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The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map : Index >>
Stones Forum >> North American Finds Discovered by Development
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North American Finds Discovered by Development |
bat400
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|  Posted 13-03-2007 at 20:08
This Forum subject will list news reports on finds discovered by development in North America. If the find becomes well enough defined to warrent a site listing one will be made. If the find is particularly notable for another reason (a unique tool find or burial) either an article or a site listing will be made.
Otherwise, the stories will be posted here. If you know any additional information about the site or the find, please chime in and post.
[ This message was edited by: bat400 on 2007-03-13 20:22 ]
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bat400
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| Posted 13-03-2007 at 20:10
Fencing in the past: Developer preserves 5,000-year-old archaeological site
More housing estate developers are trying different methods to abide by laws to protect archaeology, and still build houses.
Submitted by coldrum ---
"They call it the "wooden box site" - for no other reason than archaeologists found a wooden box sitting on a piece of land where ancient American Indian artifacts were unearthed.
"That was six years ago when archaeologists hired by the developers of the Fairway Oaks housing development off Newton Road said they believe American Indians camped on this roughly 100 foot-by-100 foot piece of land 5,000 years ago.
"Now, the Massachusetts Historical Commission wants to know what happened to the site and what was done to ensure it will not be disturbed.
"The answer is simple, said developer Steve Doherty: His firm has placed a fence around the area, and the land will remain protected.
"Doherty said the archaeologists his company hired to inspect the site dug down to a depth of about a foot and after sifting through the soil found what appeared to be a broken end of a spear.
" 'About 10 feet from that they found another stone piece that may have been part of a stone knife,' Doherty said. 'Our archaeologists estimated the age at between 3,000 and 5,000 years old.'
"Spitalere said Doherty did the right thing by cordoning off the area and keeping it protected for future archaeological exploration.
'I hope more developers follow in his footsteps by keeping Native American sites protected,' Spitalere said."
For more see: http://www.eagletribune.com/punewshh/local_story_053094604?keyword=topstory+page=0
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bat400
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| Posted 13-03-2007 at 20:20
Bones found near Indian Beach, Florida.
What deserves study to one man, is common place to another. This human remains find appears to be associated with a shell mound, but the location is not defined. (It's possible that the burial itself is not from the prehistoric period.)
Submitted by coldrum---
"The remains of what appears to be an American Indian have at least one local archeologist both excited and dismayed. Palmetto archaeologist Bill Burger said the rib, femur and vertebrae unearthed this month by construction workers building a luxury home along the bayfront could offer clues of a tribe from long gone. But it is impossible to determine just what else is down there without doing more digging, he said, which state officials say is probably not going to happen.
" 'You don't know without looking,' Burger said. 'The rest of the skeleton could be down there and they just got part of it. But you don't know until you excavate.' Burger said the femur could give clues to the person's sex, and the bones could be tested to learn more about diet and health.
"State archaeologists say the find is not a big deal, but they have kept the address a secret out of fear that grave robbers will flock to the area. The bones were found in the Indian Beach area. Construction workers were digging near the back of where the home will be built. The medical examiner determined that the remains were not part of a crime and turned the issue over to the state.
"A state archaeologist said the recent find was an isolated event and that it is unlikely there are any other remains at the construction site. The state is in the process of determining if the remains will be reburied on the property, and have contacted the Seminole Tribes of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida for suggestions.
" 'It's an ordinary event,' said David Dickel, Conservation and Collections supervisor for the state. 'The public conception is that it is exciting, that every archaeologist will come flocking down to Sarasota and write a paper about it. The fact is, it's a really ordinary event, and it's handled calmly and routinely.' He said the state's main concern is making sure the remains are handled properly and with respect.
"[The developer] said he wants to return the remains to where he found them, and his customer is fully aware of his intentions. He said the discovery pushed back the completion date by a couple of weeks.
" 'Human remains can tell us a lot about past human beings,' Burger said. 'If the remains are properly excavated and studied, we can learn a lot about a person, how they lived and how they interacted with their environment. I'm not one of the politically correct people, because I think scientists have rights, too.' "
For more see: http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070310/NEWS/703100543.
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bat400
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| Posted 29-03-2007 at 02:57
Alamogordo New Mexico Remains May Point To Ancient Dwellings.
Another finding in the path of development. Submitted originally by coldrum.
"A construction crew laying a pipeline may have unearthed an ancient Native American burial site Wednesday, according to a press release issued by the Alamogordo Department of Public Safety.
Human remains and pottery were found near a subdivision located off of South Florida Avenue.
"Sgt. Det. Lee Wilder of DPS said his department, along with the Office of the Medical Investigator, are called to the scene whenever human remains are found to determine whether they are part of an archeological site or a crime scene. If it is determined to be old, the state's archeology office is contacted.
