In the beginning of March, a time I am now referring to as pre-COVID, I presented at a social studies conference. I taught elementary and middle school teachers from Minnesota about the Meskwaki people who once lived in a wickiup shelter in the Midwest. While conducting the investigation of the archaeology site map a teacher made a comment I have never heard before. After describing the artifacts found on the map, she made the inference, “These people were busy!” I thought that was an honest interpretation of the past as well as our modern culture: We are busy. That week I felt busy and overwhelmed by daily tasks, attending three conferences, taking a midterm exam, and all while caring for two children under the age of four and a husband in school full-time earning a master’s degree in theology. I remember thinking, could the world just stop for a second so I can get a grip.

Then it did! I remember being relieved when our country was called to slow down. We were all asked to shelter-in-place and stay home. Shelter. Home.

Those words keep popping out to me because I am completely used to looking at these words in the context of archaeology. I have spent hours contemplating how past people thought about their homes and used their homes based on information from oral history and archaeology. Now, questions I once placed over history I have started to ask myself as I look around my home and reflect on what my home means to me and how I want to spend time in my home with my family. I ask myself similar questions I would typically ask of the past. Questions I have asked hundreds of students and teachers as we investigate Native American, slave, and colonial shelters in the curriculum guide, Project Archaeology: Investigating Shelter.

What basic needs must all humans have in order to live? According to the empty shelves in our markets, toilet paper and beans and rice are basic needs. What is the purpose for shelter?

Currently, shelter is serving as protection from a contagious virus. Are all shelters the same? I live in an apartment in a college dormitory, about 1000 square feet. Some of the shelters archaeologists study include: a 1200 square foot round earthlodge, 78 square foot wickiup, 154 square foot tipi, 375 square foot slave cabin, 676 square foot pueblo, 573 square foot shotgun house, and a 1600 square foot farmhouse. How does your home compare to the types of shelters people have lived in and raised their families for hundreds of years?

A Kickapoo person once shared a message, “By our houses you will know us.” What would people know about me and my

By Lianne Bennett, M.Ed., and Sarah Bennett, M.A., RPA    (2020)

People who live along the East Coast and Gulf Coast, especially those in Florida, are familiar with hurricane season, which begins June 1 and extends through November 30. These months are a time of heightened awareness and preparation for potential hurricanes. People strive to be ready: both to protect their shelter from the storm and to protect themselves during and after the storm.

Florida has been hit by 120 recorded since the mid-1800s. Some of the most notable include:

Lake Okeechobee – This hurricane hit West Palm Beach on September 16, 1928.  Fortunately, the coastal residents were prepared. Few inland residents, especially along Lake Okeechobee, knew that Florida was going to be hit by a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds. Lake Okeechobee was filled to the brim and its dikes crumbled. Water rushed onto the swampy farmland and into homes, sweeping away people. Almost 2,000 people perished, 75 percent of who were migrant farm workers.

Florida Keys – The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane had windspeeds of 193 mph, making it a strong Category 5 hurricane. Four hundred and eight people died; many were World War I veterans who were working on the Overseas Railroad. Deaths were attributed to the extreme winds and storm surge. Many bodies were never recovered and those that were found had to be cremated due health concerns over the decomposing bodies.

Miami – Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm with windspeeds of 165 mph, hit south Miami-Dade County on August 24, 1992. In Florida, less than 25 people died and 250,000 were left homeless. Due to the extent of the damage, many people left South Florida never to return. Property damage was in the millions and it took many years for this area to recover.

Floridians today face many of the same issues and react in similar ways as people who lived in Florida in the past.  During the many years that I taught a “Hurricanes in Florida” unit to middle schoolers, students repeatedly asked one  question: How did Native Americans in Florida know that a storm was approaching before there was radio or television to tell them? The answer? Native Americans’ experiences and responses to hurricanes stem from a deep connection to and reverence for nature. They observed the sky, the plant life, and the animal behavior. When the “big wind” or hurricane was coming, Native Americans sought higher ground, secured their canoes, lowered the poles of the chickees (their homes with raised floors, open sides and a thatched roof) made, and sheltered beneath their structures.

This post is about our new Project Archaeology: Investigating Rock Art regional curriculum: Investigating Medicine Rocks. Today let's  learn a few things about this area and those who passed through or lived there. One of the many beautiful formations at Medicine Rocks State Park.

Medicine Rocks State Park is near Ekalaka, Montana in the southeastern part of the state. It is remote and very beautiful. Though better known for its stunning landscape, the park features some incredible rock art that documents people living and moving through the area for thousands of years. Teddy Roosevelt passed through the area in 1883 and had this to say: “as fantastically beautiful a place as I have ever seen.”

