SGA President Dennis Blanton continues to blog about the laboratory studies now underway following this summer’s fieldwork into a very early historic site in south Georgia.

This was the fourth season of field work. Dennis writes:

It’s sobering every morning to peep into my lab and see the tabletops and counterspace no less clear of bags. We hauled a few hundred parcels of artifacts and special samples back from the field and they’re waiting in patient ranks for the next phase of work to begin. But I’m happy to say, after nearly a month now, that we’re poised to plunge into the job of processing and analysis.

And this is where the real work of archaeology begins. Fieldwork is a vital step; it remains the most traditional way we collect raw material for study. But all of the grubby potsherds and scraps of bone and even the glittering glass beads would maintain an uncomfortable silence if we neglected to wash them, catalog them, subject them to close examination, and then compare them with material from other excavations. This is a way of saying that, yes, the artifacts have a story to tell, one that surely will take unimagined twists and turns, but they tend to give up their secrets rather grudgingly.

Read the blog here.

SGA President Dennis Blanton wears a day-job hat, as Curator of Native American Archaeology at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, in Atlanta. This summer he’s working on a field project excavating at an early Spanish site in Telfair County. Most exciting for those of us at a distant remove from this project, is that you can read a blog about activities on the project.

Here’s a sample from Tuesday, 2 June:

What our excavation has exposed is a structure that exceeds my expectations of size. Unlike the typical Native dwelling of the period, measuring maybe four to five meters on a side, the one we have brought to light spans no less than 10 meters on a side. Put in more familiar terms, it probably has a floor area approaching 1000 square feet!

Read Dennis’s blog in full by clicking here!

Blogs are text and/or pictures and/or videos posted on the Internet when their author can get an Internet connection, and has something he or she wants to post. A blog can be authored by one or more individuals. The series of posts constitute an on-going narrative, or a kind of diary. The word blog is a short form of the word weblog. Some bloggers post usually short entries dozens of times a day; others may not post for months at a time. Blogging is a very individualized activity.

Visitors can explore permanent and special exhibits that display archaeological artifacts and ancient fossils, and enjoy science interactives and examine from all sides the imposing skeleton of the largest dinosaur species ever discovered. For an additional fee, visitors can enjoy films in Fernbank’s amazing IMAX® Theatre.

Fernbank’s signature exhibit is A Walk Through Time in Georgia, which sprawls across sixteen galleries and tells the story of Georgia’s past using dioramas and lively theater presentations.

Entry charge. Click here for more information.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta has opened a new permanent exhibition featuring artifacts from St. Catherines Island, Georgia. Using pottery as a lens, Conveyed in Clay: Stories from St. Catherines Island explores 5,000 years of human history, from the oldest type of pottery discovered in North America to the introduction of Spanish majolica during the mission era.

Built around a selection of objects from the St. Catherines Island Foundation and Edward John Noble Foundation Collection, this new permanent exhibition examines how Native Americans adapted to changes in natural and cultural conditions through the evolution of their pottery. From the invention of simple pinch pots to the progressive engineering of more advanced coil pots, visitors will explore how the innovative technologies and the decorative embellishments chart cultural change.

Hours of operation and direction for Fernbank Museum of Natural History are provided at the museum website.

An introduction to the archaeological study of Georgia’s earliest history through hands-on participation

• What? Week-long summer day program
• When? Monday-Friday, June 2-6, June 9-13, or June 23-27, 2008 for adult sessions; June 16-20, 2008 for high school session
• Where? Two archaeological sites in Telfair and Coffee Counties, Georgia (near Jacksonville, GA) along the historic and beautiful Ocmulgee River
• Why? To learn how Georgia Indians interacted with Spanish explorers and missionaries at a remote frontier location nearly 400 years ago
• Who? Eligible participants must be at least 19 years old. Enrollment will be limited to 10 students per week. Professional archaeologists and archaeology educators on the Fernbank Museum of Natural History staff will supervise the program.

This Fernbank Museum of Natural History program offers an extraordinary opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the methods of archaeology. In the process you will help trained professionals in their search for new evidence of early Spanish colonization. You will learn about Georgia’s earliest historical period when Europeans were first exploring the region and establishing isolated missions among Native American Indian communities. In addition to helping with field excavation, program participants will be instructed in basic laboratory procedures for processing artifacts, they will learn about the unique information artifacts can reveal, and they will be treated to occasional special lectures and activities.