"The state's unmarked burial law, which went into effect in 1989, requires anyone who finds an old burial site to report it. Before the law took effect, crews often did not report finding old bones.
The state archeology office will secure the remains and any other artifacts found. It is a felony to intentionally excavate, remove or disturb any human burial, except in cases where the state has issued a permit.
"If the remains are still in the ground, the state archeologist's office determines whether they can be left there. State archeologist Glenna Dean said houses have been reoriented, and sewer lines and roads rerouted in such cases.
If the bones belong to American Indians, the state consults area tribes on RRthe appropriate and respectful disposition,'' Dean said.
"Wilder said at least one set of human remains was found at the construction site, and there may be more in the area. He said the Mogollon [900 to 1,400 years ago] buried their dead inside their homes, along with special pottery. The manner in which the body was found was consistent with that custom."
For more, see http://www.alamogordonews.com/news/ci_5500695
[ This message was edited by: bat400 on 2007-03-30 03:20 ]
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bat400
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| Posted 23-04-2007 at 18:19
Submitted by coldrum ---
Hamilton County, Tennessee.
Native American Burial Ground Unearthed
It's being called a significant find, Native American remains dating back possibly 11 hundred years. The burial ground was unearthed recently at a construction site on private property in Hamilton County, but archaeologists aren't saying exactly where. They don't want to tip off looters who may vandalize the area. But one archaeologist who was on site says he was very impressed with what he found.
He's not saying where, but Dr. Nick Honerkamp with University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Institute of Archaeology says at least 18 people were identified at the site along with trash and storage pits. "There're several burials, some with pretty exotic grave goods which is an indication of high status people that were buried with high status items."
Honerkamp's was called to the latest discovery in February. "I went back out and started excavating in this little pit that I saw and I found some human teeth."
Just like the tedious process of excavating, land developers who stumble upon remains must go through lengthy, legal procedures. Honerkamp says with the latest find, the land owner, state archaeologist and medical examiner's office conferred and agreed to remove the remains. They will likely rebury them somewhere else.
"They had to get a court order to remove the cemetery, which it is now or it was. That was done. The Native American community was informed officially by the state archaeologist."
While the land owner was completely within his rights, Honerkamp says it's unfortunate another burial ground's been moved.
For more, see http://www.newschannel9.com/articles/site_11579___article.html/honerkamp_burial.html
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bat400
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| Posted 26-04-2007 at 16:30
3000 year old burials found at Louisville Kentucky development site.
A burial site with the remains of at least 33 American Indians who probably lived around 3000 B.C. has been unearthed at the construction site of RiverPark Place residential development off River Road near Towhead Island.
The remains, including three or four skulls with partly disintegrated skeletons, will be reburied at an appropriate site to be determined by the Army Corps of Engineers in consultation with representatives of three tribes, corps officials said yesterday.
The archaeological work on the burial site and the relocation of the remains will not delay construction of the $200 million project, which will include more than 600 condos and apartments, said Bob Bunnel, a partner in Peritus Public Relations, which is under contract to Poe to promote RiverPark Place.
Based on earlier work on this site, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Poe Cos. and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma entered into an agreement on the handling of any remains found at the site. Army Corps spokesman Bob Faletti said the agreement restricts what can be said about what's found and also prohibits any photographs of any excavation.
McKelway said that in addition to the human remains, a few primitive artifacts, including arrowheads, stone chips and pieces of what may have been tools, have been uncovered. They will probably be sent to the University of Kentucky or the University of Louisville for analysis and storage, officials said.
For more see the Courier Journal By Sheldon S. Shafer.
[ This message was edited by: bat400 on 2007-04-26 16:32 ]
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bat400
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| Posted 10-05-2007 at 14:26
Way, Dude. Clovis Site Find in Malibu, California.
Malibu Archaeological Find Is a Point of Contention
Malibu celebrity status can take many forms, but one of the more unusual recipients of local attention is a spearhead, or projectile point, that could have been used by hunters in the Clovis cultural era around 11,000 years ago to pursue a giant mammoth or buffalo in the vicinity of what is now Point Dume.
The so-called Clovis point even has its own media-savvy spokesperson, an archaeologist who consulted for the “Indiana Jones” film trilogy named Gary Stickel, who says the artifact is “a major discovery of national and international significance.” He also contends that the private property where the point was found, which has been designated Farpoint on the state archaeology rolls, should be the subject of additional research.
The point was found in September 2005 by Edgar Perez, a cultural resources specialist for the Tongva Tribe in Los Angeles, who was hired as the Native American monitor at a Point Dume residential construction site. Stickel said Perez was overseeing backhoe digging and spotted the spearhead in the bucket before it was crushed.
