earthworks, embankments, and walls

A few little updates for this week. I am currently working on the Theory chapter of IS and it is going pretty well so far, which could either be a good thing or horribly awful because I am overlooking something very important. There are only a few more days until I return home for Thanksgiving break where I will be visiting Highbanks again, this time to look at the artifacts on display there. I actually get to have the case opened and touch them!!!!

A little more about the theory chapter:
As of right now I am discussing the various theories on the purpose/usage of earthworks. I am looking at the latest theories, starting with Prufer. The main ideas that I am coming across are "Vacant  Center" theory, also known as the "Dispersed Sedentary Theory", The "Corporate Center Plan", "Central Place", etc. The main theory that I will be working with will most likely be the "Vacant Center" theory which basically says that Hopewellian communities made up of single- or multiple- family households are scattered across the landscape but concentrated around the centrally located burial and ceremonial precincts. These precincts are not directly occupied and coincide with the "Hopewell mortuary cult". It is implied by Prufer that the hamlets that surround the centers constitute as a community, hamlets are self-sufficient. These ceremonial centers are vacant only in the sense that there is no permanent residential population. The centers, with their surrounding 'communities' are then scattered along rivers.

It is an exciting chapter in that I now get to explore the function behind the Orange Township earthworks in a broad and narrow scale.

Stay tuned for more updates!!

a new round of books!

hello all! I have been to the library yet again and acquired a new set of books for IS. This brings the total of books so far to 26 books! I am writing up a bibliography for Monday and I am sure the list will grow with time. The girl who was checking out my books at the desk today just laughed when she watched me struggle down the steps and up to the counter with my duffel bag full of books. They were super heavy and I contemplated buying one of those metal carts that bag ladies use for my future library trips.

A few updates:

• washing and preliminary sorting of artifacts and debitage is complete
• the fist phase of sorting all of the chert flakes is complete
• We found a piece of baked clay, this is not a piece of pottery, perhaps it is from clay that was too close to a fire or something else that is yet to be determined.
• Copeland Fund proposal was filled out and submitted last week!!
• Beta Analytic lab received my sample and the results should be in around the middle or end of October.
• Writing continues with the methods chapter, problem statement, bibliography. I have outlined pretty much all of the IS, now it is a matter of filling in

Stay tuned or more updates!!! 

Books!

In the past few days I have been working on getting sources for my IS, which means going to the library with a large duffel bag and filling it with books until I can almost not carry it. I procured a selection of books for the first round of research:

All of these will hopefully be helpful in getting me on the right track. All of these have to do with chert and I am going to try and teach myself about the different stages of making a tool are and what flakes are associated with those. My advisor Prof. Nick Kardulias has looked at some of my chert material and believes that some kind of reduction was going on at the site. This means that people were taking large chunks/cores of chert and knapping them into blanks to then be made into specific tools. Today we have a meeting where he will examine my artifacts some more to see what kinds of things I have. We will be going through my 'rocks'.
I also wanted to draw everyone's attention to a certain book.

I found this book at work (Olentangy Indian Caverns) this summer and really wanted to use it. My other advisor, Prof. Mark Wilson, in our meeting on Monday, did some searching and is allowing me to use this source. It has really great descriptions and photos of chert types in the area so I was looking at it as being good for comparing the chert I am trying to identify.

Well there is still a lot of work to be done, I am filling out funding applications for AMS dating expenses and proposals and writing chapters. Busy, busy, busy!

short update

I have realized that in the years in highschool science class where we learned the metric system of measuring, it never stuck with me ....I know I know I am a disappointment and I bring shame to all sciences.

I have to measure out 10-50 milligrams of charcoal to be sent out to the BETA labs for AMS dating and this morning I just stared at the scale that read .20 grams and had no idea what it meant. Thankfully a friend set me straight but I am still having some issue at the moment as the how much the scale needs to read. It will be done correctly, it will just take me a little longer to get it right.

IS labwork time

So sorry to those of you that looked for a new blog post in the past month or so, I had some technical difficulties

So far the things that were missed :

Close of the second unit

Move into school with all of the equipment and artifacts delivered to the lab

Preliminary washing and sorting being done

New finds after washing:

Fire cracked rock

Ochre

The fire cracked rock and charcoal were found in unit number one and in the same context layer, these could mean that cooking was going on but could also indicate that chert was being heat treated. The large chunk of chert that was found on the surface of the second unit, pictured in an earlier post, that has the bright reds and blues, has been heat treated. Some types of chert are easier to knap once they have been heat treated. Cherts may have a glossier surface and brighter colors.

So far I have been focusing on the washing and preliminary sorting of the chert as well as getting the charcoal that was collected ready to be sent out for carbon dating. Unfortunately there is not a large enough sample to perform carbon dating but there is enough to perform AMS dating. AMS dating allows dating samples with only a few milligrams of carbon. I currently have 4.6 grams, which is plenty for AMS, I would have needed 20 grams for carbon-14 dating.

All in all IS is in full swing and I am already beginning to write up the field methods

Unit 2 updates

 As you all know we have moved to a new unit, and so have the mice. When Mom and I went out the the new unit and removed the tarp we found about four nests and the two mice running around. When we started to move some of the equipment the mice jumped into a crate that holds our trowels and such. They were actually kind of cute and probably at this moment enjoying the shelter of the tarp.

