In an article in the Fall 2011 issue of Early Georgia (vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 173–200), Scot Keith discusses evidence for long-distance trade and exchange in Middle Woodland times (from about 350 BC to AD 650), using data from the Leake Site, near Cartersville. Members of the SGA in 2011 received that issue of Early Georgia as a benefit of membership. Join the SGA, and you will receive the current volume of Early Georgia!

Mark your calendar: the SGA’s Spring Meeting will be held on Saturday May 19th, as part of 2012 Archaeology Month celebrations. This year’s Archaeology Month theme is Commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. We will meet at Georgia Gwinnett College, which is co-sponsoring the meeting. In addition, the group will tour Fort Daniel, which dates to the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The Greater Atlanta Chapter of the SGA will meet on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012, to hear a presentation by Jack Tyler and Terry Jackson about using GIS to track the loss of archaeological sites and to develop plans for conservation of remaining sites. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Plan an event anywhere in the state for Archaeology Month in spring 2012! This story links to a form you can download and fill out to get your event listed in the SGA’s Calendar of Events brochure, which is distributed around the state, and beyond. Activities of all sorts are encouraged!

SGA Vice-President Tammy Herron and two colleagues, George Wingard and Keith Stephenson, attended the 75th Anniversary Reception on Thursday, December 1, 2011 at Ocmulgee National Monument. In a later ceremony, the SGA received a Certificate of Appreciation for helping to “preserve and protect the ‘Ocmulgee Old Fields’” and for helping to “create Ocmulgee National Monument” in 1936.

SGA President Catherine Long summarizes the year’s events for the Society for Georgia Archaeology, and previews upcoming activities in 2012.

As you consider your charitable gifts for the 2011 tax year, the SGA asks that you add the Society’s Endowment Fund to your list. The Fund supports educational outreach and the preservation of archaeological sites. The SGA is a registered non-profit organization. If you have already donated to the SGA for 2011, the Society thanks you.

Early Georgia publishes papers on the archaeology of Georgia and closely related subjects. While all submissions are subject to editorial review, authors may request to have their papers reviewed through a formal peer review process.

The SGA thanks outgoing Early Georgia Editor Tom Pluckhahn for the four years of quality work he’s given the Society.

Step right up and contribute to the SGA’s Endowment Fund, and help the SGA twice! One way is your check; the second way is that the Coosawattee Foundation has issued a challenge grant—the Foundation will match up to $250.00 any donation received by December 31 in support of the Endowment Fund. Contributions made to SGA, a non-profit organization, help support education initiatives throughout Georgia and protect archaeological sites.

UPDATED 12 Oct, 4:23pm. Join members and guests of the SGA at the Society’s Fall Meeting on the 22nd of October, in room 171 (first floor) of the Zell B. Miller Learning Center on the University of Georgia Campus in Athens. Read the abstracts of the presentations you can hear at the all-day meeting. Modest registration fee. Then, after a supper break, rejoin attendees at the (free) silent and live fund-raising auctions at Terrapin Brewery.

You are invited! Come out for an adventurous evening and leave with a treasure! Participate in both a silent and live auction to benefit the SGA on Saturday evening, October 22, 2011, at the Terrapin Brewery, just outside of Athens. Entry is free. Silent auction and tours begin at 6:30pm. The live auction begins at 8pm, with Georgia Hall of Fame Auctioneer Colonel Wilbur C. Mull. We offer two kinds of items for both the live and the silent auctions: 1) Ethnic Objects from Around the World (no archaeological artifacts, of course), and 2) Outdoor Adventure items. Access sample auction item photos in several stories.

You are invited! Come out for an adventurous evening and leave with a treasure! Participate in both a silent and live auction to benefit the SGA on Saturday evening, October 22, 2011, at the Terrapin Brewery, just outside of Athens. Entry is free. Silent auction and tours begin at 6:30pm. The live auction begins at 8pm, with Georgia Hall of Fame Auctioneer Colonel Wilbur C. Mull. We offer two kinds of items for both the live and the silent auctions: 1) Ethnic Objects from Around the World (no archaeological artifacts, of course), and 2) Outdoor Adventure items. Access sample auction item photos in several stories.