Dr. Stickel says that the crew’s elation at the find was not shared by the owner of the property, whose identity and address are not being disclosed to protect privacy as well as prevent vandalism of the site. He says the owner has questioned the authenticity of the artifact and prevents research from continuing at the site.
The archaeologist also contends that City of Malibu planning personnel have declined to cooperate with facilitating additional work at the location. He asserts that the city may have tried to block a press conference that Stickel scheduled last week on the grounds of the Page Museum with its backdrop of the La Brea Tar Pits, where examples of the animals that Clovis hunters stalked can be now seen.
Stickel says that a staffer at the museum told him that “the City of Malibu phoned,” then declined to elaborate further.
Malibu Surfside News calls to the municipal planning department for comment on Stickel’s assertions of what he calls “city censorship” were not returned.
Stickel says the purpose of the press conference was “to make the public aware of what we found and garner public support for more research.” He and colleagues stress the importance of the spearhead, the first example of Clovis culture found this far west, hence the site being named Farpoint. The significance of the discovery is reiterated in numerous communications from archaeologists and anthropologists at universities and museums.
The point itself has been authenticated by Dr. Dennis Stanford, the director of the Paleoindian/ Paleoecology Program at the Smithsonian Institution, who writes that he examined the point and “there is no question that the artifact was made using Clovis technology and thereby indicates that the site was occupied by Clovis people over 11,000 years ago.”
Stanford adds, “The discovery of a Clovis age occupation at the site is extremely important not only for the local archaeological record, but for understanding the earliest pre-history of the Americas. Hence the site is of national significance and requires an interdisciplinary research program and protection.”
For more, see the Malibu Surfside News story by Anne Sobel. http://malibusurfsidenews.com/stories/200705/20070510001.html
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bat400
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| Posted 15-05-2007 at 18:25
Ancient tool parts found at Maine airport site
May 14, 2007
AUBURN, Maine --An archaeological survey made necessary by an airport construction project has uncovered parts of ancient tools that are thought to date back 9,000 to 11,000 years.
When an archaeologist pulled a pointed brown stone -- an inch long and part of an ancient tool possibly used to clean animal skins -- from the ground west of the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport in December, it was enough to bring a full archaeological excavation to the site. Last week, a member of a digging team found another piece of stone tool that dig organizers said matches the first piece.
Bob Bartone, assistant director of the University of Maine at Farmington's Archaeological Research Center, said his team will continue the dig for the rest of month looking for more tools, stone chips and pieces of charcoal from what was once a large fire pit.
Bartone figures the site dates to the time following the most recent ice age, between 9,000 B.C. and 7,000 B.C. When the glaciers retreated, they would have left behind a wide-open tundra populated by animals and people hunting them. The excavation, Bartone said, gives more understanding to the those first Mainers.
For more, see the Boston Globe story:
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/05/14/ancient_tool_parts_found_at_maine_site/
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bat400
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| Posted 16-05-2007 at 17:58
Submitted by coldrum ---
Santa Cruz California remains estimated to be 5,000 years old
The remains of two Ohlone people unearthed by a Santa Cruz Water Department crew last fall could be the oldest ever found in the city, according to a recent analysis of their bones.
Studies over the past six months date the bones back 5,000 years. "In the city of Santa Cruz, it's the earliest evidence we have for habitation of the area," said Jennifer Farquhar, senior archaeologist with Albion Environmental Group, the Santa Cruz-based company that excavated the remains.
The Ohlone people, whose ancestors are thought to have crossed the Bering Strait 10,000 years ago, probably spent winters near the coast, migrating from the hills. Examinations of nearby middens - ancient garbage dumps - show an abundance of mussel, abalone and mollusk shell fragments as well as mammal and fish bones.
Albion Environmental, which was monitoring the construction, sent the remains to the UC-Santa Cruz Anthropology Department lab, where it was recently determined the individuals were a male and a female age 45 or older. Testing on the remains is expected to conclude in June.
The Ohlones numbered about 10,000 from San Francisco to Big Sur when the Spanish arrived in the early 1600s, according to rangers at Ano Nuevo State Park. Their homes were simple dwellings made from willow branches tightly woven with tule rushes. They were excellent craftsmen, and wove watertight baskets from small willow branches and tule rushes, according to the rangers.
And, they regularly had to contend with the scores of prowling grizzly bears that inhabited the area, the rangers said.
After the research is concluded, the bodies found in Santa Cruz will be buried at a sacred spot in accordance with Ohlone tradition, "so that the individual spirit travels back to the spirit world in a good way," said Anne-Marie Sayers, the Ohlone tribe member who monitored the excavation.
Albion Environmental will present its findings at a talk Tuesday, where speakers will discuss what they found, their monitoring process and their conclusions about the discoveries.