Unit number 2 is proving to be very promising. So far we have collected a lot of materials just on the surface. Mom and I went out to the site and staked out the 2x2 meter square and removed the plant material from the surface. Just by doing that there were chert flakes visible. This new location is at a higher elevation than the first unit and a bit closer to the earthworks. I'm very excited to see what kinds of materials this unit holds and who knows? Perhaps we will get lucky and find some really great pottery.

lots of overdue updates

the last 2 weeks have been very busy with work and excavating so the blog took a back seat for a bit. This means that I have a lot of updates.
firstly I contacted a man names James Murphy who is a Professor at OSU. He sent me a few links and articles that will really help with my research as well as identifing the striped piece of chert from a few posts back. The piece is informally known as "Deep Run Banded Chert". James said that the occurance was rare in the area and sent me pages of a CRM report that is the only source he has on it. I'm really excited about this piece now and hopefully I can contact some more people from the area to see about its occurance.

On a day that I happened to be working Mom and my Uncle Mike and his girlfriend Kathy went out to the site. They made great progress on the unit which made it much easier for Mom and I to finish it. I am so grateful for both Mike and Kathy, thanks for coming out guys!

This is a really cool crystal that Mike found, It has bits of red on it, once I get it back to Wooster and washed I'll look at it much closer.

On July 4th Mom and I decided to celebrate freedom by going out to the site. We knocked out the rest of the context layer and I did a lot of surface collection where I found big pieces of chert laying right on the surface. It was a pretty normal day except that our turkey friends returned , and this time they were sneaking up on us. There were two grown turkeys, probably a male and a female, rooting around for food. They didn't gobble just walked realyl close to us. Every time we tried to get a clear picture it was hard so only a blurry one is provided.

Today Mom and I went out to basically clean up the unit. We cut roots and made sure that the walls were level and the clay layer was exposed. I found a few pieces of chert and rocks but not a huge amount. I predict that we will close this unit in probably two more excavation days. Mom may even go in with Dad one day that I am working and close it.

The circles in the picture are not post holes they are imprints frm my bucket.

Next time we go out to the site I plan on taking soil samples, measuring the unit distance from the earthworks so that I can map it more easily. I also need to make another copy of the map or get one from OHS so that I dont mess up the one that I have.

Alright huge update but thanks for reading!!

terribly overdue

So this is going to be a long update, considering that I have not posted in a while.
Firstly I got an A on my Geology I.S.
I completed my Archaeology I.S., topping at 84 pages! Also an A
My proposal was approved and I received my permit for excavation this past Monday in mail.
I want to thank all of the park staff and people at the Ohio Historical Society including Brad Lepper, Brent Eberhard, Linda Pansing, Richard Rapp, Elizabeth Fields, John Watts, and so many others who I am sure I am forgetting.
I am so excited to be starting excavations, and as an undergrad it is an even bigger honor to have been given this chance. I hope that the weather gets better and that all of my hard work pays off in a great excavation. The project will begin on Thursday, May 26th, so in a week!!!!! I am going up to Wooster to pick up equipment from the Geology and Archaeology departments.
On Thursday Richard and Elizabeth will walk me around the site and I will do some initial survey, no intensive stuff that day. I have to watch out for a population of salamanders, though I think it should be fine. I intend to begin real excavations on Friday, weather premitting, and go straight through to June 12th, which is a Sunday.
I really hope that I can blog just about everyday, or every other day, so that there is an ongoing record of excavation and findings, I plan on posting photos, etc.
This is such a wonderful opportunity for me and I cannot stop smiling about it!
Wish me luck everyone!!!

Update (a little late)

hello again!
A lot has happened in the way of writing since I last posted. My I.S. is coming along really well and after my meeting this morning with Dr. Wilson I am excited to continue writing. I'm working on a discussion chapter, Carbon dating chapter, and a Lit. review. Everything is going pretty well and I think this is going to be a great paper when I am done with it. I never thought I would be so excited about I.S. but its turning out to be awesome.
I plan on calling Elizabeth Fields in the next few days and try to set up a meeting with her. She is in charge of Highbanks.

weekly update #2

Hi again!
This week I visited the Ohio Historical Societies archaeology collections building.
The Orange Township Works site was excavated in 1951/52 but was never published. The original field notes and artifacts are available in the collections so I hunted then down. Brad Lepper was my contact at the Collections department and he invited me to come down and look at all of the data that was there. When I arrived both Brad and Linda Pansing had set out the files and drawer of artifacts for me. Brad and Linda were so helpful and both really open to my project. When I strated to go through the notes, photos and artifacts the most interesting thing that I found was that there were a lot more artifacts that were found then I had realized. The few sources  found talking about my site had mentioned a few sherds of pottery but never the hundreds of flint chips and charcoal pieces. There was visible evidence that people had been working with flint at this site. The photos also helped me to see how big the tests trenches were, turns out a lot bigger than I thought. The charcoal in the collection really got me excited though. Brad and Linda both said that if my sampling does not yield any testable material for C14 dating that I can submit a request to test the charcoal that is available. This could be the thing that takes my project to the next level because in the end I want to put a date on the site, C14 dating is the best way for me to get a date. Great thanks goes out to Brad Lepper and Linda Pansing for helping me and allowing me to sit for an hour and a half looking through everything.
Today I am going out to Highbanks park to take some pictures of the site and look at some of the artifacts that are on display in the visitor center.

weekly update #1

Hello again!
Today I had my I.S. meeting with Dr. Wilson and we went over this weeks draft. I feel like I am making good progress content wise but apparently I have issues with the words "are" and "is". I will have to work on that. My goals for my next draft are to rewrite, working on my consistency, proofreading and attention to style and trying to make it all look cleaner. I will also be starting my "proposed methods" section. In order to these things I want to find the topo map of the area in the unorganized library stacks *yikes* and find a few sources to back up my information. A longer term goal is to have my I.S. basically all written by November sometime so that I can have a month to pollish and fill-in. Wish me luck and I'll keep everyone posted.

In case anyone wanted a map of Highbanks!