You are invited! Come out for an adventurous evening and leave with a treasure! Participate in both a silent and live auction to benefit the SGA on Saturday evening, October 22, 2011, at the Terrapin Brewery, just outside of Athens. Entry is free. Silent auction and tours begin at 6:30pm. The live auction begins at 8pm, with Georgia Hall of Fame Auctioneer Colonel Wilbur C. Mull. We offer two kinds of items for both the live and the silent auctions: 1) Ethnic Objects from Around the World (no archaeological artifacts, of course), and 2) Outdoor Adventure items. Access sample auction item photos in several stories.

You are invited! Come out for an adventurous evening and leave with a treasure! Participate in both a silent and live auction to benefit the SGA on Saturday evening, October 22, 2011, at the Terrapin Brewery, just outside of Athens. Entry is free. Silent auction and tours begin at 6:30pm. The live auction begins at 8pm, with Georgia Hall of Fame Auctioneer Colonel Wilbur C. Mull. We offer two kinds of items for both the live and the silent auctions: 1) Ethnic Objects from Around the World (no archaeological artifacts, of course), and 2) Outdoor Adventure items. Access sample auction item photos in several stories.

You are invited! Come out for an adventurous evening and leave with a treasure! Participate in both a silent and live auction to benefit the SGA on Saturday evening, October 22, 2011, at the Terrapin Brewery, just outside of Athens. Entry is free. Silent auction and tours begin at 6:30pm. The live auction begins at 8pm, with Georgia Hall of Fame Auctioneer Colonel Wilbur C. Mull. We offer two kinds of items for both the live and the silent auctions: 1) Ethnic Objects from Around the World (no archaeological artifacts, of course), and 2) Outdoor Adventure items. Access sample auction item photos in several stories.

You are invited! Come out for an adventurous evening and leave with a treasure! Participate in both a silent and live auction to benefit the SGA on Saturday evening, October 22, 2011, at the Terrapin Brewery, just outside of Athens. Entry is free. Silent auction and tours begin at 6:30pm. The live auction begins at 8pm, with Georgia Hall of Fame Auctioneer Colonel Wilbur C. Mull. We offer two kinds of items for both the live and the silent auctions: 1) Ethnic Objects from Around the World (no archaeological artifacts, of course), and 2) Outdoor Adventure items. Access sample item photos in several stories.

Early Georgia’s new Editor, Jared Wood, introduces himself and briefly discusses plans for upcoming issues of the SGA’s journal. Your submissions are encouraged!

UPDATED 4:24pm, Wed, 12 Oct!

Join members of the SGA and guests of the Society at the 2011 Fall Meeting, to be held all day on Saturday, 22 October, in room 171 (first floor) of the Zell B. Miller Learning Center on the UGA Campus, in Athens. Registration is $10 per member ($15 for non-members, $5 for students with ID; $25 for families), and begins at 8:30am. The meeting features morning and afternoon presentations on various topics related to archaeology in Georgia, with breaks to allow time for socializing. Stay in Athens for the SGA fund-raiser that begins at 6:30pm, when you can also tour the ArchaeoBus.

Attend the Georgia National Fair and help the SGA by volunteering to present the ArchaeoBus to the public. No experience necessary! The ArchaeoBus is the SGA’s fun mobile classroom and museum. The 2011 Georgia National Fair in Perry runs from Thursday, October 6 through Sunday, October 16.

The SGA Board and Officers met Saturday afternoon, 27 August 2011, in the Georgia Room at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon. The SGA leadership addressed various issues, both old and new business. And, during the breaks, attendees checked out exhibits in the halls surrounding the meeting room.

We welcome papers on all subjects for presentation at the 2011 Fall Meeting of the SGA, on October 22nd, in Athens. Papers that focus on archaeological research in Georgia or the bordering states will be considered for the program. Each presenter should plan for a presentation of 20 minutes or less, including time for questions at the end. Students are encouraged to participate.

