Petit Jean State Park
Since we've returned to Monticello from our latest trip up north, we've dealt primarily with three things--rain, which has fallen amply here over the last two weeks; Kenny's starting school (first grade!); and archeology. Last weekend I drove to Little Rock to volunteer on a dig (again) near the industrial part of the city. This particular site is located on a parcel that they are building a factory to build those large, power-generating windmills on. Here, I am holding a broken piece of pottery from this site:
This "potsherd" or "sherd" (as it is called) is probably between 500 and 1000 years old, and is shiny because we had rinsed it with water to clean off the dirt. It has been blacked by time and probably its use in cooking fires. It is also decorated in a special manner. First, it comes from the rim of a pot or bowl, and has a decorated margin (top of sherd) in which they molded a pattern into the rim of alternating thick and thin sections. Second, they used a braided piece of rope or twine to press horizontal patterns (called "chord marking") to add additional decoration. These adornments allow for greater cultural identification, as certain phases of human occupation tended to use similar patterns for their goods. Think of modern-day fashions or houseware styles...
Last Monday, Kenny started first grade. Kenny was excited to get back to school--he missed his school friends, and all the activities of school. His return was bittersweet to the remainder of the clan--Hope, Beth, and Stephen get to spend more time together, but they miss Kenny. Beth will start preschool soon, so for at least a couple days a week, it will get even quieter.
Today, we drove to Petit Jean Mountain about a half hour northwest of Little Rock. I had a meeting of the Arkansas Archeological Society to attend (I am a vice president of the state society, putting me on the executive committee). While we attended to the business of the society, Hope and the kids explored Petit Jean Mountain and Petit Jean State Park. I will not detail the geology and history of this interesting part of the state (see the state park's website for more details: http://www.petitjeanstatepark.com/). Petit Jean Mountain is a relatively isolated, flat-topped hill near the Arkansas River:
It is well-known in the region for its rugged terrain and scenic beauty, including a number of waterfalls (here is Cedar Creek Falls):
and other erosional landforms, like these narrow gorges and rock formations:
Hope and the kids had a blast running around in them for most of the morning, even though they got rained on some. My meeting ended around noon, and the rest of the family joined me for lunch at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute (WRI). This institute is a part of the University of Arkansas system (http://www.uawri.org/), and offers a number of educational and conference-type facilities. We had our archeology meeting here because the Arkansas Archeological Survey has a field station in one of the newer buildings on this campus.
After lunch, we drove to Little Rock and did some shopping at Sam's Club before returning to Monticello. The clouds gradually thickened as we headed south--the first parts of the clouds associated with Tropical Storm Fay. While Florida and Georgia are bearing the brunt of this storm, it is likely we'll get a little rain from some of the more distant rain bands of this system before it fizzles out. Let's hope we get much less rain than the 2+ feet some parts of Florida have gotten! (We're not likely to get more than a few showers).
This "potsherd" or "sherd" (as it is called) is probably between 500 and 1000 years old, and is shiny because we had rinsed it with water to clean off the dirt. It has been blacked by time and probably its use in cooking fires. It is also decorated in a special manner. First, it comes from the rim of a pot or bowl, and has a decorated margin (top of sherd) in which they molded a pattern into the rim of alternating thick and thin sections. Second, they used a braided piece of rope or twine to press horizontal patterns (called "chord marking") to add additional decoration. These adornments allow for greater cultural identification, as certain phases of human occupation tended to use similar patterns for their goods. Think of modern-day fashions or houseware styles... Last Monday, Kenny started first grade. Kenny was excited to get back to school--he missed his school friends, and all the activities of school. His return was bittersweet to the remainder of the clan--Hope, Beth, and Stephen get to spend more time together, but they miss Kenny. Beth will start preschool soon, so for at least a couple days a week, it will get even quieter.Today, we drove to Petit Jean Mountain about a half hour northwest of Little Rock. I had a meeting of the Arkansas Archeological Society to attend (I am a vice president of the state society, putting me on the executive committee). While we attended to the business of the society, Hope and the kids explored Petit Jean Mountain and Petit Jean State Park. I will not detail the geology and history of this interesting part of the state (see the state park's website for more details: http://www.petitjeanstatepark.com/). Petit Jean Mountain is a relatively isolated, flat-topped hill near the Arkansas River:
It is well-known in the region for its rugged terrain and scenic beauty, including a number of waterfalls (here is Cedar Creek Falls):and other erosional landforms, like these narrow gorges and rock formations:
Hope and the kids had a blast running around in them for most of the morning, even though they got rained on some. My meeting ended around noon, and the rest of the family joined me for lunch at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute (WRI). This institute is a part of the University of Arkansas system (http://www.uawri.org/), and offers a number of educational and conference-type facilities. We had our archeology meeting here because the Arkansas Archeological Survey has a field station in one of the newer buildings on this campus.After lunch, we drove to Little Rock and did some shopping at Sam's Club before returning to Monticello. The clouds gradually thickened as we headed south--the first parts of the clouds associated with Tropical Storm Fay. While Florida and Georgia are bearing the brunt of this storm, it is likely we'll get a little rain from some of the more distant rain bands of this system before it fizzles out. Let's hope we get much less rain than the 2+ feet some parts of Florida have gotten! (We're not likely to get more than a few showers).
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We found some rocks in our backyard (exposed while Jon did some excavating with his Bobcat). We're wondering if they're fossils because they're hard like rock (their coloring resembles the sandstone we see around here)but have curvature and shape that resemble bone. I could send photos to your email sometime. We're wondering how to tell if they're fossilized bone...
Lisa