PLoS blogs and viral archaeology
Submitted by Sammy Smith (sammy@thesga.org)
Read one of the first blog entries on the new PLoS Blogs, which discusses viral archaeology—the “archaeology” of viruses! The Public Library of Science has debuted PLoS Blogs, a “new network for discussing science in public; covering topics in research, culture, and publishing.” PLoS sees the blogs as an extension of their mission to make “the world’s scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource.”
Heritage management involves several basic steps. Resources must be located and described. Once found, some kind of filing and data retrieval system is needed to manage them properly. Here in our state we have the 
Even the national news recently picked up on the story about Camp Lawton, where investigations, including a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey, have revealed the exact location of this Civil War/War Between the States prisoner of war camp that was established in 1864.
Ten years ago, archaeologists raised the submarine H.L. Hunley from where it had been resting since February 1864. HeraldOnline’s Brian Hicks reports on the latest research and plans for what he calls “the first successful combat submarine in history.”
Looking for digital access to early twentieth century soil maps of Georgia? The University of Alabama’s Historical Map Archive includes them, but only if you use the free Mr SID plugin, which is only available for Windows XP or Vista.
Are you interested in visiting a castle? There’s a thirteenth-century fortress under construction in northern Arkansas that opened in May. Well, the construction site opened. Planners say it’ll take thirty years to finish the stone complex.
The US National Archives and Records Administration keeps papers, photographs, moving images, and more, only a very few of which are available online. Examine a photo from the digital collection, and consider the information about the photograph. You can search the online records yourself by following a link in the full story.
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!
Take a moment to browse some of the two thousand photographs the National Park Service has posted online from its Historic Photograph Collection. The posted photos include six of Ocmulgee National Monument, including one of the earthlodge while it was being excavated. That photograph dates to the 1930s.
Kennesaw State University journalism student Elizabeth Johnson put together an eight-plus minute video documentary for her senior capstone project about the efforts to preserve and protect the Leake site in Cartersville, Georgia. Go to the full story to read more about the preservation efforts at the Leake site (you can help, too!), and for a link to the video.
World Trade Center workers revealed a long-buried ship in black mud on July 13, 2010. Archaeologists have been working to record the timbers before they dry out and crumble. Follow the link in full story to a New York Times story with details and pictures. The small picture here is from a Fred R. Conrad photograph in the Times story.
Many of us have probably been thinking about impacts of the oil washing ashore on coastal archaeological resources—but what about underwater resources like shipwrecks? An AP story from early July notes that BP has hired an archaeological firm in the face of concerns about the effects of the spill on terrestrial and underwater archaeological resources.
Members of the SGA are often interested in historic maps. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has debuted an online resource called North Carolina Maps with digitized versions of more than 3000 historical maps, including Sanborn Fire Insurance maps.
The foods of a people, like their language, provide a window into their culture. Check out the “online educational companion” to the exhibition Key Ingredients: America by Food and learn more about the foods of North America, with special focus on regional traditions and international influences.
The website of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has been redesigned, and is now more attractive, not to mention useful! The DNR is the state entity responsible for Georgia’s cultural resources. DNR’s Historic Preservation Division “promotes the preservation and use of historic places for a better Georgia.” The Director of HPD is Dr. David Crass, an archaeologist.
Read summaries of the latest scientific studies and analysis of human evolution. Over a dozen papers are now available for free online from the December 2009 Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium titled In the Light of Evolution IV: The human condition. Topics range from genetics to language capacity to morality—and more. The papers are published in a supplementary issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, dated 11 May 2010.
On Saturday, May 16th, 2010, the Jones Archaeological Museum at the 320-acre Moundville Archaeological Park reopened after a two-year, $5 million renovation. The Moundville site is in Alabama, south of Tuscaloosa. Moundville is a multi-mound civic-ceremonial community dating to the Mississippian period.
Coastal Heritage Society archaeologists, supported by the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program, are investigating Revolutionary War archaeological sites throughout downtown Savannah. Read about their activities in their recently established blog, “
What bills currently up before Federal Senate and House decision-makers deal with archaeological resources? While the text of bills is available online from THOMAS, a government website named after Thomas Jefferson, OpenCongress is a different website that offers significantly enhanced bill-tracking information. While the only version of OpenCongress is for the Federal government, versions for each state are under development. Read the full story to find out how you can check on bills related to, for example, “historical and cultural resources.”