This park has a far longer history that extends well beyond early presidents. The land we now know as Medicine Rocks State Park was used by the Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Crow for ceremonial and sacred purposes. There is also archaeological evidence of people living in the area as long ago as 11,000 years ago.

In Investigating Medicine Rocks, students will study an archaeological site at Medicine Rocks State Park referred to as “Locality E.”  Studied by archaeologists in 2010, Locality E consists of hundreds of instances of inscriptions, including historic to modern names, initials, dates and images. It also contained a nearly complete side-notched arrow point dating to the Late Precontact Period (1050 B. P.  Nearby to this site is a cave or rockshelter that was completely eroded through the sandstone, which served as a temporary camp site for Herbert Dalton, a sheepherder-sculptor that lived  in the area and carved the notable “Lady of the Rocks” inscription. A series of nails were driven into the wall of the cave and used to fasten a cover (likely canvas) to the east entrance, providing added shelter from wind and other weather.

Sheep came to Montana around the same time as the cattle industry in the early 1840s. In 1869, two ranchers drove 1,500 sheep from Oregon to the Beaverhead Valley near Dillon. From there, sheep spread eastward alongside cattle and by 1879, there were 15,000 sheep in the Smith River region and 60,000 near Musselshell River. Carter County was once in the top four or five counties in sheep and wool production in Montana and sheep remain an important part of the county’s economy. Unlike other areas, there were few disputes between sheepherders and cattlemen in the area.

In the early range days, herders lived in small tents or cabins built near a place where sheep could find water. When the sheep grazed the grass, they would be moved to a new area and this was

Like modern art, the art of the past comes in many mediums. One of the most recognizable is rock art. There are two types of rock art: pictographs and petroglyphs. Pictographs are designs painted on the rock surface and petroglyphs are designs chiseled or chipped into the rock surface. People have been painting and carving rocks for thousands of years and many of these works are still visible today.

Rock art is found all over the world. Thousands of rock art sites adorn rock walls and boulders in the United States. Each one is unique to the tribe and culture who made it. These sites may be thousands of years old. Just a few famous rock art sites include Legend Rock (WY), Mammoth Cave (KY), Bear Gulch (MT), Horseshoe Canyon (UT), and Painted Bluff (AL).  The nature of rock art puts it at greater risk for deterioration since it is typically exposed to the elements.

Another threat to rock art sites is humans, rock art sites are often ‘loved to death’ by visitors who want to touch the rock art or vandalize it by leaving their own mark. When visiting a rock art site, stay on paths and trails to prevent erosion and don’t touch the rock art, oils from our hands can damage fragile rock art panels. We must be aware of our actions and how they affect these archaeological sites. Because of their beauty and cultural importance, it is essential that stewardship of rock art sites be carried out with care and utmost sincerity.

Project Archaeology’s  curriculum, Investigating Rock Art explores how ancient cultures communicated with rock art, how archaeologists study and interpret rock art, and how we can protect rock art sites.

With Investigating a Wintu Roundhouse, there is no exception. Students learn about roundhouses and Wintu architecture as well as the importance of the roundhouse to the Wintu people. Roundhouses were important in the past and they are still important and used for ceremonies today.  All roundhouses were round and built into the ground.  They were constructed with earth and wood. However, students will also learn that roundhouses were different in many ways. They were built in different ways, had different names, and were used differently. Sometimes this is because things change over time. Sometimes this is  because different groups of people used roundhouses.

Roundhouses are common all over the world. They are found most often in areas that get colder in the winter. Archaeologists think roundhouses are designed to be warm because of their shape and materials.

Many groups of people in California traditionally used roundhouses. Many groups thought roundhouses were very important and used them for ceremonies. These groups lived all over northern and central California. Many counties in California may have roundhouses. People may still use them or they may have been left by people in the past. Counties that may have roundhouses include Shasta, Lassen, Trinity, Mendocino, Plumas, Sierra, Butte, Glenn, Tehama, Colusa, Yolo, Solano, Marin, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Napa, Merced, and Mariposa . Do you live in one of these counties? Do you know someone who does?

Many Californians build, preserve, and use roundhouses today. Sometimes these roundhouses are used for ceremonies by many different groups of people. The Grindstone Indian Rancheria of Wintun-Wailaki Indians in Glenn County has a roundhouse that is used by many groups of people. The Redding Rancheria in Shasta County also has a roundhouse used by many for ceremonies. The Redding Rancheria roundhouse is new. The Grindstone roundhouse has been used for a long time. It has changed location and been remodeled many times.