For more, see http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_5880579?source=rss&nclick_check=1
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bat400
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| Posted 25-05-2007 at 16:01
How much monitoring is required in a public construction project? From California ....
Maidu leader urges Caltrans to ‘do the right thing’
May 15, 2007 —
Everyone who knows Honey Lake Maidu Tribal Chair Ron Morales knows he’s not one to back down from a good fight. The passionate Native American’s latest battle involves an ambitious 24-mile Caltrans shoulder-widening project on Highway 395 from the Herlong turnoff to Sunnyside Road. So far the project has widened the shoulders from near Herlong to Milford and extended about 150 drainage culverts in areas where Morales claims he’s found numerous artifacts and even an extremely rare medicine plant still in use today in harm’s way along side the road in the path of the backhoes, scrappers and graders.
According to Morales, wherever one finds artifacts, there’s always a possibility of finding burial sites. While he’d prefer the bones of his Native American ancestors remain undisturbed until the creator returns at the end of the world, he recognizes the pace of progress cannot be stopped, and so he wants Native American monitors to be present during all stages of the project to ensure the protection and preservation of any artifacts and to allow Native Americans to handle any uncovered remains with the proper dignity and without desecration.
Susanville Indian Rancheria Environmental Manager Tim Keesey also expressed some concerns regarding the monitoring issue. “Whenever there are ground disturbance activities, we want monitors, whether it’s in an identified site or not,” Keesey said. “We’ve heard of some instances of ground disturbances without a monitor. We’re not happy about it, but we’re trying to work it out with Caltrans.”
“No one knows what’s under the ground,” Morales said. “No one knows. No one can tell. They’ve dug 150 trenches for culverts so far and moved tons and tons of dirt. Those ditches are 4 to 4 feet deep and 10 to 15 feet long. No one knows what was down there, and that’s why we need the monitors. The Maidu people didn’t bury their dead on top of the ground; they buried them underground near where they lived. Tell me how can an archeologist look at the top of the ground and tell me there’s nothing buried down there? They can’t. Until Caltrans knows what’s under the ground, they shouldn’t be doing what they’re doing. The way they’re doing it, they’re just digging it up and then covering it up as fast as they can. As quickly as they dig the ditches, they fill them up. That’s disrespectful, and it’s wrong. I’ve been telling them about all the artifact found in the project area outside the sites for three years now. Where you find artifacts, you might find burials. I’ve got a big stack of letters I’ve sent to Caltrans.”
That’s the hinge of the disagreement — Caltrans said it has hired Pacific Legacy, a Cameron Park archeological consulting firm, to deal with the monitoring issues. Ironically, Morales and his grandson, in fact, are both employed by Pacific Legacy as Native American monitors for the project.
But Morales said it’s important Native Americans be responsible for the monitoring because they know things about their culture anthropologists will never know. Because they have that knowledge they can recognize things an anthropologist will never recognize.
Pacific Legacy Archeologist Lisa Shapiro said, “Ron Morales is a respected elder. He has very strong opinions. He has very strong opinions about the project that he has expressed to Caltrans. Monitoring is happening. The difference is Ron wants to see more monitoring than Caltrans originally planned for. That’s it in a nutshell.”
Shapiro said Caltrans retained her company to assist with the project, but she said Caltrans is responsible for consultation with the Native American groups. She said she thought Caltrans was making a “very strong effort” to address all the concerns of everyone involved in the project.
Morales said the Maidu people built permanent sites all along the project area. He said they lived near the tree line where the mountains fall toward Honey Lake. He said the large number of bedrock mortars in the area suggest large villages of Maidu people collected acorns from beneath the oak trees and seeds from the grasslands stretching out toward Honey Lake and ground them for food. At the water line, Morales said his ancestors hunted mud hens and other waterfowl. The highway project runs between the tree line and the shore of Honey Lake.
For more, see http://www.lassennews.com/News_Story.edi?sid=3961&mode=thread&order=0
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bat400
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| Posted 11-06-2007 at 21:02
Submitted by coldrum ---
More on the Malibu California Clovis Point
Quote:
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On 2007-05-10 14:26, bat400 wrote:
Malibu Archaeological Find Is a Point of Contention
Malibu celebrity status can take many forms, but one of the more unusual recipients of local attention is a spearhead, or projectile point, that could have been used by hunters in the Clovis cultural era around 11,000 years ago to pursue a giant mammoth or buffalo in the vicinity of what is now Point Dume.
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• Among Goals of Friends of Farpoint Is Legislation Assuring Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites
BY ANNE SOBLE
The archaeologist at the Malibu location where an authenticated Clovis cultural era spear point was found in 2005 has announced the formation of a group to try to protect the site that could date back 11,000 years, as well as raise public consciousness about the need for ways to address conflicts over site access with private property owners.
