Ready or not, here we come!

I know that in Laurie's latest blog, she commented on how excited she was that Christmas break was approaching. She's not the only one happy for the season--check out our lil' cookie decorator Beth! We are preparing ourselves for the Christmas/New Year's holiday by decorating cookies, attending parties, and prepping our vehicle for the long drive northwards. After our last month, which was exceedingly busy, this next week will drag along for us--not much happening, but lots of anticipation and anxiety about the weather (driving conditions, really).


I was able to spend yesterday (Saturday) up at that archeological dig I've been volunteering for this year. Our field season in this portion of the area is winding down--the Arkansas Archeological Survey had arranged to work on this site with the landowner (an industrial pipe maker) until the end of the calendar year, which is rapidly approaching. And, as is almost always the case in archeology, some of the best finds are coming at the very end. Take, for instance, the simple soil samples I was assigned to collected yesterday. These samples are analyzed using a "flotation" process--basically, they take the soil materials and dump them in a column of water. That which sinks is called the heavy sample, and is analyzed as such, and that which floats (usually plant materials) is analyzed to help learn the about the Indian's diet or the local vegetation conditions. So, I was asked to remove a couple sections of dirt, each of which would have filled about a 5-gallon bucket. We were also asked to pick out the larger, more significant artifacts and map them on a diagram we had been developing for this pit. The first one came out pretty easily, with a number of animal bones and potsherds to map. The next one, however, was decided more complicated:

This cluster of broken animal bones (mostly deer, I believe) is unusual for its concentration. These are mostly the long bones of the legs, and have been split open to extract the nutritious bone marrow held within them. Intriguingly, at the top of the picture, you can see a small, white arrow point--presumably, since it was found at the same level as these bones, this point may have been what killed this animal, and was left on the ground when the bones were dumped. This kind of context allows archeologists to make good assumptions about the habits and lifestyles of the people they study, and since it is possible to carbon-date bone, it may be possible to estimate the age of the arrow point by the bone.


On another portion of this site, other participants in this dig managed to excavate three complete bowls:

These bowls are complete because they were included in a burial of a couple of individuals (not pictured). Presumably, these bowls would have held items intended for the deceased in the afterlife, or perhaps as an offering to the spirits or deities these people may have worshipped--we will probably never know exactly why. Once the associated human remains have been examined by someone who specializes in the bones of ancient peoples, the remains (including the bowls) will be returned to the Native American tribe currently responsible for this part of Arkansas (the Quapaw) for reburial. Under most conditions, these graves would not be disturbed by the Survey because they now have a policy of not disturbing graves unless necessary. Given that the current landowner desires to build on this site and these graves would be destroyed if they were not removed, this is the best option.


On a brighter note, here is a non-grave related artifact that Rich Pruden and I found on our Thanksgiving day canoe trip down the Saline River:

This curious-looking piece of rock is of a soft mineral called "steatite" or soapstone (because it feels kind of like a bar of soap). This was part of a carved bowl (you can see a handle above my thumb). This mineral was used to make bowls before clay-based pottery was developed in North America. This particular item was probably brought in as a trade good by the Poverty Point Culture, a culture that flourished in parts of extreme southern Arkansas, Louisiana, and parts of western Mississippi between 2.5 and 4 thousand years ago (http://www.crt.state.la.us/archaeology/poverpoi/culture.htm). This culture was named for the most prominent site yet discovered with their artifacts in northern Louisiana, an old plantation site called "Poverty Point". This site, which we have taken a few of you to, is now a state park (http://www.crt.state.la.us/parks/ipvertypt.aspx) and has some impressive earthworks and a very large, bird-shaped mound. The Poverty Point Culture has become well known for their interest in various rocks and their ability to manufacture them into various tools and adornments. However, since northern Louisiana has virtually no rock resources of their own, they had to operate in extensive trade networks to get their materials. They acquired novaculite, magnetite, and other stones from central Arkansas, and the steatite probably came from quarries in northern Alabama and/or Georgia! In talking with Dr. Marvin Jeter, the UAM station archeologist, this is the most northerly Poverty Point-type artifact yet found on the Saline River.

The finding of this sherd is also an interesting tale--Rich and I would stop at exposed gravel bars along the Saline River to look for petrified wood, which is abundant. On this particular bar, we had just about finished looking and headed off downstream when Rich picked up this curious looking rock. It has a metallic sheen and grayish color to it, so he thought it may be some kind of metal. However, when you hold it, it lacks the weight and solid feel of metal, so he tossed it aside. Shortly afterwards, I picked it up, and also found it curious. Then I remembered that some of the archeologists had talked about this soft rock that would be carved into bowls and other goods, so we looked it over more closely. Sure enough, the mineral is soft enough to scratch with a fingernail, and the inside part of the piece felt rounded and smoothed. Rich then noted that the protuberance on the other side looked like a handle, and it dawned on me that this was probably part of one of those soapstone bowls. I brought it in to Dr. Jeter, and he confirmed that it was! An exciting find, to be sure, and it makes me wonder if there is more of it out there to find...


We look forward to visiting with many of you in the next couple of weeks. I may try to post some pictures on this blog during this time, or I may wait until January. Happy holidays!!