Information about the program’s activities in previous years can be found on our web site at:

http://www.fernbankmuseum.org/education/research_collections/SantaIsabel

Program Details Activities: Each week will begin with an introduction to the goals of the project, our current knowledge of the archaeological sites, and basic field and lab methods. By the second day participants will become directly involved in the field excavation. On some days students will be moved from the laboratory area where finds are processed to the excavation on a half-day rotation. Historical and technical instruction will be ongoing during all activities. Special presentations and other activities will be offered periodically. Daily activities will run from 8:00 AM-3:30 PM. The program will be directed by Dennis Blanton, Fernbank Archaeologist/Curator.

Conditions: All activities will be outdoors and the excavation area may be only partially shaded. Participants must be prepared to be outside during the summer heat and humidity, and anticipate some presence of insects. Also, field archaeology is a physical activity and requires reasonable fitness and stamina. Participants should provide their own bag lunches, as well as personal items such as insect repellent, sunscreen, etc. Daily transportation to and from the program site is the responsibility of the participants. Fernbank will supply water/drinks and equipment.

All artifacts are to be left on the premises in the care of the archaeologists so that they can be properly studied.

Accommodations: Participants will be responsible for local accommodations and meals. Numerous motels and campgrounds can be found within a reasonable drive, and nearby Little Ocmulgee State Park offers a variety of lodging options (a partial list of area lodging is attached). Cost: The cost is $200 per person for each 5-day session. The cost covers Fernbank tuition, student information packets, and a t-shirt. Equipment will also be provided by Fernbank.

Teachers who participate in our archaeology program can earn PLU credit! Please contact archaeology@fernbank.edu or call
(404) 929-6414 for more information.

A special session will be held June 16-20 only for high school students.
Registration: Eligible participants must be at least 19 years old for adult sessions. Enrollment will be limited to 10 students per
week.

For registration and other information:
Kathryn Ruedrich, Archaeology Programs Specialist
Phone (404) 929-6414

Much of the routine archaeological activity at Fernbank concerns management of the St. Catherines Island archaeological collection. Great strides have been made to bring housing of the collection up to contemporary standards, and planning is underway for a new exhibit that will feature the many stories represented by this remarkable set of artifacts. Information about the collection is available on-line here.

Since June considerable activity has also surrounded Fernbank’s new research project and educational program aimed at discovering evidence of the seventeenth-century Spanish mission known as Santa Isabel de Utinahica. The projected mission site is in the area of “The Forks,” the territory near the junction of the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers, and in June—with support from the Department of Natural Resources—two candidate sites were tested. Both have produced small quantities of Spanish colonial artifacts along with significant amounts of contact-era Lamar ceramics. A promising artifact concentration will undergo further exploration in November. Fernbank invites registration for the June 2007 public archaeology program in this area.

Also on the subject of archaeology, Fernbank is featuring an exhibit about Imperial Rome through January 3, 2007. Over 400 artifacts from across the Roman Empire are on display and special activities are available for children in the exhibit area.

Transfer of the St. Catherines Island Foundation and Edward John Noble Foundation Collection of archaeological material to Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta was begun early in 2004. This very large, high quality archaeological collection was amassed during 30 years of island investigation led by Dr. David Hurst Thomas of the American Museum of Natural History. Dennis Blanton joined Fernbank in July 2005 as Curator of Native American Archaeology to manage the collection and develop new programs.

At Fernbank, the St. Catherines collection will anchor a regional archaeology program, serve as the basis for ambitious new exhibits, and provide content for new educational programming. In addition, it will ultimately be managed as a working collection that will support the research of visiting scholars.

Present work with the collection focuses on organizing and housing the massive quantity of material according to curatorial standards. An overview of the island research and recent progress with the collection is presented on a new Fernbank web page.

Also, a fabulous team of volunteers, including many from the Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society membership, have been helping inventory several other large artifact collections that have been donated to Fernbank over the years. The results have been rewarding already as a surprising number of Paleoindian tools from around the state have been identified.

For information about the collection and archaeology at Fernbank please contact Dennis B. Blanton, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30307, 404-929-6304.