Dr. Gary Stickel said the first aim of the organization, called Friends of Farpoint, is to “immediately save the Farpoint site for its proper preservation and conservation.” To this end, the archaeologist said the group seeks to “foster a National Park Service connection to the site.” Stickel said he has met with officials of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and discussed the possibility of a future Farpoint exhibit, as well as enlisted support from the NPS and other public agencies for the site’s protection.
Stickel said the primary longterm objective of the Friends is to “foster better legislation (not only for the City of Malibu, but at the county, state and federal levels) to preclude problems, such as at Farpoint with access to the site and concern about destruction of artifacts, from occurring at other locations.”
The archaeologist said the new organization will also “seek creative ways to enhance the cultural resources,” emphasizing the ability of these resources to provide potential answers to some of the many questions that exist about prehistoric North American migration and habitation.
Among the broad-brush issues is whether the data support the “European origins” theory for the origin of the Clovis culture in the New World, as opposed to the traditional theory, which holds that the first Clovis people were the ancestors of Native Americans who came from Siberia across the Bering Land Bridge into Alaska and then inhabited North America.
Stickel said, “Actually there are problems with both theories, and I am neutral, wishing to keep an open mind until more evidence can be produced, hopefully in part from our Farpoint site, and that is why it is so important for our nation’s history.”
For more on the subject and the Chumash Native American People occupupation of the Farpoint site, see
http://malibusurfsidenews.com/stories/200705/20070531001.html
Anyone seeking more information about Friends of Farpoint can contact Stickel at 323-937-6997 or dregarystickel@netzero.net.
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bat400
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| Posted 17-07-2007 at 19:23
Archaeologists make discoveries at future site of Pa. school
NAZARETH, Pa. --Archaeologists have found tools and other items more than 1,000 years old at a site that will become the Nazareth Area School District's new campus.
Scientists are working to preserve any artifacts before bulldozers finish excavating the land, said Martin Reinhold, principal investigator for the firm conducting the study, Kittatinny Archaeological Research.
Reinhold said an unearthed site likely dates to around the year 1000, but might be up to 3,000 years old.
Surveyors found fragments of stone tools, charcoal, arrowheads and possible pole holes for erecting primitive shelters. American Indians might have used the land near the Schoeneck Creek as a seasonal camp, diggers said.
More at: http://www.centredaily.com/news/state/story/153423.html
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bat400
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| Posted 31-07-2007 at 19:59
North Carolina Artefacts May show the Way to Important Site - Or may be Buried under a 775 home Golf Community.
Submitted by coldrum ---
Mark Willis and several of his friends have spent decades combing the fields, stream banks and woods north of Greensboro in search of lost treasure. Their quest, which borders on an obsession, doesn't involve glittering gems, tidbits of precious metal or anything else of much financial value. In fact, the average person would be hard-pressed to distinguish some of their more significant finds from the average field stone.
But the Native American artifacts they have collected tell rich stories of vanished cultures spanning 10,000 years on a Piedmont landscape that has undergone massive changes, perhaps none more dramatic than those of the past five or 10 years.<
"This is just some of what we've got," Willis said, gesturing toward a huge display including arrowheads, cookware and pieces of what could be a child's burial urn. "We have thousands of things. We can't bring it all out, it's so much."
But their hobby is threatened by all the development in the area, including a proposal to put a 775-home, golf-course community amid one of their prime artifact-hunting areas.
Willis has contacted Guilford County and state officials to suggest that before such a massive undertaking, the area be carefully surveyed to make sure nothing of historical merit is destroyed. He is particularly concerned about a Native American burial ground said to be on land slated for the golf course, a tract he hasn't checked out because it is on private land he didn't have permission to explore.
The problem is that modern construction equipment tears up the terrain in ways that the farm implements of yesteryear never did, said James Swaney, one of Willis' partners in amateur archaeology.
He points to some quartz items, including a scraper used for such tasks as cleaning fur.
"All these came from right over there, where you hear the bulldozers right now," he says, nodding across the street from a house near Lake Townsend where the men gathered to display some of their huge collection.
The bulldozers are clearing land for home construction. It's a story repeated daily in this part of Guilford County, where the Haw River sputters to life in such creeks as the small but pristine Mears Fork.
Along with fellow artifact hunter Roger Martin, Willis and Swaney believe the area near Haw River State Park should be examined carefully by professional archaeologists before development proceeds, particularly the Patriot's Landing golf course community next to the park.
State officials had hoped to buy that land for the park. But several owners instead decided to sell 691 acres to a Florida developer, Bluegreen Communities, which has submitted plans for the 18-hole golf course with housing interspersed among the links.
The state archaeology office in Raleigh has been contacted by other state officials to see whether a survey of the land proposed for Patriot's Landing is warranted.
