About Archaeology

George Cowgill: How I got here...

2009-07-03T11:08:20Z

George Cowgill is a Mesomericanist archaeologist, probably best known for his work at Teotihuacan. In an essay titled "How I got to where I am now: One thing after another, a (mostly) linear narrative" and published in Ancient Mesoamerica late last year, Cowgill talked about how he got into archaeology, and it is an essay anybody contemplating an entry into the field ought to read.

Teotihuacan from the Pyramid of the Moon to the Pyramid of the Sun. Photo by Owen Prior

In "How I got to where I am", Cowgill first describes a childhood in Depression-era Idaho with his twin brother Warren. As a high school student, Cowgill toyed with being a journalist and an anthropologist, but started out his academic career in physics, graduating with a BS at Stanford and beginning a graduate degree at Iowa State. Somewhere along the line, he fell in with bad company, and in 1952 found himself at an archaeological site in Jamestown, North Dakota working with Richard Wheeler and Hester Davis, and while in Iowa visited the Effigy Mounds and met Will Logan and Reynold Ruppe. By 1954 he chucked physics and started graduate school in archaeology at the University of Chicago.

The rest of the essay discusses Cowgill's life as an archaeologist, how he got to Harvard and eventually Arizona State, how he ended up at Teotihuacan with Rene Millon, and what he thinks of the changes in the profession over his fifty plus years in the field. The essay is an interesting glimpse into how one man became an archaeologist, and what being an archaeologist meant in the 1960s and what it means today.

Cowgill, George L. 2008 How I got to where I am now: One thing after another, a (mostly) linear narrative. Ancient Mesoamerica 19:165�173. You can buy a copy of the article for £10 or US$15 through this link.

A Walking Tour of Teotihuacan

Time Team America

2009-07-02T10:14:10Z

Premiering Wednesday, July 8, 2009, is Time Team America, a new PBS television series that is the first U.S. program dedicated to showing the nuts and bolts of archaeology in action.

Time Team America. Photo by Meg Gaillard

Time Team America member Julie Schablitsky
Photo Credit: Laurance Johnson

Produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting and based on the madly popular British series Time Team, each program in Time Team America brings a Mission Impossible team of professional archaeologists to a different archaeological site in the United States. Sites featured in this premiere season include the lost colony of Roanoke, North Carolina; the extensive Clovis and controversial preclovis Topper Site in South Carolina; New Philadelphia, an Illinois town established by former slaves; Range Creek, a rocky valley with Fremont culture occupations in Utah; and the wild west frontier town of Fort James, South Dakota.

Time Team America Host Colin Campbell
Photo Credit: Crystal Street

The professionals on the team include historical and urban archaeologist Julie Schablitsky currently at the Maryland State Highway Administration; Plains prehistorian Adrien Hannus at Augustana College in South Dakota; Joe Watkins, Director of the Native American Studies Program at the University of Oklahoma; historical archaeologist Eric Deetz of the James River Institute for Archaeology; geophysicist Meg Watters; and head excavator Chelsea Rose, a graduate student at Sonoma State University.

Led by the charming host, artist Colin Campbell, Time Team America spends three days at each site, bringing along a raft of cutting edge remote sensing and geophysical survey techniques, such as ground penetrating radar,fluxgate gradiometer, resistivity, Lidar, and differential GPS. Meg Watters, geophysical expert for Time Team America, recently expressed the thrill of using Terravision GPR and Foerster gradiometer to discover buried remnants of the western frontier town of Fort James: "These two geophysical survey methods are just beginning to be used in archaeological surveys (in Europe) and our survey at Fort James was the first of its kind."

Time Team America member Joe Watkins
Photo Credit: Laurance Johnson

All of this equipment is fairly expensive and all too often outside the budgets of many archaeological projects. I'm sure their use was warmly welcomed by the local archaeologists: but the real benefit the Time Team America brings is the diverse experience and backgrounds of the visiting archaeologists. I mean no disrespect to any of the archaeologists leading the excavations on the sites: speaking as an archaeologist I would have killed for a visit from such a team.

Each of the archaeologists brings his or her own set of expertise to each site: Schablitsky her background in historical and DNA research; Hannus his prehistoric Plains background; Watkins his extensive research in Native American history and experimental archaeology; and Deetz his three decades of historical work including Jamestown. This diversity helps even when the archaeologist is out of his or her area of expertise, leading a generalist curve to the excavations at play.

Time Team America member Eric Deetz
Photo Credit: Doug Brazil

If Time Team America is a success this year, PBS may ask for another season, and tentative plans may involve sites outside the lower 48 states. My plans for this season are to post a review of each of the programs on the Monday before the program airs on Wednesday. In each program review, I'll include a bibliography and links to further information and photos of each site.

I'm excited! Are you? As Time Team America member Julie Schlabitsky puts it, "If the viewing public can learn that we don't dig dinosaurs, use the word 'geofizz' in a sentence, and appreciate the volumes of information archaeologists add to our history, I will be a believer in educational television for the rest of my life."