Archaeology may be a discipline that studies the ancient and the old, but in no way does that mean it is not poignantly connected to the modern age. If studying human history has taught anyone anything, it’s that we have a great deal to learn from the past.

Click here here to buy your very own Investigating the Wintu Roundhouse!

POST BY:  By Kate Hodge, Public Education Coordinator, September 2020

When asked to reflect on my career, I decided to read the cover letter I wrote to get my current job as Colorado’s Assistant State Archaeologist. Going back to that cover letter, I am actually a little embarrassed by some of the weird phrasing and odd statements. Oh well.

In 2018 I wrote, “My ideal job includes conducting research in tandem with public outreach, and educational programming. I completed my Masters of Arts degree at Colorado State University with a project that focused on integrating archaeology into K-12 education. In addition to my master’s, I have Bachelor of Arts degrees from Pennsylvania State University in Anthropology and English. My archaeological experience geographically includes the American Southwest, western High Plains, and the Rocky Mountains. I also have international survey experience in southern Jordan. My research interests include public outreach, archaeology education, contact period studies, early mining sites, and Southwestern ceramics. Since 2008, I have been professionally involved in over 20 archaeological projects in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Kansas, for multiple cultural resource management firms. My duties on these projects included archaeological survey, excavation, remote sensing, artifact analysis, archival research, curation, database entry, report writing, site form production, quality control, teaching, and supervising.”

Dr. Dean R. Snow at Penn State told us as freshmen that if we wanted a job in archaeology, we needed to go into cultural resource management (CRM). About ten years ago, archaeologists estimated that as much as 90% of archaeological studies occurred because of CRM, an industry dictated by federal, state, and local laws in an effort to protect and manage archaeological sites, historic places, and artifacts. In 2008, I got my first CRM job with the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML) working on Fort Carson, an US Army base in Colorado Springs, CO, after the training grounds experienced a large fire and impacted many sites.

A lot happened in ten years, but my cover letter still reflected the needs and focus of CRM – geographical regions of where I worked, how many projects I was a part of, and skills I gained. However, my passions did change and I tried to express that. “My career goals and passions revolve around public outreach and archaeology education. I am active on several committees and task force groups focused on furthering the dissemination of archaeological research…”

A few years ago, I heard the term, “anthropological archaeology”. Since I trained in the United States and in the 21st century, I learned that archaeology (study of the past) was a subfield of anthropology (the study of people) and thus, struggled with this term. I found identifying as  an “anthropological

From April 2021

Months ago, Project Archaeology’s Public Education Coordinator Kate Hodge asked me to prepare a blog post for the Modern Issues in Archaeology series. At the time, I wasn’t sure what I would write about, but I was confident I could come up with something.  Closer to the due date, I started musing on my blog’s focus. Kate had already covered many important issues: Museum Changes, Repatriation, Terrorism, Looting, and Illicit Trade of Cultural Property. What in the world would I blog about that held relevance for Project Archaeology readers?  I worried. I wondered. I tossed and turned. The deadline of April 23rd drew closer and closer.

A Last-minute Inspiration
Almost exactly a week before the blog was due, inspiration struck! What about the Society for American Archaeology forum I was going to participate in? Maybe a blog about that would interest readers…I explained to Kate that I was one of seven public archaeology/heritage education archaeologists who had been asked to participate in a 2-hour, virtual, live forum – Triumphs, Challenges, And Possibilities In Heritage Education – sponsored by The Heritage Education Network (THEN) at the Society for American Archaeology’s Annual Meeting on Thursday, April 15.  Would she be willing to wait until after that event, so I could determine if what I learned during my experience would hold any inspiration for Project Archaeology readers? If not, I’d have to punt. Or worse yet, Kate would have to step in and post a blog on short notice.  Kate said yes! The forum was fun and interesting and stimulating. And so, too, Dear Reader, I hope is the following blog.

What This Blog Is About
I will begin by telling you about the forum and its purpose, about the participants, and about how the live event played out. Then I’ll summarize the responses to two of the questions. And, in a bit of shameless advertising, this blog is illustrated with images linked to the  educational programs that the Kentucky Archaeological Survey has developed over the years. You can learn more about them through our new website    https://www.kentuckyarchaeologicalsurvey.org/.

Forum Purpose and Members
The forum considered the successes, challenges, and strategies of heritage education. Forum organizers acknowledged that despite "major accomplishments in heritage education, including the successful implementation of new and established public outreach programs and additions to the scholarly and popular literature on programming and its assessment," many challenges remain. "Heritage educators are still not reaching all the audiences they need to