Campus to Careers is hiring an intern for its National Park Service Climate Change Internship Program at the Russell Cave National Monument, in northeast Alabama. This is a paid internship, lasting up to 12 weeks, working with archaeologist Sarah Sherwood assessing prehistoric climate conditions from soil samples. Online application information is in the full story.
Eighteen years of research by history professor Loren Schweninger at the University of North Carolina—Greensboro has produced an online database is called the Digital Library on American Slavery. Data are drawn from court cases from across fifteen states, with over 1100 records from the state of Georgia.
The Society for American Archaeology recently announced that their newsletter, The SAA Archaeological Record, published five times each year, is available in a new format for reading online beginning with the 2010 issues, and also is downloadable. The March 2010 issue includes several articles that discuss the roles of women in the prehistoric North American archaeological record.
On Saturday, April 10th 2010, Harvard University will host a symposium with three panels of experts discussing “what they believe to be the hardest unsolved problems in the social sciences.” Archaeologists rely on the social sciences, especially anthropology, for the theory that underpins their understanding of ancient societies. The symposium will be webcast live from 10AM to 5PM, and the webcast will be streaming after the symposium concludes so you can participate in post-symposium discussions online.
NAGPRA stands for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. NAGPRA is a federal law. In March 2010, NAGPRA has been in the news three times….
Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. recently tested seven prehistoric late Lamar (Mississippian) farmsteads in Oglethorpe County, finding post and pit features. This project provided a good opportunity to study a series of closely-grouped Wolfskin phase sites.
Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta announces that an exhibit titled “De Soto’s Footprints: New Archaeological Evidence from Georgia” will open in May 2010. The exhibit features the findings of Fernbank Museum’s ongoing archaeological explorations along the lower Ocmulgee River. The Museum’s research team unexpectedly found early Spanish artifacts that date before 1550. They quite possibly are associated with Hernando de Soto’s trek across Georgia in 1540.
You might not agree with the order given, but some of the blogs in 
Archaeological investigations are underway at Camp Lawton in Magnolia Springs State Park near Millen. Ground penetrating radar conducted in December 2009 by the Lamar Institute revealed a possible location for the southwest corner of the prison stockade. Georgia Southern University has begun archaeology to “ground truth” the results of the GPR survey. The public will be invited to view the progress of the excavations at the Park on specific Saturdays each month.
Follow the GaPA blog to read up on the latest news about legislative sessions, budget proposals, etc. GaPA stands for Georgians for Preservation Action. GaPA coordinates historic preservation advocacy efforts within our state. The SGA leadership has often worked with GaPA, since our organizational goals overlap.
Among the world’s major regions, ancient North America is not known for having many domesticated animals. In an article free online, Camilla F. Speller and her colleagues examined the DNA of modern and ancient turkeys and argue that there were at least two places were turkeys were domesticated: in Southern Mexico and a second time with Rio Grande/Eastern wild turkey populations. Read details in the full story.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has recently released a report called American Bison: Status Survey and Conservation Guidelines 2010. The report discusses the current status of American bison (Bison bison). You may be interested in a discussion of the history of the bison that is included as background for the report’s focus on conserving the species and the ecological restoration necessary to accomplish that for this large herbivore.
The Center for the Study of the Civil War Era cordially invites you to attend the 
If you haven’t visited 
Dr. David Crass, Georgia’s State Archaeologist and new Historic Preservation Division Director, has reorganized HPD. He discusses the reorganization and its benefits in this article, published first in HPD’s Preservation Posts, February 2010.
The Florida legislature established the Florida Public Archaeology Project in part to do outreach. Among the materials they have posted online are books of hands-on archaeology activities for teachers. Although FPAN is oriented toward Florida, many of their activities can be used or adapted for use in Georgia classrooms. The books are free and downloadable.
The Archaeological Conservancy owns Stallings Island, and has partnered with the Augusta Archaeological Society to monitor and help protect this significant site, which is difficult to access and protect. Unfortunately, looters have returned. We all lose when our hidden heritage is destroyed and thus important information is lost.
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.
