In this intriguing research report, Dylan Woodliff describes recent fieldwork by Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI) at The Anneewakee Creek site (9DO2) in Douglas County, Georgia. New work by EPEI suggests that this famous Woodland period mound site may contain previously unrecorded earthworks.

The Digging Savannah app is now available in the Google Play marketplace. The app will work on most Android devices including smartphones and tablets. Just search for “Digging Savannah.” The App allows you to discover archaeology sites in and around Savannah that have been investigated and are on property open to the public. For more information, visit the Digging Savannah website by clicking here, and follow us on Facebook by clicking here.

Issue number 156, Spring 2013, of the SGA’s quarterly newsletter, The Profile, is now available as a downloadable and printable PDF. Alternatively, you can click here to see excerpts of all stories in the issue. The stories in The Profile all were originally posted to this website in January, February, or March of 2013.

May is Archaeology Month in Georgia, and thanks to the hard work of SGA members across the state, this year the month of May is packed with exciting events in nearly every corner of Georgia. Just a few of the planned events include: tours and hands-on activities at Etowah, Camp Lawton, Fort Daniel, and a chance to visit the ArchaeoBus in Stone Mountain. Click here to view the full schedule of Archaeology Month events, and click here to access the official Archaeology Month brochure.

Organizers of the 2013 Archaeology Day invite you to attend on Saturday, May 4th between 10AM and 4PM. The event will be held at the historic Ezekiel Harris House located at 1822 Broad Street in Augusta, Georgia. Admission is free. Click here to access a colorful, printable one-page flyer advertising the event.

The SGA invites you to join us at the 2013 Spring Meeting, scheduled for Saturday, May 18, at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, 301 Cherry Street, Macon (see map below). The theme for Archaeology Month and this year’s Spring Meeting is Digging and Diving into the Past: Celebrating 20 Years of Georgia Archaeology Awareness. The morning’s activities will be indoors, focusing on presentations. In the afternoon, we’ll re-unite at Ocmulgee National Monument for a tour. You must be registered to attend any of these events. You must pre-register if you want a box lunch.

Please pre-register for the SGA’s 2013 Spring Meeting on Saturday, May 18th, in Macon using the SGA’s new online registration option. You can pre-register for morning presentations and an afternoon tour of Ocmulgee National Monument, and pre-pay for a box lunch. (You can also register on-site; you must be registered to attend either morning or afternoon events.) So, get your credit card and proceed!

The Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Laboratory of Archaeology at the University of West Georgia is pleased to announce its 2013 open house. Come out to the Waring Lab on Saturday, April 6, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for a chance to tour the lab and learn about archaeological research and collections curation. This event is free and open to the public, and features family-friendly activities, including a mock excavation, flint knapping demonstrations, artifact identification, an atl-atl throwing demonstration, and other activities and games. For more information about the event, check out the SGA events calendar, and download a flyer by clicking here.

Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI) and New South Associates (NSA), under contract with HNTB Corporation, recently completed preliminary investigations of the Gulch, a low-lying area of downtown Atlanta long associated with the railroads. Preliminary archaeological investigations consisted of extensive archival background research, soil coring, and a large-scale geophysical survey of the project area. These investigations not only shed light on a fascinating and significant part of Atlanta’s history, but represent the most extensive investigations of their kind in an urban setting in the Southeast.

On Wednesday, March 6th, Dr. Constanza Ceruti, an Argentine high-altitude archaeologist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer, was the guest speaker at the University of North Georgia (UNG) campus in Dahlonega. Dr. Ceruti discussed the burial rituals of the Inca and pre-Inca mummies found high in the Andes of Argentina. As Dr. Jack Wynn exclaimed, “this is exotic archaeology!” Dr. Ceruti will be speaking in various places during her visit to the U.S., and Dr. Alvaro Torres-Calderon arranged to have her speak at UNG. Her visit was made possible by a number of entities, including the Blue Ridge Archaeology Guild, a chapter of the SGA located in Dahlonega.

At their March meeting on the 12th, members and guests of the Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society, a Chapter of the SGA, enjoyed hearing about the Singer-Moye Mississippian-period mound-and-village settlement that some Chapter members had visited in June 2012 from Stefan Brannan, a University of Georgia graduate student who was directing a Field School there. Brannan says that Singer-Moye is “the second largest Mississippian period mound center in Georgia that no one has ever heard of.” Brannan’s research has revealed hitherto unknown and important information about this archaeological site.

