A little known fact about historic cemeteries is that they were often purposefully placed on land lot lines. This type of land usage seems to have been based on common sense, as land owners established family cemeteries on the edges of their property in places that were least likely to hinder agricultural activities. Several examples from Middle Georgia are discussed, although placing cemeteries on the furthest edges of property lines was common across the Southeast, and quite possibly across the nation.

On March 5, 2011, Ocmulgee Archaeological Society members chose the Shinholser Mounds site on the Oconee River near Milledgeville for the group’s annual winter hike. Member Dr. Bob Cramer made the arrangements with the Thompson family, which owns the site. Thompson family member Tom Wood guided the group. The OAS is very appreciative of the family’s interest in preserving this important part of Middle Georgia’s past, and wishes to thank them for the site tour and for getting to spend a wonderful rainy day along the Oconee River at Shinholser!

The annual Seven Islands Artifact ID Day on October 23, 2010, was hosted by the Ocmulgee Archaeological Society (OAS) and the Butts County Historical Society (BCHS). Members of Taylor County High School’s “Benjamin Hawkins Historical, Expeditionary, and Geographical Society (BHEGS) volunteered to help manage the archaeology tent. Now in its fourth year, the event has continued to gain support and receive more visitors.

Make plans now to join Ocmulgee Archaeological Society members for an artifact identification day on Saturday, October 23rd, 2010, at the historic Indian Spring Hotel near Flovilla, about 55 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta. See live demonstrations, too! The full story has a link to a downloadable flyer about the event….

The Ocmulgee Chapter of the Society announces the speakers for its May and June meetings.

The OAS has had some great speakers of late. Jack Wynn spoke in August on the fascinating topic of South American Peruvian archaeology. OAS member Dick Brunelle, who is involved in several SGA chapters around the state, spoke in September about his volunteer experiences in archaeology from projects as different as Fort Daniel in Gwinnett [...]

The OAS continues its mission of educating the public about the archaeology of Middle Georgia, and has had several excellent speakers this winter. In January Sam Lawson, recently returned to our area from south Georgia, gave a talk on the locations of the Creek towns that were along the Upper Ocmulgee from 1686 to 1716. [...]

The OAS continues has continued its work throughout Middle Georgia this fall, and has quite a few interesting activities to report. Mark Barnes, recently retired National Park Service Archaeologist, gave the OAS a great talk on the old and new theories about Clovis and pre-Clovis sites on November 5, particularly relating to the Borax Lake [...]

The Ocmulgee Archaeological Society (OAS) is working to finalize a meeting place for next year since we have to move from Ocmulgee National Monument (ONM), where we have been meeting since our re-establishment in 2003. The National Park Service’s budgetary restraints have made it impossible to have a ranger on duty after hours next year. [...]

—photo by John Trussel John Trussell and Stephen Hammack visited two small caves along the Houston-Macon County line in August 2006 to look for petroglyphs. Only the Houston cave was large enough to crawl into, though John (2007 OAS Treasurer) put on his thinking cap and opted to take pictures. John’s photo of Stephen emerging [...]