SGA President Catherine Long recognizes the huge efforts by the volunteers to continue the mission and vision of the SGA. She describes how volunteers made the Spring Meeting and Georgia Archaeology Month in May happen. She also mentions two upcoming opportunities to serve—CoastFest in Brunswick on October 1st, and the Georgia National Fair in Perry from October 6–16. Also, save the date for the SGA’s Fall Meeting in Athens on October 22nd.

Researchers and the curious can now peruse the titles and authors of all articles published in Early Georgia since SGA began publishing the journal in 1950. The page with the listing is here.

On May 31st, 2011, Governor Nathan Deal signed the proclamation declaring that May is Georgia Archaeology Month. Seven SGA leaders and members witnessed the signing in the Governor’s office in the Capitol in Atlanta. The Proclamation affirms the importance of Georgia’s archaeological heritage and resources, and notes that the “study, interpretation and preservation of our archaeological sites offer important educational, cultural and economic benefits to all Georgians”.

Members of the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS) worked over the weekend at the Berkmar “mystery” site—this was part of the old Wynne-Russell Plantation but is now Berkmar Middle School, Gwinnett County property. GARS members plan to record the site on 14 May, and are clearing brush, etc., in preparation for doing that with Berkmar MS 8th graders.

May is Archaeology Month in Georgia, and this year’s theme is Gone But Not Forgotten: Rediscovering the Civil War through Archaeology. SGA’s poster celebrating this theme can be downloaded by clicking here. The bibliographic references for the extensive and informative text on the back of the poster are downloadable by clicking here. Please join us at the SGA’s 2011 Spring Meeting on Saturday, May 14th, at the Henry County Chamber of Commerce to learn more about how archaeology has supplied information about the Civil War that books, letters, and other records did not.

Fifty-seven visitors toured the ArchaeoBus when it was parked at the Madison County Library in Danielsville on April 16th, 2011, and browsed exhibits set up in the library. The ArchaeoBus created a good bit of excitement and all who visited were impressed and appreciative. A Facebook comment later that weekend observed, “we saw tons of cool things…the ArchaeoBus was great!!!” Two kids bounding up to the library chanted ArchaeoBus! ArchaeoBus! ArchaeoBus!

Please access a trifold brochure listing 2011 Archaeology Month events prepared by SGA Secretary Pam Baughman by clicking here (PDF). Archaeology Month in Georgia is held during the month of May, and this year’s theme is Gone But Not Forgotten: Rediscovering the Civil War through Archaeology. The Society for Georgia Archaeology’s Spring Meeting will be held May 13–15 in McDonough; please join us! Click here to look at the 2011 Archaeology Month events on the SGA’s online calendar, which includes links to the maps of the locations where these events will be held.

For the 18th year, SGA is coordinating Georgia Archaeology Month, a statewide promotion that encourages the public to learn about the archaeological resources present in our state, and creates awareness about the importance of protecting Georgia’s archaeological heritage. Archaeology Month occurs during May, and the 2011 theme is “Gone But Not Forgotten: Rediscovering the Civil War Through Archaeology.” The full story lists ongoing events, mostly exhibits.

SGA Secretary Pamela Baughman is excited to be heavily involved in SGA and SGA Leadership. She wants to see others enjoy this same excitement and become a member of the SGA. The SGA is an organization that recognizes amateurs and professionals in lectures, fieldwork, meetings, and other events focused to promote the preservation of archaeological sites, the study of archaeological data, and education to the general public about archaeological issues.

Join us on Saturday, May 14th for the Spring Meeting of the Society for Georgia Archaeology. The theme for Archaeology Month is Gone But Not Forgotten: Rediscovering the Civil War through Archaeology. Papers that focus on archaeological research in Georgia or the bordering states will be considered for the program. Each presenter should plan for a presentation of 20 minutes or less. Please submit your title and abstract (100 words) by March 15th. The meeting will be held at the Henry County Chamber of Commerce, McDonough. Details are in the full story.

Mark your calendar and register now for the SGA’s Spring Meeting, which will be held May 13–15, 2011, in McDonough. Seating for Saturday’s meeting is limited, so be sure to return your registration form (click here) and check soon. This year, the theme for Georgia Archaeology Month is Gone But Not Forgotten: Rediscovering the Civil War through Archaeology. The full story includes exciting meeting details.