The Greater Atlanta Chapter (GAAS) of the SGA will meet next on Tuesday, April 9th, 2013, at 6:30 pm at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. The speaker will be Jim D’Angelo, who will discuss information from dozens of recently discovered documents at the National Archives are shedding new light on an old story, the roles of Fort Peachtree and Fort Daniel in the Creek Indian War of 1813-1815. Read more stories on this website about Fort Daniel here.

Dr. Ashley Smallwood, Director of the Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Archaeological Laboratory at the University of West Georgia, will speak to the Blue Ridge Archaeology Guild, a Chapter of the SGA, and the presentation’s co-sponsor, the University of North Georgia’s Dahlonega campus Department of History, Anthropology, and Philosophy. Dr. Smallwood will discuss three theories of how people first reached the Americas at 7 pm on April 4th in Young Hall Room 202, Dahlonega.

The SGA and its partner, the GCPA (Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists), are pleased to announce winners of awards for Georgia archaeology for 2013 at the State Social Studies Fair, held Saturday, March 23, at Clayton State University in Morrow. The SGA’s seventh-grade winner is Kameron Gaston for his project, “Nazca Lines: Why Are They Here?” The GCPA’s fifth-grade winner is Kara Harper for her project, “The Invisible Enemy: Diseases of the Civil War.” See photos of the winners and their projects in the full story.

The SGA requests that you call the Senators and Representatives on the budget conference committee and request they PLEASE fully fund the $450,000 the Chancellor requested for the Georgia Archives. Do this by Wednesday. Names and numbers are in the full story. Get ready to call NOW. We are in the home stretch of our advocacy efforts for the Georgia Archives during the 2013 General Assembly Session. This is the final push.

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus visits Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, and is visited by over 200 people. The SGA extends a hearty thanks to helpers from Armstrong Atlantic State University Anthropology Club, students, and especially Anthropology and Archaeology Instructors Ms. Bruno and Ms. Seifert!

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus departs Stone Mountain southbound to attend various events in Coastal Georgia….

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Georgia Southern Museum, and the Department of History will host “Captive Warriors: The History and Archaeology of POWs,” a half-day lecture series, on Tuesday, March 12, at Georgia Southern University. The mini-conference will feature three speakers from Georgia Southern: historians Brian Feltman and Michael Van Wagenen, and archaeologist Lance Greene. All events are free and open to the public. Access a flyer for the conference by clicking here.

The SGA uses this website to inform its members about activities of the Society and to provide information about archaeology in Georgia to members and the interested public. In 2102, the website received just over 50,000 visits and just over 101,000 pageviews by over 42,000 unique visitors. That averages to 116 unique visitors every day, making this outreach effort quite successful. This website, like all SGA’s outreach endeavors, are supported by volunteers. Get your story idea ready to email to our new online editor, Ben Steere. Join the SGA! Make a donation to support the SGA!

The March 2013 issue of the newsletter of the Gwinnett County Chapter of SGA, the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS), is now available. The newsletter is named Gwinnett Archaeology Bulletin. Read a research article on a Creek settlement that is now an archaeological site in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Fort Daniel news, and more. Access a PDF of the new issue by clicking here.

The Society for Georgia Archaeology invites undergraduate and graduate students to submit brief research reports, reviews of archaeological presentations and lectures, and essays about archaeological fieldwork and field trip experiences to The Profile. Topic areas are open, but should be related to the archaeology of Georgia and surrounding states. Submissions should generally be no longer than 1000 words. Accompanying photographs are encouraged.

The Archaeology Society of South Carolina is holding its annual conference in Columbia this Saturday, March 2nd, from 8:30 to 5:00 in Gambrell Room 250. Registration for the conference on Saturday is $10 with a reduced rate of $5 for seniors and students. ASSC Members are admitted free of charge. For more information about the conference, click here.

M. Jared Wood, Editor, Early Georgia, discusses the publication schedule for the journal. The Fall 2012 issue is in production and and will be sent to all SGA members who paid dues for the 2012 year. The Spring 2013 issue will be a follow-up of the popular Profile Papers including selections from the newsletter from 1992 to 2009. The Fall 2013 issue will be thematic. Submissions are encouraged NOW for consideration for inclusion in upcoming issues of Early Georgia.

Meet SGA’s new editor of The Profile and the website content, Ben Steere. Ben’s been in Georgia since 2006, and is an assistant professor of Anthropology at the University of West Georgia. If you have a story or a story idea you think might be appropriate for The Profile/the website, please email Ben (link in full story) for information and consideration. Research reports, first-person archaeology stories, and announcements regarding Chapter activities, lectures and presentations are examples of stories that the SGA welcomes.

