29 April 2009

Field Schools!

It's that time of the year again... different archaeology projects are busy preparing for their summer field schools. Field schools are an opportunity for those interested in archaeological excavation to gain intensive, hands-on experience in the field. Field schools typically last around six weeks and students receive instruction in all aspects of archaeological investigation from professionals in the field. Completion of a field school is a basic requirement for almost any job in the field of archaeology. Luckily field schools are offered all over the country (and all over the world!!) so you can find one that meets your specific interests.

Last summer I worked as a Teaching Assistant for the Archaeology in Annapolis field school which was held for 3 weeks at the Wye House on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and for 3 weeks in the Historic District of Annapolis. You may want to check-out some of the posts on this blog from May, June and July of 2008 to read about last year's work. The field school this year will also be held in both locations. If you are considering a career in Historical Archaeology, this field school is the best of both worlds in that it offers instruction in both an urban and plantation environment. For more information about the University of Maryland, Archaeology in Annapolis field school see the following link:

http://www.bsos.umd.edu/anth/aia/school.htm

There's lots of opportunities for field schools in Historic, Prehistoric and Underwater Archaeology. A great place to learn about field schools (and archaeology jobs) is through a website called shovelbums. Here's the link to the field school page:
http://www.shovelbums.org/component/option,com_sobi2/catid,44/Itemid,880/

If you have any questions or would like some suggestions about what type of field school might be best for you, post a comment or email us at seekingliberty@gmail.com.

19 April 2009

Archaeology Month!


I just thought I would remind everyone that April is Maryland Archaeology Month. I know we are half way through April already but luckily there's many ongoing events and a number of events yet to be held...

You may recall that last year the city of Annapolis was featured on the Maryland Archaeology Month poster. The poster attracted a lot of visitors to the city and in particular to the "Seeking Liberty" exhibit at the Banneker-Douglass Museum. This year the Archaeology Month poster features St. Mary's City in Southern Maryland, which was the first capital of the colony of Maryland. Historic St. Mary's City has a great archaeology program and they hold an archaeology field school each year. Dr. Tim Riordan, the chief archaeologist at Historic St. Mary's City will be giving an Archaeology Month lecture on Sunday, April 26th at 3pm at St. Mary's. The lecture will focus on findings from excavations at the Calvert House at St. Mary's which was excavated during the 2008 field school. St. Mary's City is also open to the public Tuesday through Saturday during the spring. The site offers reconstructions of many of buildings including the 1676 State House. There are also costumed interpreters on hand to teach visitors of all ages about Maryland's earliest years. It's well worth the trip! For more on St. Mary's City visit their website: http://www.stmaryscity.org/index.html

For information on Archaeology Month events visit the Archaeological Society of Maryland website: http://www.marylandarcheology.org/Arch_Month_2009/Index.htm

13 April 2009

Written in Bone

I recently visited a really incredible exhibit which is now on display at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. The exhibit is entitled "Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake" and describes how archaeologists and forensic anthropologists study human remains in order to learn about how the people of the past lived. The exhibit includes many examples of bones that show the effect that different types of trauma or diseases have on the skeleton.

One of the most fascinating parts of the exhibit focused on an excavation that took place right here in Anne Arundel County, Maryland and was carried-out by the Lost Towns Project. On display is the skeleton of a boy that archaeologists found buried in what was once the basement of a plantation house on the Leavy Neck site. The boy was buried in a shallow hole which was too small and caused the skeleton to bend at the the hips and knees. The body was covered with a thick layer of clay and then the cellar was filled in with trash. The lack of care taken in the burial of this boy shows that he was most likely considered to be a person of very little value to the family who lived on the plantation. The boy's skeleton also shows signs of physically demanding work and poor nutrition which indicate he was almost certainly an indentured servant. In addition, scientists discovered that the boy's wrist was broken prior to death. Archaeologists believe that the clandestine nature of the burial, the lack of regard for the body, along with the physical trauma suffered by this boy indicate abuse and possibly a violent death. The archaeologists and forensic anthropologists who study the "Leavy Neck Boy" admit that they will never know exactly the events that led to this boy's death but that his skeleton certainly has aided them learning a lot about the every day lives of indentured servants in the Chesapeake.

This was a really interesting and informative exhibit that is great for visitors of all ages and all levels of archaeological understanding. The exhibit is on display through February 2011. Check out the following link for more information on the exhibit: http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/index.html

03 April 2009

Reynolds Tavern Exhibit

I wanted to take a moment to follow-up on Genevieve's last entry. Amelia and I are in fact hard at work putting the finishing touches on the off-site exhibits. We were able to complete the small exhibit at Reynolds Tavern which was debuted at the Queen Anne's birthday celebration in February. It was a celebration worthy of the Queen, complete with a lively costumed Queen Anne impersonator and speeches by current British diplomat Dominik Chilcott and Annapolis Mayor, Ellen O. Moyer. Everyone was very interested in the artifacts on display and we got some really positive feed-back!

In this exhibit we included contents from the second cache of materials found in the Reynolds Tavern basement. It is believed that this distinct deposit of materials, which dates to the early 1800's, is related to African Spiritual practices and was possibly used for healing or safeguarding. Material in the cache includes everyday objects such as pieces of broken glass and pottery, oyster shells, rusted nails, crab claws, pieces of smoking pipes and many more objects. The other cache found at Reynolds is still on display at the Banneker-Douglass Museum.

The exhibit at Reynolds includes many other exciting artifacts, all of which were found during excavations at the Tavern in the early 1980s. Be sure to visit the exhibit ... and stay for tea if you can!

For information on visiting Reynolds Tavern visit:
www.reynoldstavern.org/tea.html

To read more about Queen Anne’s birthday celebration see the following links:
www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2009/02/07-03/Queens-legacy-yields-new-significance-on-344th-birthday.html?ne=1

www.ci.annapolis.md.us/headlines.asp?ID=13666