Dr. Vincas Steponaitis will deliver the keynote address at the 36th Annual Conference of the Archaeological Society of South Carolina (South Carolina’s version of the Society for Georgia Archaeology) on Friday, April 9th, in the Business School Auditorium, Room 005, on the University of South Carolina campus in Columbia. Read more about this meeting, and the call for papers, in the full story.
At their February meeting, Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society members will hear a presentation by Scot Keith about the Leake Site, a primarily Middle Woodland mound and village site, which is near Cartersville and the Etowah Mounds. The meeting is Tuesday, February 9th. The presentation begins at 7:30, and Scot will have some artifacts you can look at if you arrive early!
Perhaps you watched Steve Jobs and other Apple people introduce the iPad on 27 January 2010…. Fans of archaeology might have noted that one of the major demonstrations, of the program Keynote, used the topic “Seven Wonders of the World,” which focused on selected archaeological sites. What does it mean that they chose an archaeological topic to punch their high-profile product introduction?
State Archaeologist Dr. David Colin Crass is the new Director of the Historic Preservation Division (HPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the DNR announced on 27 January 2010. Dr. Crass came to Georgia HPD twelve years ago.
Burke County State Court Judge Jerry Daniel in January handed down heavy fines on four east Georgia men who pled guilty to multiple counts related to looting a Late Archaic, Stallings culture shell midden site on the Ogeechee River in southern Burke County. The four men were apprehended on private land by Georgia Department of Natural Resources Ranger First Class Jeff Billips and Ranger First Class Grant Matherly in late September 2009.
The Bartow History Museum in downtown Cartersville invites you to visit! The Museum has interactive exhibits and also hosts monthly lectures. Road trip: combine a trip to the Etowah Mounds and a visit to this Museum!
An international working group called INTCAL has announced an updated radiocarbon calibration curve based on cross-checking thousands of tree-ring samples with raw radiocarbon dates. The new curve is available online.
The Human Spark is a three-part series investigating the topic of human uniqueness hosted by Alan Alda. One of the interviewees, Dr. Veronica Waweru, discusses the pros and cons of arrow and spear use, along with other interesting topics, in a blog entry associated with the program’s web pages.
In mid-December 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the National Park Service is awarding $46.5 million in historic preservation grants to 59 states and U.S. territories. However, nine states will receive more than $1 million each, leaving just under $35 million for the other states and non-states. Georgia’s piece of this historic preservation pie? Read the full story for more details.
On 27 December 2009, the online version of Charleston’s Post and Courier published a fascinating story by Tony Bartelme titled “Research on Hunley spurs new discoveries.” The new discoveries relate to faster methods for preserving metal artifacts, like the H.L. Hunley Confederate Civil War submarine, which sunk near Charleston in February 1864.
Archaeologist Scot Keith reports on the Leake site, which is west of Cartersville in Bartow County not far from the Etowah Mounds site, and partly within the right-of-way of Highways 61/113. The site has been named to the 2010 Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s Places in Peril listing, which will aid Keith and others to raise money to protect the remaining portions of this important Woodland and Mississippian site. The full story includes excellent aerial photographs.
The Savannah River Archaeological Research Program is seeking information about prehistoric metavolcanic stone quarries in the Carolina Slate Belt Region in South Carolina. As this map shows, the Carolina Slate Belt Region is prominent in the Carolinas, and extends southward into Georgia.
A recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution article by Cameron McWhirter discusses the application of modern technologies to Civil War archaeological sites in the Atlanta area. Most of the article stems from an interview with SGA member Garrett Silliman, and also mentions SGA member Dan Elliott.
The online version of Jacksonville’s The Florida Times-Union published a story on the Society’s own ArchaeoBus on 24 November 2009. Elementary school students sort pottery in this photo by Terry Dickson. Read the full story by clicking [More] below.
If you want to have coffee in an historic eighteenth century coffeehouse, you can now do so! The drinks that are offered are tea, chocolate, and, of course, coffee!
You’ve been hearing about the end of the world in 2012? Read the real dirt here!
What insights into our current agricultural and food production dilemmas can we get from prehistoric Native American practices? Check out David J. Minderhout and Andrea T. Franz’s article, “Native American Horticulture in the Northeast,” discussed here.