The SGA requests that you call your Representative NOW requesting his/her support of HB 287, which will be voted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2013. Call NOW.

The Greater Atlanta Chapter (GAAS) of the SGA will meet next on March 12th, 2013, at 6:30 PM at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Our speaker will be Stefan Brannan of the University of Georgia; Mr. Brennan’s talk is titled Change and Continuity of a Mississippian Period Community at the Georgia Coastal Plain Mound Center of Singer-Moye. The program is free and open to the public.

Ever wonder what Atlantans threw away 100 years ago? Well, soon we will know as a result of The Phoenix Project, overseen by Georgia State University. At the Greater Atlanta Chapter (GAAS) meeting on February 12th at Fernbank Museum, members experienced a hands-on encounter with Atlanta’s dishes, bottles, and tools from trash pits over a hundred years ago. GAAS members sorted through a handful of the 469 boxes of artifacts composing the MARTA collection. At the meeting 6 or 7 more boxes were completed.

Issue number 155, Winter 2012, of the SGA’s quarterly newsletter, The Profile, is now available as a downloadable and printable PDF. Alternatively, you can click here to see excerpts of all stories in the issue. The stories in The Profile all were originally posted to this website October, November, or December of 2012.

Join us on Saturday, May 18th, 2013 for the Spring Meeting of the Society for Georgia Archaeology, to be held in the Theater of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, 301 Cherry St., Macon. The theme for Archaeology Month is “Digging and Diving into the Past: Celebrating 20 Years of Georgia Archaeology Awareness.” Papers that focus on archaeological research in Georgia and within this thematic category will be considered, in blocks of 20 minutes or less including time for questions at the end. Full story includes preliminary program.

Georgia Archaeology Month is a statewide promotion held each May 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. Your help is needed to plan the activities that will be the basis of our Calendar of Events. Develop an activity/event, and submit a description of it so we can include it in the Calendar of Events brochure, which will be distributed statewide as well as posted on this website. You can submit information online, or complete a traditional form.

SGA President Tammy Herron requests that SGA members and friends call their Senator/Representative NOW to request their help in restoring the Georgia Archives to its ability to be open to the public for regular business hours and to have sufficient staff to provide the basic full range of services that a state archival institution should provide. Thanks for doing this NOW. Call, don’t write.

Over the last year a great number of claims have been made about Mayans and Georgia archaeology. Many of these claims have focused on sites located on National Forest land. The Track Rock Gap rock art and stone landscape sites on the Chattahoochee National Forest were created by Creek and Cherokee people beginning more than 1000 years ago and continuing into the 1800s. There is no archeological evidence of any link to Mayan people or culture at this site. Stone landscape sites occur throughout the region and are not unusual, but they should be respected and protected.

The January and February 2013 issues of the newsletter of the Gwinnett County Chapter of SGA, the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS), are now available. The newsletter is named Gwinnett Archaeology Bulletin. Read Fort Daniel news and more.

The SGA invites you to join us at our semi-annual meeting this spring, scheduled for Saturday, May 18th in Macon. Preliminary plans include a morning session of presentations at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, a break for a boxed lunch (or bring your own), tour of Ocmulgee National Monument by Dan Bigman, and more presentations at Ocmulgee in the afternoon. Stay tuned to this website for details. There’ll be a modest registration fee and the meeting is open to the public.

…in which new President Tammy Herron congratulates incoming members of SGA’s leadership and announces that the 2013 Spring Meeting will be in Macon on Saturday, May 18th, at both the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and Ocmulgee National Monument. In addition, the SGA has joined The Coalition to Preserve the Georgia Archives. If you haven’t already done so, you can renew your membership online by clicking here.

Efforts of members of The Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society and The Fort Daniel Foundation have finally paid off. On December 21, 2012, Gwinnett County closed on the 4.5-acre tract within which the entire fort site is situated. The County shall, in turn, lease the property to the Foundation, which will be responsible for developing both the land and an educational outreach program. Details of the lease agreement are being worked out, and it is expected that the Foundation will assume its responsibilities by the end of March. Already, students from local schools have had the opportunity to get their hands dirty and learn something about archaeology and about Fort Daniel’s connection with our frontier history and the Creek Indian War.

The next meeting of the Greater Atlanta Chapter (GAAS) of the Society for Georgia Archaeology will be on February 12th at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, and begin at 6:30PM. The meeting is free and open to the public. Our program will be lead by Dr. Jeffrey Glover of Georgia State University and students. Dr. Glover will discuss the MARTA archaeological collection.