Plan an event anywhere in the state for Archaeology Month in spring 2011! This story links to a form you can download and fill out to get your event listed in our Calendar of Events brochure, which is distributed around the state, and beyond. Activities of all sorts are encouraged!

The SGA leadership met on Saturday, 22 January 2011, at the the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center. During the all-day meeting the group covered old and new business, including moving forward with 21st-century technologies, like using the cloud for collaborative document generation and establishing a Facebook presence for the Society.

The 2011 Spring Meeting weekend is not finalized, but we we will meet May 13–15. Look for updates on this website.

The Society for Georgia Archaeology is moving forward with embracing 21st century technologies. The SGA is now on Facebook(!!), here. If you’re already on FB, you can “like” the SGA, and look for updates about new stories on this website and other information. However, the principal online focus of the SGA will remain this website.

The Golden Isles Archaeological Society (GIAS) is the newest Chapter of the Society for Georgia Archaeology. Jamice Meschke, president of GIAS, appointed a sub-committee to write up new By-Laws in compliance with the rules and obligations of the SGA. Also read a brief summary of what the group has been involved with this fall.

During this holiday season, consider honoring a special someone with a contribution in their name to the Endowment Fund of the Society for Georgia Archaeology. Give a remarkable gift that touches generations to come and preserves your archaeological legacy in Georgia. We hope you also think of the Endowment in your end-of-the-year giving.

I, Kelly Woodard, would like to introduce myself as the incoming editor for The Profile newsletter and website. As a recent graduate of Georgia State University, I am excited to be an active member of the Georgia archaeological community, especially the Society for Georgia Archaeology. Please consider sending me a story of interest to our members for posting on this website!

Volunteering for the SGA is not a daunting task as one might think, being at the Georgia National Fair all day with the ArchaeoBus smelling livestock, eating fatty foods, and dealing with rowdy kids. The ArchaeoBus volunteers report they had a great time and all said they would do it again!

Dr. Jim D’Angelo will give a Powerpoint talk on his recent visit to Cueva de la Pileta in Spain, one of the few Paleolithic caves in Europe still open to the public. Dr. D’Angelo will speak to the Greater Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society at its November meeting on the 9th. The meeting will be at Fernbank Museum of Natural History and begin at 7:30 PM. The presentation is free and open to the public. Also, the full story has a link to the November GAAS newsletter, Atlanta Antiquity.

Good news! The SGA website’s numbers are up! We are now averaging a new story at least every other day each month, and almost five thousand unique visitors each month! Also, we’re averaging just under four hundred average daily pageviews! That’s nearly four hundred! Per day! So, SGA members—you can contribute to these numbers! Get your contribution to the website ready now! And, tell a friend about our website!

At the SGA business meeting on October 16th, 2010, Ellen Provenzano, Glynn County 4th grade teacher and Glynn County Schools Archaeology Education Coordinator received the prestigious George S. Lewis Archaeological Stewardship Award from the Society for Georgia Archaeology.

The SGA met on St. Simons Island, east of Brunswick, on a lovely fall weekend in mid-October, and explored archaeological sites there and in the SSI area. Enjoy dozens of pictures from the tour in the full story. The SGA thanks all who organized the trip, discussed the places we visited, and gave us permission to visit them—and to all non-members who joined our tour.

In the full story, click through photos from two days spent with the ArchaeoBus at the Georgia National Fair, in Perry. Visitors of all ages enjoyed the Fair from October 7–17, 2010. SGA members pulled together to staff the ArchaeoBus exhibit with three or more volunteers at all times, helping thousands of fair-goers learn about Georgia archaeology.

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 2010 Fall Meeting is a tour of prehistoric and historic archaeological and historical sites in the St. Simons Island area from Friday-Sunday, 15-17 October. The meeting formally begins in the Frederica Room at Sea Palms on Saturday morning. Registration 8-9 am; short orientation talks start at 9 am, before heading out on the tours. Pick up a printout of the agenda, with maps, at the 9 am orientation. Article includes suggestions for activities if you arrive early enough on Friday the 15th.