Finding a site of archaeological importance could slow or alter development plans, but such finds seldom derail them completely, said state archaeologist Stephen Claggett. The office has limited authority to affect what happens on private land; it tries to find and preserve important artifacts as the project moves forward, he said.
For more, see
http://www.newsobserver.com/1565/story/645714.html
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bat400
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| Posted 13-08-2007 at 13:50
A California Flood project reveals that ancient peoples were also periodically flooded out of this area.
Napa Valley Flood Protection Project reveals Ancient Remains.
The city’s decision to postpone construction on its flood project until 2008 was prompted not only by funding problems and the Living Rivers Council, but by spearheads, firepits and human skeletons
As part of a required cultural resources study, archaeologists have been scouring Vineyard Valley Mobile Home Park and other areas affected by the project since 2005 for traces of American Indian life. As is common in Napa County, they found plenty, said archaeologist John Holson.
This summer, they dug up to nine feet deep to recover those artifacts: arrowheads, flakes of obsidian produced during tool- and weapon-making, discarded animal bones, and projectile points that might have been attached to spears as far back as 5,000 B.C. Archaeologists also unearthed human remains, including three full skeletons of unknown age and sex.
Many of the artifacts probably were left by the Wappo American Indian tribe, said Holson. A representative from the Mishewal-Wappo tribe oversaw the excavation.
Holson and his team will spend much of the next year preparing a report that will detail their findings and analyze the site’s history. While there’s not enough evidence yet to suggest the site was a burial ground, Holson said the noticeably darker soil in some areas of the project site indicate the presence of hearths and roasting pits, which proves the site was inhabited frequently.
Early inhabitants of the area that is now Vineyard Valley had something in common with modern-day park residents, the archaeologists discovered. The presence of silts directly on top of artifacts proves that Native Americans who lived there had to deal with flooding problems of their own.
The artifacts, which are the property of the city, probably will be donated to a museum, possibly the Napa Valley Museum in Yountville, Holson said.
Fore more, see the St. Helena Star.
[ This message was edited by: bat400 on 2007-08-13 13:52 ]
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bat400
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| Posted 13-08-2007 at 13:56
An Archaeological Dig in Alexandria Virginia, examining a history cemetery finds Prehistory.
Prehistoric Stone Tool Found At Freedmen's Cemetery
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Archaeologists working at Freedmen's Cemetery in Alexandria have unearthed a stone tool believed to be about 13,000 years old. The artifact was discovered during a dig last week, officials said.
Although the tip of the spear point is broken, archaeologists from Alexandria and Fairfax have identified it as a reworked Clovis point. Clovis points are recognized by their distinctive shape and serve as one of the diagnostic markers for an era known to archaeologists as the Paleoindian period that lasted from as early as 18,000 to about 12,000 years ago.
Michael Johnson, an archaeologist for Fairfax County, has examined several stone artifacts found at Freedmen's Cemetery and said he believes the location was once a major Native American site. Johnson concluded that the broken point had been reworked or re-sharpened so it could continue to be an effective tool.
Until this discovery, the oldest known Alexandria artifact was a 9,000-year-old Kirk point found at Jones Point, officials said. According to Francine Bromberg, Alexandria's preservation archaeologist, the Clovis point provides the first concrete evidence that Native Americans were present in Alexandria during the Paleoindian period.
Alexandria archaeologists have been working at Freedmen's Cemetery since May, excavating the site where approximately 1,800 African Americans were buried in the late 1860s.
A gas station and office building had been at the site until historians found documentary evidence of the cemetery. Since then, a team of archaeologists has been carefully excavating the property, identifying grave shafts without disturbing any burials or remains.
Officials hope to identify the burial locations so that a memorial park honoring the freedmen can be designed and built without disturbing any graves.
In digging the cemetery site, archaeologists said it's likely that the location was a major prehistoric site, periodically visited and probably occupied by different peoples for thousands of years.
Archaeological work at Freedmen's Cemetery, located at South Washington and Church streets, is expected to continue into October.
For more, see the DC area NBC website.
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bat400
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| Posted 25-08-2007 at 05:10
submitted by coldrum---
Ancient Canals Under Parkland Slowing Arizona Property Sale
The city's plan to sell park property to the developers of the Waveyard resort has hit a snag after an ancient system of irrigation canals built by the Hohokams has been found beneath Riverview Park.
Mesa can't sell 25 acres of parkland at the Riverview softball fields until the area has been surveyed for artifacts and excavated.
The process _ to be overseen by state and federal regulators _ likely will take months.
The $250 million Waveyard resort will be on the ballot in November. If voters approve a $20 million incentives package, the city plans to sell 121 acres of city-owned property at Riverview, including the softball fields.