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus talks about her return journey to Stone Mountain to work from New South Associates over the next six months to educate the children of the Stone Mountain/East Atlanta/Dekalb County area on how nifty archaeology can be!

The Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society is pleased to announce that Jannie Loubser will be the speaker at the meeting on January 8, 2013, at the Fernbank Museum Auditorium, which will begin at 6:30PM. Loubser’s talk is titled The Stone-Walled Complex within Track Rock Gap, Union County, far northern Georgia. Two test units excavated in 2002, one in a meandering stone wall and the other within a massive stone pile, revealed that both the wall and the stone pile are prehistoric in origin. The closest fit of the mapped and excavated remains are with the stone-walled complexes that Indians erected to honor and communicate with spirits of the dead.

The Chesser–Williams House is now at the campus of the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center. The House has exquisite art work on its exterior and interior. By moving the House to the Center, it will be preserved for educational programming. The project has received recognition from the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of 22 projects in the United States that received a Cynthia Woods Mitchell grant in 2010.

Abby the ArchaeoBus is in residence at New South Associates in Stone Mountain through June 2013. A wonderful crew at NSA is conducting a regional pilot program to reach a more diverse and greater percentage of the Georgia population. This will serve to guide how we use Abby in other regions of our large state. Nick Joseph, Marketing Coordinator at NSA, will be the Stone Mountain Regional Coordinator for the ArchaeoBus.

The December 2012 issue of the newsletter of the Gwinnett County Chapter of SGA, the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS), is now available. The newsletter is named Gwinnett Archaeology Bulletin. Read stories about Fort Daniel news and more.

Read about the Fall 2012 Meeting events and activities in Columbus. We spent the morning at the Columbus Museum, and in the afternoon visited the National Civil War Naval Museum. Read the full story for details.

The Greater Atlanta Chapter of the SGA will meet on Tuesday, November 13th, 2012, at 6:30PM to hear Tommy Hudson discuss Some Observations on Prehistoric Stone Structures in Georgia. For more than 40 years, Mr. Hudson has been researching and recording petroglyphs (rock art) and petroforms (rock man-made constructions) in Georgia. During this time, he has compiled a list of more than 120 petroglyphs and more than 130 petroforms in the northern half of Georgia, and the presentation is based on that research.

The November 2012 issue of the newsletter of the Gwinnett County Chapter of SGA, the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS), is now available. The newsletter is named Gwinnett Archaeology Bulletin. Read stories about Fort Daniel news and this fall’s successful Fourth Frontier Faire, held Saturday and Sunday, 20–21 October, with about 250 attendees.

The Coastal Georgia Archaeological Society will meet on Saturday, November 10th, at 2:00PM at the Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Museum to hear Ellen Harris of the Chatham County Metropolitan Planning Commission speak about recent digs and a proposed new archaeological ordinance for Chatham County. Her presentation is titled Alligators, Mosquitoes and Shovel Tests: Archaeology in and Around Savannah. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Please join members of the SGA and others interested in Georgia archaeology at our Fall 2012 meeting, to be held Saturday, October 27th, in Columbus. Meet for the morning presentations at 8:30AM at the Columbus Museum’s Patrick Theater. In the afternoon, there’s an option to visit the National Civil War Naval Museum on a group tour with other SGA meeting attendees. There’s a small charge for registration for the meeting, and an additional charge for the National Civil War Naval Museum tour. All stories on this website about the 2012 Fall Meeting are here.

Once again, the SGA sent the Archaeobus to CoastFest 2012, in Brunswick, along with tables of displays staffed by fifteen member-volunteers (thank you! thank you!). Kevin Kiernan took the organizational lead on this event. Over 8000 people from across Georgia and nearby states crowded onto the grounds of the DNR’s Coastal Regional Headquarters near the beautiful Sidney Lanier Bridge to attend this event on Saturday, October 6th, with many touring SGA’s offerings.

Issue number 154, Fall 2012, of the SGA’s quarterly newsletter, The Profile, is now available as a downloadable and printable PDF. The stories in The Profile all were originally posted to this website July, August, or September of 2012.

…in which President Catherine Long updates members on activities of the SGA in the third quarter of 2012. This is President Long’s last President’s Message, as Tammy Herron will become President at the end of the Fall Meeting, on October 27th in Columbus.

The October 2012 issue of the newsletter of the Gwinnett County Chapter of SGA, the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS), is now available. The newsletter is named Gwinnett Archaeology Bulletin. Read stories about Fort Daniel news and upcoming plans for this fall’s Frontier Faire, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, 20–21 October 2012—you’re invited!—and other activities of the Chapter.