You can order $5 box lunches for the Saturday picnic on Gascoigne Bluff during the Fall Meeting (Friday-Sunday, 15-17 October, 2010) through today, October 8th. The full story has a downloadable registration form to send in. The Meeting will be held on and around St. Simons Island, near Brunswick. Meeting details are here. Order form is here.

Visit the Georgia National Fair—October 7–17 in Perry, and step into the ArchaeoBus! We’ll have lots of information plus activities for kids! Kids can make a seed packet for next spring, and plant seeds Native Americans in Georgia used to cultivate! The full story has a downloadable Fair map with the ArchaeoBus location marked, and a downloadable handout about Native American agriculture in Georgia.

The ArchaeoBus handlers have filled the ArchaeoBus schedule for October! There’s CoastFest, ten days at the Georgia National Fair, and then two days in Athens with teachers attending the Georgia Conference on the Social Studies!

Dr. Terry Powis, a Mayan archaeologist on the faculty of Kennesaw State University, will speak before the Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society, a chapter of the SGA, at the chapter’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, October 12th, at 7:30 PM. The meeting is open to the public.

If you haven’t done so already, we invite you to make plans to join the SGA at the Fall Meeting, which will be held on St. Simons Island and environs from Friday-Sunday, 15-17 October 2010. The theme of the meeting is Historic Preservation of Prehistoric, Colonial and Plantation Structures on the Coast, and attendees will tour (plan to carpool!) many interesting historic and prehistoric sites in the area, guided by archaeologists familiar with each location.

UPDATED!
Now’s the time to get out your calendar and checkbook, and make your reservations for the Fall 2010 meeting. The Fall meeting will take place on St. Simons Island and environs from Friday-Sunday, 15-17 October 2010. The general theme of the meeting is Historic Preservation of Prehistoric, Colonial and Plantation Structures on the Coast. Reservations for events and hotel rooms are due by September 8th. We have dropped the Friday night BBQ and accordingly adjusted the Friday activities for early arrivals. Send in your completed form and check NOW!

Many archaeological projects are only possible because of the hours and energy that volunteers contribute. The same is true for your SGA. Please think about what you can do to help the SGA.

Georgia’s Historic Preservation Division has composed a survey to solicit your input about the goals of their program for their next five-year preservation plan. Their existing plan goes through 2011. The full story has a link to the online survey, which will take you perhaps five minutes to complete. Your opinions are important!

We hope you’ve noticed the little search box below the tag cloud on the green navigation bar along the right side of your screen. Using this search box, you can find specific words or phrases in stories on our website. In addition, careful use of quote marks and exclusion searches makes the searching we offer quite powerful!

Read the story of the SGA’s ArchaeoBus, as told by Abby the ArchaeoBus herself. Abby wants to share her experiences with the whole wide world, via this website! Abby includes many snapshots, so you can feel like you’ve spent time with her, too!

Save the date for this year’s Fall Meeting, to be held in the Brunswick/St. Simons Island area on Saturday, October 16th.

Did you know this website hosts, on average, around three hundred pageviews per day? Did you know that visitors to our website have come from over 100 countries so far in 2010? Did you know that over eight percent of our visitors visit, on average, multiple times each month? Check out the full story for data on how our website’s use has grown since it was revamped in early 2009.

How “big” is this website? How has it “grown” over the last year? We could measure it in megabytes, but a simple page count makes more sense. Our page count statistics show steady growth, and thesga.org now can proudly boast some 630 pages (or “stories”)!

The 2010 SEAC Public Outreach Grant has been awarded to Fort Frederica National Monument, St. Simons Island, Georgia, for their project “Digging History” at Fort Frederica: Community Archaeology Festival. The festival features SGA’s ArchaeoBus.

Endowment Fund Committee Chairperson Rita Elliott has compiled a list of all contributors to the Society’s Endowment Fund from 2001 to May 2010. The Endowment Fund provides the Society with a constant and steady financial base. Contributions are tax-deductable as allowed by law. Make your 2010 donation now!