On November 4th 2009, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation announced its list of Georgia’s top ten Places in Peril, which includes the Leake Archaeological Site, a rich Middle Woodland and Late Mississippian-period prehistoric settlement on the outskirts of Cartersville. Scot Keith, an archaeologist who lead recent excavations at the Leake Site, notes, “with help from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation and numerous volunteers, we will be conducting many activities in the next year (and beyond) to foster public awareness of the site and its important place in history. This will include public education days at the site, community meetings, interviews, articles, partnerships and grants, research and fieldwork, and regular 
The Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society has scheduled a field trip to the Roswell Mills site for Sunday, November 15.
Sgt. Ronald Peters, a geospatial analyst whose hometown is Fort Lewis, Washington, with Multi-National Corps – Iraq C-7, has been mapping the archaeological sites of Iraq in his spare time.
The Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta announces a lecture by SGA President and Fernbank Curator of Native American Archaeology Dennis Blanton, to be held on Sunday, November 1st, at 4 pm. The lecture is titled “De Soto’s Footsteps: New Archaeological Evidence in Georgia.”
The Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has a downloadable sixteen-page booklet dated November 2007, titled Preserving Georgia’s Historic Cemeteries that you may find interesting.
Preservation Georgia Online for September 12–18, 2009, lists the four grants funded through statewide preservation license tag sales. The four SFY 2010 Georgia Heritage Grants total $46,285.
Quick: where in the world is the largest concentration of Bronze Age graves?
The Digital Library of Georgia website includes a page of links titled “Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842″ that you may find useful. Links include the official websites of Southeastern tribes, and some museums, archives, and libraries, etc.
Researchers have new geomagnetic dates for Achulean-style hand axes from two sites in Spain that indicate earlier use of those tools in Europe than previously known. Earlier dates were known for Africa and Asia, until this report. The question, then, is: did the tool-makers arrive from the south (from Africa directly) or from the east (following around the Mediterranean Sea).
The Georgia Municipal Cemetery Association’s Annual Conference, Tangible Links to Our Past, will be held in Rome, Georgia September 17-18 2009, at the Rome Forum Conference Center, downtown.
A crew of students lead by Diana Greenlee of the Department of Geosciences at University of Louisiana at Monroe tested buried circles in the plaza area of the famous Poverty Point site in northeast Louisiana this summer and was able to date the features they tested. This important civic-ceremonial site dates to the Terminal Archaic and is open to the public.
Members of the SGA may be interested in attending a meeting discussing the latest budget reductions to Georgia State Historic Sites. The meeting will be on Tuesday, August 11th, at the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation offices at Rhodes Hall on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, from 10 AM to 2:30 PM.
The Coastal Heritage Society of Savannah has been sponsoring archaeological research on Revolutionary War archaeological sites across the city as part of the 
The July 2009 issue of the Smithsonian magazine has an article by Barbara Krieger that details the research lead by Ehud Netzer of Hebrew University at the hilltop fortress palace that the Biblical King Herod built to eventually house his mausoleum. The exact location of his burial place, however, become lost to history, and remained an archaeological mystery until 2007.
The famous Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site, just south of Cartersville, is now only open Thursdays through Saturdays, 9 am to 5 pm. On Saturday, the 3rd of October, however, you can join a special evening walking tour of the site by torchlight.
Ryan Blackburn, of Online Athens, the online version of the Athens Banner-Herald, has written a glowing article about the SGA’s own ArchaeoBus! (picture from Online Athens)
Laboratory work is now underway at Fernbank Museum, lead by SGA President Dennis Blanton, wearing his day-job hat as Curator of Native American Archaeology. Summer 2009 was the fourth season of fieldwork he’s lead at a South Georgia site that’s produced early Spanish artifacts, including glass beads.
If you find yourself curious about a particular species, be it plant, animal, or even fungi, bacteria, archaea, protozoa, or virus, visit the Encyclopedia of Life website. This ambitious website plans to list all estimated 1.8 million species on Earth by 2017. You can even contribute information, including pictures, and class projects using the website are encouraged.
The Society for American Archaeology has 7000-plus members, and is “an international organization dedicated to the research, interpretation, and protection of the archaeological heritage of the Americas.” PDFs of back issues of the Society’s magazine The SAA Archaeological Record are available for free, except for the latest issue. You may enjoy perusing them. In particular, the November 2008 issue is recommended; it has a series of articles on our current understanding of the Archaic period in North America.