The excavation at Riverview Park would not derail plans to sell the property to Waveyard, but a survey of historical artifacts must be completed first.
For more, see http://www.kvoa.com/global/story.asp?s=6918225
The area is located here: http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=33.4336&lon=-111.876417&z=17
[ This message was edited by: bat400 on 2007-08-25 05:11 ]
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bat400
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| Posted 25-08-2007 at 22:02
9000 years of Human History to be Incorporated in Georgia Park
Group looking at ways to incorporate archaeological finds into Water Works Park
When Macon's newest and biggest city park opens to the public next year, you'll be able to picnic in the same spot where people have been eating their dinners for 10,000 years.
Archaeological research is being conducted throughout the 185 acres, surrounded by a bend in the Ocmulgee River, where NewTown Macon is developing Water Works Park. Surface collections in past decades, combined with a new study, reveal hundreds of spear points, primitive knives, shards of prehistoric pottery and more.
NewTown officials are taking suggestions from the public about how to incorporate the vast history of human settlement into the new park, expected to open next year and eventually connect to the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail.
Chris Sheridan, chairman of the Ocmulgee Trail Executive Committee, said park planners haven't yet discussed displaying the artifacts found at the Water Works Park, where the Macon water treatment plant was located until Tropical Storm Alberto submerged it in 1994. But Sheridan said the park should include American Indian and prehistoric history.
"Indian heritage is probably the least utilized aspect our area has got," he said. "There are three places on the North American continent where there's documented proof of human habitation since the last Ice Age. To me, that's a big deal," he said. "A lot of people would be interested in learning about that and in coming to Macon to do so, and we'd like to help those people."
A study being conducted for NewTown Macon by Environmental Services Inc. of Jacksonville, Fla., has found seven new archaeological sites, in addition to some isolated finds and a previously documented burial site bordering the property.
Their draft report states that one of these new sites is worthy of being placed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its size and the more than 200 artifacts found there. Draft recommendations indicate that park planners should either avoid disturbing this area or do further archaeological study first.
Artifacts found at the Water Works Park site in previous years date to about 7,900 B.C., said Stephen Hammack, an archaeologist at Robins Air Force Base and secretary of the Ocmulgee Archaeological Society. But he said people continued to live on the site through the era when giant earthen mounds were built nearby and into more recent centuries when the Muscogee Creek Indians lived there.
Hammack is working on a paper for the Ocmulgee Archaeological Society summarizing the three known major collections of artifacts from the Water Works site. One includes the artifacts gathered by Flowers, Wilson and some U.S. Forest Service volunteers, which Hammack now holds. Two others were gathered by private collectors.
The oldest finds were located by Mincey, the Lizella man who is one of the private collectors, in an old riverbed that filled during floods. Mincey, who is now president of the Ocmulgee Archaeological Society, said he started digging his cigar boxes and shoeboxes out of his parents' attic and identifying the artifacts when he was an adult. Although he expects to leave many of them to his children, he would be willing to share some of the artifacts with the park.
"It belongs to the people, and by God, people ought to be able to see it," he said.
Sheridan said residents who attended last week's public meeting about the future of Water Works Park said they have seen people carry away bagfuls of pottery pieces from the property during the past 15 years - when the law would have required permission first.
"We really need to get some of those back," Sheridan said, adding that NewTown would appreciate it if people would return that material so it could be conserved with other finds from the park.
PAST COLLECTIONS
Stephen Hammack is writing a paper on behalf of the Ocmulgee Archaeological Society about the items that have been collected from the park property over the years. If any member of the public has a collection of artifacts from the site or has any pertinent information to share, he would like to include that in the paper. He especially needs historical documentation on the Water Works property between about 1821 and 1876, before it was purchased by Macon Gas, Light and Water. He can be reached at (47 718-3398 or stephen.hammack@robins.af.mil. />
Various federal laws passed in the late 1960s and early ’70s govern artifact collecting. They require that anyone collecting artifacts from the land surface (including, for example, looking for arrowheads in the woods) must have written permission from the landowner. To dig on an existing archaeological site, permission also is required from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, archaeologist Stephen Hammack said. The Water Works Park site is owned by the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority and administered by NewTown Macon, which has not given permission for anyone except Environmental Services Inc. to remove artifacts from the property.
For more, see the article from the Macon Telegraph.
The area location can be seen here.
[ This message was edited by: bat400 on 2007-08-25 22:18 ]
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bat400
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| Posted 30-08-2007 at 04:57
Fremont Remains from 1000 years ago Found During Utah Construction.
Hundreds of years ago, a Fremont Indian woman's remains washed down a river into what is now the south side of American Fork. Last week, a construction crew digging a trench for a water line discovered her skeleton, along with pottery shards.