UPDATE: new photos!
Rita Elliott, one of the most active, creative and energetic SGA members in recent memory, was awarded the prestigious Governor’s Award in the Humanities at a banquet in downtown Atlanta on May 11, 2010. She was presented the award on stage by Governor Sonny Perdue’s special assistant and former DNR Commissioner Lonice Barrett, Georgia Humanities Council President Jamil Zainaldin, National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman and former Congressman Jim Leach, and Humanities Awards Committee Chair Swann Seiler.

In conjunction with the Spring Meeting during 2010 Archaeology Month, SGA’s Board and Officers met in Albany for about three hours on Friday afternoon, May 14th, the day before the general meeting, and discussed the business of the organization.

On Monday, April 26th, thirteen volunteers met at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta ready for an SGA work detail. The assignment: prepare the 2010 posters for mailing! There were boxes, posters, mailing tubes and labels, and…organization! The volunteers logged about 45 hours on behalf of the Society getting this valuable assignment completed. Read the details and see pictures with the full story!

What’s the best way to find out what’s new at websites you visit regularly? Many savvy users employ a web technology called RSS that allows them to subscribe to a feed—a listing of the stories that have been added to a website, often in excerpt form. RSS is now set up on this website’s home page! Set up your thesga.org RSS feed now! Read on for details….

Georgia Archaeology Month 2010 Chairman Tammy F. Herron announces a tour scheduled for Sunday, May 16th, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., arranged by the Albany Convention and Visitors Bureau. Cost is $5.50 for the Flint RiverQuarium group ticket rate and you will provide or buy your own lunch. The itinerary is in the full story.

How could Native American Indians in Georgia have survived in a vast “wilderness” for thousands of years? That question will be answered on Saturday, May 15th at The Parks at Chehaw in Albany. Human survival long ago required mastery of the many skills to be demonstrated and explained by experts who have studied and learned them. So, if you’ve ever wanted to get back to basics—this program is for you!

The Spring 2010 Meeting of the Society for Georgia Archaeology will be Saturday, May 15th, at The Parks at Chehaw, just outside of Albany. The full story has a link to a hotel and a campground, for those attending the meeting. The SGA Board will meet on the afternoon of Friday, May 14th, as they traditionally do, after meetings of the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists. The Friday meetings will be at the Country Inn & Suites in northwest Albany.

The Society for Georgia Archaeology invites you to join us in honoring the our state’s seventeenth annual Archaeology Month! The theme is “Making the Past Come to Life! Exploring Ancient Techniques.” The meeting will be Saturday, May 15th at The Parks at Chehaw, near Albany. The meeting features exciting outdoor demonstrations by modern-day craftsmen who will show you skills much like our ancestors’.

The SGA proudly presents a brochure listing Archaeology Month events scheduled for around the state. This year, 2010, is Georgia’s seventeenth Archaeology Month! Read the full story and download the brochure listing special events, including the SGA’s Spring Meeting, Saturday, May 15th at The Parks at Chehaw, near Albany.

Long-time SGA member and past president Rita Elliott has been informed in a letter from Governor Sonny Perdue that she will be a recipient of the prestigious Governor’s Award in the Humanities. The presentation ceremony will be held Tuesday May 11, 2010 at the Old Georgia Railroad Depot in Atlanta, beginning at 10:30 AM with a lecture. The awards luncheon will follow at noon. Ticket information is in the full story.

Attend the SGA’s Spring Meeting on Saturday, May 15th, 2010, at The Parks at Chehaw, outside of Albany, and tour the ArchaeoBus!

The Georgia Social Studies Fair was held Saturday, March 20, 2010 at Dutchtown High School in Hampton, Georgia. Catherine Long attended on behalf of the Society for Georgia Archaeology and the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists to present two awards of $50 in recognition of excellent projects that promote the study, preservation, and education of archaeology. Winners are 6th graders Jessica Anthony and Christina Moore. The full story includes photos of the winners.

The SGA invites you to host an Archaeology Awareness event in May 2010! It’s not too late to set up an event and submit information about it for listing on this website, and for inclusion in our Society’s publicity on 2010 Archaeology Month. The full story offers great ideas for your event! Schedule an event by submitting the form provided. Read more here….

The Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society’s March meeting will be on the Tuesday the 9th, at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, at 7:30 PM. The speaker will be GAAS’s own Allen Vegotsky. Allen will discuss Dr. Lindsey Durham (1789-1859), a physician who worked in the Scull Shoals community, south of Athens. Allen’s innovative presentation will take the form of a one-act play, and Allen will play both the Doctor and a narrator.

Save the date: Saturday, May 15th. Plan to meet SGA members and other interested attendees at The Parks at Chehaw just outside of Albany. Read the full story and stay tuned to this website for more details!

In early February, 2010, the SGA’s website received a strongly positive review on a blog, Archaeology, Museums and Public Outreach. Outreach is difficult, and we’re happy to hear people find our website useful and informative.

When the SGA leadership visited the coast in February 2010, many of us also toured Sapelo Island with archaeologist Dr. Ray Crook, who has worked on the island for decades. We took the morning ferry out underovercast skies, watched the sun arrive with us at the island dock, and returned to the mainland late in the afternoon. We took a break to enjoy a Geechee lunch at mid-day.

The SGA Board and Officers met on Saturday, February 6th, 2010, at the Ashantilly library, named after the home’s builder, Thomas Spalding. Ashantilly is a plantation just north of Darien. The SGA and its members owe a big debt of thanks to the wonderful, kind folks at the Ashantilly Center, who hosted our meeting.

Frank Schnell’s memorial service is scheduled for March 14 at 3:30 at the Lumus Chapel at Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia.

The Augusta Archaeological Society’s February speaker will be Robert W. Benson. The meeting will be at the Flyin’ Cowboy Restaurant, 2821 Washington Road, Augusta, on Thursday February 4th, at 6:30 pm. Also, the February issue of the AAS newsletter, Debitage, is now available.

This story marks the first year of Weekly Ponder posts! Yes, it’s been a full year of 5am Friday postings of thought-provoking articles to this website. Indeed, the very first Weekly Ponder was posted on 26 January 2009.

Frank T. Schnell, a Columbus native and long-time SGA member, died Monday, 18 January 2010 after he fell from a ladder. He is survived by his wife, Gail, who also is an SGA member.

Back by popular demand, the Northwest Georgia Archaeology Society will hold a prehistoric pottery washing and seminar on Thursday, January 14, 2010 at New Echota Historic Site located near Calhoun, Georgia. The meeting will begin at 7 pm. The public is invited to attend the program and meeting.

The Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society will start off the new year with a stimulating presentation by Garrett Silliman of Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc., titled Current Research in the Archaeology of the Atlanta Campaign. Mr. Silliman’s talk will be presented at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History on Clifton Road (just north of Ponce de Leon) on Tuesday, January 12th, beginning at 7:30 PM.

Download number 143, the Fall-Winter 2009 issue of The Profile, the newsletter of the Society for Georgia Archaeology, by going to the full story.

The SGA Fall Meeting was held at the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center on Saturday, October 17th in Buford, with a great panel of presentations. During the Business Meeting, members learned the SGA is seeking volunteers for two important positions: Society Secretary and Editor of The Profile. Please read the full story and let President Dennis Blanton know your thoughts regarding The Profile publication—web only versus a costlier “dead-tree” version.

The Augusta Archaeological Society, a chapter of the Society for Georgia Archaeology, publishes a newsletter called The Debitage. The December 2009 issue is now available as a PDF.

Just a brief head’s-up that plans for the Spring Meeting (that is, Spring 2010) are moving forward.

Georgia’s Mobile Archaeology Classroom—the ArchaeoBus—provides hands-on and minds-on activities to enthuse your students about learning. Archaeology is a great tool for turning on the minds of students, as well as a great motivational tool. More important, it is a discipline capable of instruction in a wide variety of skills. Archaeology is a holistic academic and intellectual approach that involves all subject areas, social skills, and conceptual skills. Georgia’s Mobile Archaeology Classroom offers the opportunity for students and teachers to leave the traditional four-walled classroom and use a new approach to learn state standards!

The Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society will have its regular meeting for November 2009 on the 17th, beginning at 7 pm. The speaker will be Scot Keith, lead archaeologist for recent excavations at the Late Woodland Leake Site. The site has been listed by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation as a 2010 Place in Peril. (See a story on this website about this here.)

