, labeling, identifying, sorting,=20
and cataloging historical artifacts as well as preliminary analysis of=20
artifactual and other data.
 
This intensive course in intended to provide students with detailed=20
instruction in excavation techniques and interpretation of the=20
archaeological record at a site with complex soil stratification and a=20
wide variety of sealed features dating to different time periods. =20
Students also participate in many other aspects of the ongoing research=20
at the site, including site survey and mapping.
 
Students receive 8 credits for two courses.  Undergraduates enroll in CAS=
=20
AR 370S Studies in New World Historical Archaeology (4 credits) and CAS=20
AR 503S Archaeological Field Methods:  Excavation and Survey (4=20
credits).  Graduate students sign up for GRS AR 770S New World Historical=
=20
Archaeology (4 credits) and GRS AR 883S Methods and Theory of=20
Archaeological Reconnaissance and Excavation (4 credits).  Program fee,=20
$1500.
 
Accommodations
Local students may elect to commute to and from the site on a daily basis=
=20
(Monday through Saturday), in which case they are responsible for providing=
=20
their own lunches.  Students requiring room and board pay an additional fee=
=20
that covers the cost of a single room at the dormitories of historic=20
Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts, and three meals a day=20
(breakfast, dinner, and box lunch).  Room and board fee also covers=20
access to the Academy's tennis courts and playing fields as well as=20
transportation between the site and the dormitory.  Room and board fee,=20
$1400.
 
Volunteers
Volunteers are welcome to participate in all aspects of the field program=
=20
and are much appreciated.  Volunteers must provide their own=20
transportation and bring their own lunch.  We prefer people who can work=20
with us for 3 to 5 consecutive days, but will be happy to accept people who=
=20
can come only on Saturdays.  Application deadline:  May 15, 1996.
 
 
Teacher Workshops
The Center for Archaeological Studies at Boston University and the=20
Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities invite=20
secondary-school teachers to participate in a hands-on dig into local=20
history as part of the 1996 field season at the Spencer-Peirce-Little=20
Farm in Newbury.  Applicants may enroll in one or more week-long=20
sessions.  The teacher workshops will run conjointly with the academic=20
field school, volunteer program, and workshops for high-school students.
 
Teachers will participate both in excavation and in artifact-processing=20
activities.  In addition, the instructors will lead special sessions=20
exclusively for teachers enrolled in the workshops; these will be devoted=
=20
to discussion of archaeology and education (curricula, sand-box digs,=20
on-line resources for archaeology, etc.).
 
Bibliography
Beaudry, Mary C.
1993=09Puzzling Over the Pieces:  The 1992 and 1993 Field=20
=09Seasons at the Spencer-Pierce-Little Farm. Context (the newsletter for=
=20
=09the Center for Archaeological Studies at Boston University) 11(1-2).
1991=09Beyond the Kitchen Door:  The 1991 Field Season at the=20
=09Spencer-Pierce-Little Farm.   Context (the newsletter of the Center for=
=20
=09Archaeological Studies) 9(3-4): 18-19.
1989=09Archaeological Research  at the Spencer-Pierce-Little=20
=09Farm, 1989.  Context (the newsletter of the Center for Archaeological=20
=09Studies) 8(1-2): 1-3.
 
Copies of these items and a list of additional suggested reading are=20
provided in the information packet mailed to students and volunteers.
 
For applications and further information, contact the director of the
field program, Dr. Mary C. Beaudry, Department of Archaeology, Boston
University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215; telephone
617-353-3415; FAX 617-353-6800; e-mail [log in to unmask]