Time Team America member Adrien Hannus
Photo Credit: Laurance Johnson

Time Team America's Schedule

All programs air Wednesdays, 8 pm eastern/7 pm central

July 8: Fort Raleigh, Roanoke Island, North Carolina, location of the lost colony of Roanoke
July 15: Topper Site, South Carolina, where a fabulous Clovis period site is underlain by a controversial possible preclovis layer
July 22: New Philadelphia, Illinois, the first town founded by former slaves before the Civil War
July 29: Range Creek, Utah, a Fremont culture site
August 5: Fort James, South Dakota, where archaeologists are digging a Wild West frontier fort

Time Team Info

You can preview the episode about Roanoke Island on the PBS website. As is usual for PBS, each program will be available to watch on the site the day after it premieres.

If you are outside the US and having trouble viewing the PBS videos, I am reliably told that you can use a free American proxy from Xroxy to get in.

Archaeology Quiz of the Week: Middle Paleolithic

2009-06-29T10:30:29Z

Today's Archaeology Quiz of the Week is on Middle Paleolithic, that most exciting period in human history.

Neanderthal Reconstruction, Neanderthal Museum, Erkrath Germany.
Photo Credit: Jakob Enos

Trivia Quiz: Middle Paleolithic Trivia Quiz

Cheat Sheet: Study Guide to the Middle Paleolithic

Mousterian

Aterian Industry

Howiesons Poort and Still Bay

Shell Beads and Behavioral Modernity, a photo essay

More Quizzes

Twitter and Archaeology

2009-07-03T11:12:38Z

Now I know Twitter is not everybody's cup of tea, but I was poking around today and discovered some very interesting projects in Twitter. If you've been interested in seeing what different archaeological groups are up to on Twitter, or contemplating running a Twitter feed for your own group, this blog is for you.

It took me several hours, but I found a lot of professional archaeologists and students who were tweeting about archaeology; and I also found a lot of creative use of Twitter by organizations, archaeological sites, museum, magazines—even a handful of CRM firms to get news out about their organizations. Each of the following links should take you to a Twitter page, where you can cruise at your own pace and see what others are doing.

If I missed your organization's Twitter feed (and I very well might have, searching Twitter has a needle-in-haystack quality), add it in a comment and I'll add it to the list.

Specific Archaeology Projects

Campus Archaeology Program, Twitter project from Michigan State
Dead City Stories, Paris, France
Flemish Heritage Institute, in Dutch
Florida Public Archaeology
Gabii Project, archaeology project in Italy
Grand Pre Archaeology, Nova Scotia
History Faculty, free podcasts by historians
Indiana Jones
Iowa Archaeology
NE Asia Archaeology
PalaeoGeek.net, Chicago notebook about UP art
Standing with Stones, film and book project

Archaeology News Servers

ArchaeoBox
Archaeological Box, weekly pod cast
Archaeology News
Archaeology Daily
Archaeorama
Bennu, Ancient Egypt news
BAJR jobs
Bread and Circuses
Culture 24, news from museums, galleries, heritage sites
Culture Watch Pacific Northwest
Digipast
Grassroots News, public anthro project in Washington DC
Heritage Twit
Jorgen Holm, paleolithic news
Preservation Today, Natchitoches, LA
Research News in Late Antique Studies, Paris
Rogue Classicist
Southeast Asian Archaeology news
Vin Brown, news from Adelaide
Watching Archaeology
Wiki Arc

CRM Firms

L-P Archaeology, CRM firm, UK
Moore Group, CRM firm in Galway, Ireland
Wessex Archaeology, CRM firm, UK

Magazines/Television

Archaeology Organizations

ADMAT, UK, Dominican Republic
AIRC Rome, nonprofit for preservation of Rome archaeology and architecture
CHARM, Macedonia
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
English Heritage
Flemish Heritage Institute, in Dutch
Heritage Action, UK
Museum of Ontario Archaeology
National Center for Preservation Technology and Training
National Trust for Historic Preservation
PAST Foundation
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Portable Antiquities Scheme at British Museum

Museums

Oh, of course. My own twitter feed is at Archaeology, and I should also mention my colleague N.S. Gill's Ancient History feed too!

Behavioral Modernity in South Africa

2009-06-25T09:56:13Z

I just discovered a great article in the American Scientist this month (July/August 2009) on behavioral modernity as exemplified in the South African industries of Howiesons Poort and Still Bay, written by archaeologists Zenobia Jacobs and Richard G. Roberts. Fortunately, the whole article is available for free and online, with photographs, so if this subject fascinates you as much as it does me, you should read about it from two of the main researchers on the subject.

Jacobs, Zenobia and Richard G. Roberts. 2009. Human history written in stone and blood. American Scientist 97(4):302-309. Free to read online.