Catch up with the news of the Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society, meeting monthly at Fernbank Museum of Natural History! The November issue of their monthly newsletter, Atlanta Antiquity, is now available. Read the full story by clicking [More] below.

The full article has links to downloadable PDFs of the September and October issues of Atlanta Antiquity, the newsletter of the Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society, a chapter of the SGA.

The Augusta Archaeological Society, a chapter of the Society for Georgia Archaeology, publishes a newsletter called The Debitage. The October 2009 issue is now available as a PDF.

The SGA’s Fall Meeting organizer, Catherine Long, has announced the meeting schedule. The Fall SGA Meeting will be held on Saturday, October 17 at the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center in Buford.

Read the full article by clicking [More] below to look at PDFs of the July and August issues of Atlanta Antiquity, the newsletter of the Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society, a chapter of the SGA.

Larissa Thomas, editor of The Profile, is working on the newest issue, which will appear here, on this website, when finished.

Mark your calendar now! The SGA’s Fall 2009 meeting will be Saturday, October 17th, at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center. Stay tuned for details!

The SGA is proud to make a digital version of our 2009 poster celebrating the Society’s theme of this year’s Archaeology Month, Mounds in Our Midst. Mounds are easy-to-see remnants of Georgia’s prehistoric past, mainly built between 500 BC and AD 1550. Research over the last century and more indicates that these artificial, human-constructed features of Georgia’s landscape varied in their design and purpose.

Please send your contributions to Larissa Thomas by Monday, June 15th for inclusion in your first all-electronic issue of The Profile! Dr. Thomas is interested in having articles from everyone, so we will continue to have a well-rounded picture of archaeological research and activities across the state, by everyone involved. We’d like to have articles from high in the mountains, inside and outside I-285, the Georgia Fall Line, from the ’skeeter-bit Big Bend, and down along the coast, wherever archaeology is going on in the state.

The June issue of Atlanta Antiquity, the Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society’s monthly newsletter, is now available. Newsletter Editor Louie Campbell always puts together a useful and informative publication, with information not only about archaeology in Georgia, but about archaeology around the world.

The SGA’s Spring Meeting on Saturday, May 16th, with the theme Mounds in Our Midst: Monuments of Prehistoric Culture in Georgia, hosted over 100 attendees who enjoyed formal presentations, informal networking, and the unveiling of SGA’s newest outreach project: the Archaeobus!

The next SGA Board Meeting will be at 3 pm on Friday, May 15th, in Taylor 110, a classroom at Wesleyan College in Macon.

You are invited to attend the unveiling of the SGA’s latest big project, the ArchaeoBus, our new mobile archaeology classroom! Door prizes! Refreshments! An interactive kazoo event! After the “christening” you can tour the ArchaeoBus and see the exhibits inside! Mark your calendar, and come to Macon on May 16th!

Make plans NOW to attend the SGA meeting May 16th and 17th in Macon. On Saturday, we’ll enjoy presentations on the theme Mounds in Our Midst: Monuments of Prehistoric Culture in Georgia at the Anderson Amphitheater in the Taylor Building on the campus of Wesleyan College. For those who stay over, on Sunday there’ll be a walking tour of the Lamar Mounds site south of Macon.

Click [More] immediately below for details on the rooms SGA has reserved in Macon at the Zebulon Road Fairfield Inn at a special rate for during the Spring Meeting. We hope to see you there!

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

The Society for Georgia Archaeology is proud to present the schedule of events for Archaeology Month 2009. Click [More] below to read more and download a PDF of the events calendar.

For each of the last twelve years, the SGA has produced a Lesson Plan in coordination with Archaeology Month. This year’s Lesson Plan, called Learning through Archaeology: Etowah Indian Mounds, is now available. It coordinates with the theme of our 2009 Archaeology Month meeting, Mounds in Our Midst: Monuments of Prehistoric Culture in Georgia. Our Spring Meeting will be held May 16th and 17th at Wesleyan College in Macon.

The complete archive of online news on various topics in archaeology is here, listed in reverse order of publication on this website. If, instead, you are interested in an archive of notices about the business of the Society (e.g., preparations for meetings), click here.