Wanna read about how “real archaeologists” compare what they do with what Indiana Jones does? The National Science Foundation (your tax dollars at work) funds archaeological projects, and the present an online “report” discussing what archaeologists the NSF has funded really do—in contrast to the behavior of Dr. Jones in the Steven Spielberg and George Lucas movies.
Glass bottles are quite common on historic sites, and we can often find interesting specimens at flea markets or in antique stores. This website, sponsored by the Society for Historical Archaeology and the Bureau of Land Management, provides detailed information about bottles made in the USA (and some from Canada) between about 1800 through the 1950s.
Heritage News is a monthly e-newsletter published by the National Park Service that delivers timely information on national heritage topics including grant opportunities, new laws or policies, events, and activities of interest. The July issue notes that a 1929 house in Dawsonville was listed on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places in May 2009. The house was owned by a moonshiner who built his still right in the house.
Looking for weekend roadtrip destination in mid-September? Consider attending an all-day symposium sponsored by the Pre-Columbian Society of Washington, D.C. on Saturday, September 19th. This year’s symposium is “The Caribbean before Columbus.” The symposium abstract notes: “Contact and exchange throughout the Caribbean basin are the twin themes of modern day researchers.”
Next time you’re in Augusta, go downtown and visit the Springfield community. Springfield community is just west of the original downtown Augusta, right on the river. The community was a free African American community established around the time of the Revolutionary War. The heart of the community was and is Springfield Baptist Church, which was probably established between 1787 and 1793.
Every once in a while news about the archaeology of southeastern North America is reported in mainstream publications. In June, the New York Times includes a report on carvings found on the wall of a cave in southeast Kentucky which may be an extremely early version of Sequoyah’s Cherokee syllabary. The final syllabary had 85 characters, each representing a syllable.
Many academic archaeological research projects are funded at least in part by the National Science Foundation. President Obama has made it an administration priority to as part of his Plan for Science and Innovation to double funding to key research agencies over the next decade. The House of Representatives in turn has proposed a reduction in the President’s proposed increase for FY 2010 for NSF.
The National Park Service website offers a list of laws and regulations pertaining to our nation’s cultural heritage on its website, along with links to the complete texts of the legislation. Perhaps most historically important is the Antiquities Act of 1906, which has been amended once and protects historic and prehistoric antiquities on Federal lands. Another important one is Executive Order 11593, signed in 1971, which charged the Department of the Interior with leading historic preservation activities for the nation.
The Lamar Mounds trip is on for Sunday, May 17th at 10 am. Meet at the Ocmulgee National Monument. Get your gear together and join us! Remember, this is a three-mile hike (round trip), and the road is muddy this season, and we will be immersed in hordes of mosquitos, and expect ticks, too.
SGA President Dennis Blanton has received a Preservation Achievement Award from the Georgia Historic Preservation Division, honoring him for his success in bringing one of Georgia’s few existing Native American dugout canoes to Fernbank Museum, among his many other activities that promote archaeology in Georgia. Kudos to President Blanton!
The Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists has scheduled its semi-annual meeting for Friday, May 15th, from 1:45–3:30 pm in the Taylor building at Wesleyan College in Macon, in advance of the SGA Spring Meeting.
Dick Brunelle has revealed the answer to the challenge he posed to readers almost two months ago, since no one logged in and submitted the answer. He asked people who made a brick he saw in LaGrange with “LACLEDE KING” stamped on it. As a tease, he noted: The brick is more closely related to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, than it is to covered bridges in Georgia. Ed. note: You must read the full story; it’s wonderful!
The Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society, together with the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, hosted an Archaeology Month function at Fort Daniel on Saturday, 2 May, called the Frontier Fort Faire and Public Archaeology Event, which was covered by Heath Hamacher, of the Gwinnett Daily News.
Please enjoy Archaeology Month in Georgia. Attend the Society’s semi-annual meeting on May 16th and 17th at Wesleyan College in Macon ($10 per person). You may also want to attend another event, as many are held around the state!
On behalf of the Society, President Blanton thanks the many volunteers who worked hard to set up, take down, and staff the SGA table at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting in downtown Atlanta in late April. The table and display were open for several days, and it took the contributions of many people to make this happen. Thanks to all!