What is Behavioral Modernity?
Shell Beads and Behavioral Modernity, a photo essay

Ancient Flutes from Hohle Fels

2009-06-24T15:47:02Z

The oldest musical instruments found to date are from the Upper Paleolithic period, and include bullroarers, rasps and even a marimba-like instrument. But the oldest of all these are ancient flutes, carved from the wing bones of birds or from ancient elephant ivory.

Paleolithic Flute from Geissenklösterle (Replica). Photo by José-Manuel Benito

A news story breaking today describes new flutes from Hohle Fels, Vogelherd and Geissenklösterle, three Aurignacian sites in the Swabian Jura. You may remember Hohle Fels as the site where just a few weeks ago was reported evidence for ivory figurines recovered from the same levels.

More on Ancient Flutes
Flutes Offer Clues to Stone-Age Music, New York Times, 24 June 09
Ancient flutes more than 35,000 years old, Telegraph, 24 June 2009
Neanderthal Jam, from the Why Files, about the Divje Babe I flute
Kumeyaay Native California Flutes

Sequoyah's Written Language

2009-06-24T11:19:06Z

In this month's issue of Archaeology magazine, archaeologist Ken Tankersley describes Cherokee rock art in Tennessee, which includes an early example of the written language developed by the 18th century Cherokee leader Sequoyah. Archaeology has an online version, and the New York Times has an article on this fascinating subject.

Sequoyah was Here, Archaeology magazine
Carvings From Cherokee Script�s Dawn , New York Times

National Archives on YouTube

2009-06-23T10:44:35Z

Now this is really neat. The US National Archives has just posted 17 videos from its vast storage of historic audiovisual records to YouTube.

Among the tasty things of interest to archaeologists and historians is an 1933 video called "Rebuilding Indian Country", a 1935 short on California redwoods, and a biographical sketch about Dr. Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocketry. My favorite has got to be the half-hour video called "Stories from the Great Depression".

America�s History, Now on YouTube, Truth Dig
YouTube: The US National Archives

Field Work in Focus: Marsiliana d'Albegna Project

2009-06-22T22:33:22Z

The 7th Research Campaign at the Marsiliana d'Albegna Project will be held 31 August 2009 - 30 October 2009 and is currently seeking students and volunteers. Carmine Sanchirico sent along this description of the project.

The archeological research activities in the Etruscan site at Marsiliana d'Albegna (Italy) will start again under the direction of the Department of Archaeology of the University of Siena (Laboratory of Etruscology and Italic Antiquities directed by Prof. Andrea Zifferero) and with Etruria Nova, a not-for-profit association. Started in 2002, the Marsiliana Project has contributed to the rediscovery of this important Proto-historic and Etruscan site, already known for its rich and large necropolis brought to light by Prince Tommaso Corsini at the beginning of the 1900's.

Activities

Caption goes here
Photo Credit: Marsiliana d'Albegna Project (c) 2009

Excavation of an Etruscan production site (kiln?) located near the Albegna river. This is a massive outcrop of transport amphorae from 6th century B.C. and waste production, contiguous to a building that has uncovered bucchero, coarseware and Etrusco-Corinthian ware;

Continuation of the excavation in the "Casa delle Anfore", a peripheral residence with central atrium, dated between the last quarter of the 6th and the end of the 5th century B.C. This building, situated within Corsini's Estate, Has an area of 400 mq and is divided into at least six rooms, of which only two have been explored until now.

Continuation of the survey within Corsini's Estate: clean-up and identification of some graves not yet explored, discovery of new sites for a more precise sites for a more precise definition of the living and funerary fabric of the Etruscan Age.

Conditions of Participation

Caption goes here
Photo Credit: Marsiliana d'Albegna Project (c) 2009

The activities in the field and in the laboratory imply a commitment of 40 hours weekly, certified with a certificate valid for the issue of formative credits. There will also be afternoon workshops on the study of epigraphy and Etruscan ware, informatics elaboration of data and methodology of excavation; on the weekends, excursions to the major sites and museums of Southern Etruria are planned. Participants require the certification of tetanus injection, and the annual membership fee, insurance included.

The fee is 80 euro for one week, 150 for two weeks, 200 for three weeks. Price includes full board and lodging, transfer by car, workshop and excursions. Participants are housed in the holiday farm house "La Speranza", in flats with 4 or 5 beds, with independent kitchen and bath and heating, soccer field and swimming pool available. The participation in the research is open to students of archaeology and volunteers, provided that they are of legal age.

Contact Information

Prof. Andrea Zifferero
0039 577 233659
marsiliana@unisi.it

More Fieldwork in Focus
Progetto Marsiliana d'Albegna on Facebook

Solstice at Stonehenge 2009

2009-06-22T12:03:50Z

On June 21, 2009, at 4:58 in the morning, Stonehenge looked like this:

Summer 2009 Solstice at Stonehenge. Photo by Matt Cardy / Getty Images

Environmental conditions weren't great this year—the sun didn't shine—but fortunately, you can revisit some great older photos in the photo essay called Solstice at Stonehenge.