Chris Chijester, an employee with Advanced Construction, had been shoveling loose dirt out of a 5-foot trench when he noticed the skull. They halted work immediately and called the police. The police sealed off the site and called the state medical examiner and the state archeologist, and both offices sent representatives to the site.
State archeologists determined the remains belonged to a woman of American Indian ancestry. They used the pottery shards to help determine her age. "We also found in the vicinity a few pieces of Fremont cultural pottery," said Ron Rood, assistant state archeologist. "It dates to about 900 to 1,000 years ago. I believe the skeleton dates to that same time period.
"The preliminary analysis suggests it is an adult female," he said. "She died roughly 1,000 years ago."
State archeologists believe the area, near 275 West and 200 South, wasn't a burial site because nothing else was buried there. Also, there is evidence that a river once flowed through the site.
Fore more, including the disposition of the remains and police methodology in such situations, see http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/235755/4/
Location of find is approximately here: http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=40.3732&lon=-111.8057&z=17
[ This message was edited by: bat400 on 2007-08-30 05:15 ]
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bat400
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| Posted 31-08-2007 at 15:04
Gulf Coast Florida Artifact Finds Ahead of Sewage Project
Unearthing the past on Marco. Archaeologists, volunteers digging up Calusa artifacts on Marco amid sewer-line construction
Beneath the roads and 8 inches of fill in the Old Marco section of Marco Island, there's trash. Lots of it. The good news for historians and anthropologists is much of the muck belonged to the Calusa Indians, a more than 1,000-year-old society that once lived on the island.
"Basically we're garbage collectors," archaeologist Alex Sweeney said. "We're going through the trash of the Calusa."
Sweeney has on his hard hat and gloves this week for a project made possible by the City of Marco Island's sewer project. As part of laying new sewer lines, the city must dig up roads. Contractors are currently working on an area near Key Marco "” the famed ancient site where in the 1890s anthropologist Frank Cushing uncovered many Calusa artifacts, including the Key Marco Cat, a half-feline-half-human wooden statue that demonstrated the depth of Calusa culture.
This week archeologists and volunteers are dumping soil from the project on grates and sifting through the dirt to find shell tools, animal bones and clay pottery from the Calusa and the Indians' trading partners.
"Ah," [a volunteer] said, pulling out a small shell with a carved hole in it. "There's your ark shell." Ark shells were used as weights to hold down the Calusa's nets.
Appropriating shells for any purpose was common for the Calusa.
"They used shells the way we use duct tape," Sweeney said.
All the items will be kept and screened for analysis at a local laboratory. The results will come in a study Sweeney expects to release in early spring. Once the screening process is finished, the artifacts will be returned to the island for eventual display in the city's new history museum.
Marco Island Historical Society President Betsy Perdichizzi said the organization has raised $1.8 million toward the museum and hope to break ground by the end of the year. She spent her morning sifting soil and digging for shells, too.
For more, including videos, see http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/aug/30/artifacts_turning_marco_dig/?breaking_news
Also see the Portal's listing the Calusa site at Pineland, nearby Marco Island: http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=16711&mode=thread&order=1
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bat400
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| Posted 14-09-2007 at 18:53
Indian rock shelter stands in highway's path
A cave containing American Indian artifacts near Point Pleasant [West Virginia] is off-limits to the general public. Highways officials and American Indian representatives are slated to meet next week to discuss how to handle this sensitive area that sits in the path of the new U.S. 35 project.
This is to ensure no one wanders onto the site and disturbs what may be inside the cave - artifacts and remnants of American Indian life from 1,000-plus years ago.
It happens that this cave is in the path of the new U.S. 35 project.
Construction of the four-lane highway was slated to begin in that area of Mason County this month, but the discovery of these artifacts has halted those plans for now. It's causing a delay that could last until early next year. The region has great hopes that turning U.S. 35 into a four-lane highway will result in economic expansion as well as a safer road. The highway has a reputation for danger because of its heavy use, curves and bottomland fog.
Archaeologists extracted from the cave what they call "bone middens" -- waste product from processing food. These middens can be pits or designated dumps created by nomadic groups.
Tracy Johnston said is a field director with Skelly and Loy, a Harrisburg, Pa.-based company aiding the state Division of Highways and the Division of Culture and History on the highway project. "Based on what we've found, there's probably a late woodland occupation of Native Americans in the rock shelter," Johnston said. "I'm not sure what tribal affiliation it would be, but it would roughly date to 1,000 years ago."
Skelly and Loy also found tools, pottery, mussel shells and triangular-shaped arrowheads in the cave. No human remains were extracted, though it's possible more artifacts remain at the site, Johnston said.
Fore more, see the Charlestown Daily Mail:
http://www.dailymail.com/story/News/2007091475/Indian-cave-stands-in-highways-path/
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