The National Park Service is scheduled to receive $750 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to be spent on parks across the country. Georgia’s parks are to receive just under $2.5 million, or approximately 0.33% of the total budget, and far below one-fiftieth of the total budget. How do you feel about this?
NEWS FLASH: Georgia’s 2008 “Archaeological Encounters in Georgia’s Spanish Period” poster wins Society for American Archaeology annual Archaeology Month Poster Award on April 24th!
Read William Bartram’s Travels Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida, the Cherokee Country, the Extensive Territories of the Muscogulges, or Creek Confederacy, and the Country of the Chactaws; Containing An Account of the Soil and Natural Productions of Those Regions, Together with Observations on the Manners of the Indians, published in 1791, right here on the internet. You will miss the experience of turning aging pages, but you can read every word, and see some pictures, too!
The World Digital Library is now online. UNESCO has spearheaded this collective effort to make precious documents of all kinds from cultures around the world available in digital form to all who have internet access. The site launched with content from libraries and other cultural institutions across the globe—contributions from 26 institutions in 19 countries. The picture is from the frontispiece of a Dutch-published book about the New World and Australia dated 1671.
The Federal Omnibus Appropriations Act, which funds departments, agencies, and programs not funded through the regular appropriations process for FY2009, includes funding for some archaeological and historical programs and endeavors. The major allocations, listed in the full story, total nearly $500 million.
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation is soliciting nominations to its 2010 Places in Peril list. Selected properties will receive matching grants and advice in improving the properties’ preservation plans. Fort Daniel was on the 2009 list, and efforts there escalated after it was selected. Read the full story for qualifications and the link to the nomination form.
Georgians for Preservation Action report that the archaeology allocation in the final state budget includes the $100,000 that was in the Senate version, plus two positions that had been cut. This compares to a previous budget of over $279,000. HPD now has to decide which missions can still be accomplished on this severely reduced budget.
On Tuesday May 5th, Georgia’s Historic Preservation Division and the Georgia Trust are offering an all-day orientation session on the programs and services offered by the two organizations. Cost is $30 per person, which covers program materials, continental breakfast, and the afternoon break, and the orientation will be held in downtown Atlanta. The full story has the agenda and a link to the registration form.
On Thursday, 2 April, Governor Sonny Perdue proclaimed May Archaeology Month for 2009. Part of the proclamation states “Whereas: The study, interpretation and preservation of our archaeological sites offer important educational, cultural and economic benefits to all Georgians….” Read the full story and download a PDF of the proclamation by clicking [More] below.
Check out this story to download the latest newsletter by the Friends of Scull Shoals. There’s also a link to their website. The Friends are sponsoring a Spring Crafts and Tours Festival from 10 am until 4 pm on 2 May. The Scull Shoals area is between Athens and Greensboro, east of Atlanta, in the Oconee National Forest.
Georgia State students got real-world experience in salvage archaeology and historic preservation projects under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Glover when they worked recently in Atlanta’s historic Oakland Cemetery. The March 2008 tornado tipped over trees, bringing up soil and potentially disturbing human remains. Students used archaeological field techniques to examine this disturbed soil.
The 2009 State Social Studies Fair winners in archaeology are Destiny Jackson, with her project entitled “What Archaeological Remains Did King Tut Leave Behind?” and eighth grader Jack Doresky, whose project was titled “Southeastern US Indian Removal.” Each winner received a $50 check and educational materials from the SGA and the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists. Read the full story for details and photos.
The Senate Appropriations committee has only $50,000 total in the archaeology budget, not even enough to fund a single position. This means Federal and state projects will be delayed in the Historic Preservation Office, and that DNR will have to hire consultants in order to comply with State and Federal laws. Click [More] below to read the details.
You may be interested in subscribing to the Historic Preservation Division’s Preservation Georgia Online newsletter, to keep up with news and events around the state relevant to archaeology and historic preservation, including grant programs and National Register news. If you’re not already a subscriber, you might want to give it a try—it’s free!
Late on the afternoon of March 24, 
Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society and SGA member Terry Hynes recently “directed” a small project in the famous Valley of the Kings in the Theban Hills in Egypt’s Nile Valley. Terry also toured Luxor and boated on the Nile during her trip-of-a-lifetime in early January.
The complete archive of online news on various topics in archaeology is