Despite an announcement that the Georgia State Archives would close in November, an October 18th press release notes, “Gov. Nathan Deal and Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced today that the state will restore $125,000 to Kemp’s budget,” which will keep the Archives open. The SGA was one of many organizations and individuals that publicly advocated that this important research institution not be closed. The Georgia State Archives will maintain its current access hours.

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus discusses her latest publicity—her photograph high on the home page of the Society for American Archaeology, which has more than 7000 members.

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus attends the 2012 CoastFest in Brunswick to show people how fun and exciting archaeology can be, and how important it is to preserve archaeological sites.

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus stars…um…plays a role in a movie!—well, a TV show. Read the full story to learn about the ArchaeoBus’s adventure driving to Camp Lawton, and working there with Time Team America’s crew, which was there shooting a segment about the Civil War camp.

The SGA is proud to announce the morning schedule for the 2012 Fall Meeting, Saturday, October 27th, at the Columbus Museum’s Patrick Theater. We’ll tour in the afternoon. Remember, hotel reservation deadlines have been extended to October 12th. For all stories regarding the Fall Meeting, click here.

The deadline for getting the discounted rate at the Holiday Inn (Manchester Expressway, Columbus) for the 2012 Fall Meeting has been extended to October 12th. Don’t delay! Get your room reserved soon! (The meeting is Saturday, October 27th.) For all stories regarding the Fall Meeting, click here.

The SGA is proud to announce the presentations we’ll be hearing at the Fall Meeting, on Saturday, October 27th, at the Columbus Museum’s Patrick Theater. Go to the full story for the abstracts, and a downloadable version, too. For more stories on the SGA’s meeting, click here.

For the second year in a row, The Lacy Foundation has donated to the SGA’s Endowment Fund. The SGA appreciates this very much. These funds will help support the initiatives of the SGA. You, too, can help by donating to the SGA. Look for a means for doing this online, coming soon! We greatly appreciate your continued support!

Rita Elliott invites you to volunteer to help with the SGA’s exhibit at CoastFest in Brunswick. Our biggest display will be the ArchaeoBus! Rita writes, “We will be setting up at 8 AM.” CoastFest runs from 10AM–4PM on Saturday, October 6, 2012. Follow the link in the full story, and tell Rita when you can help!

Join members of the SGA this fall at our semi-annual meeting. Stay tuned for information on pre-registration and an order form for a boxed lunch. Our 2012 Fall Meeting will be at the Columbus Museum’s Patrick Theater on Saturday, October 27th. While you’re there, check out Museum exhibits and a free film on the history of the Columbus area.

The September 2012 issue of the newsletter of the Gwinnett County Chapter of SGA, the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS), is now available. The newsletter is named Gwinnett Archaeology Bulletin. Read stories about upcoming plans for this fall’s Frontier Faire, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, 20–21 October 2012—you’re invited!—and other activities of the Chapter.

The Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS), a Chapter of SGA, and the Friends of Ft. Daniel Foundation (FDF), will host their annual Fort Daniel Frontier Faire on Saturday, October 20 from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday, October 21 from 11am to 4pm. Enjoy a museum display, Trading Post, face painting, archaeological tour, refreshments, blacksmith, and other vendors right on the location of the fort in Buford in Gwinnett County. Admission is open to the public at $2 per person or $5 per family.

The SGA is soliciting presentations for the 2012 Fall Meeting, to be held Saturday, October 27th, at the Columbus Museum‘s Patrick Theater. Presentations will be in the morning only (we’ll tour in the afternoon), so slots are limited (first come, first served!). Papers that focus on archaeological research in Georgia or the bordering states will be considered for the program, and students are encouraged to participate. Each presenter should plan for a presentation of 20 minutes. Click here to access a PDF of the Call for Papers.

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus visits the Fort Daniel Colonial Faire during Archaeology Month in May, 2012. Fort Daniel is an archaeological site in urban Gwinnett County, right behind a house. During the Faire, students worked with archaeologists excavating the Fort, visitors enjoyed booths with hands-on activities, and could even buy a souvenir!

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus gets new lenses for “cataracts.” Abby discusses getting new windows, courtesy of Southern Research, Historic Preservation Consultants, making her both safer and…more beautiful (she says).

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus visits New South Associates in Stone Mountain during Archaeology Month, Spring 2012. Abby tells about her adventures hosting many visitors, and provides many photographs of people and activities, including an excavation. Look at the photos and find friends—and meet Captain Jack!

The South Georgia Archaeological Research Team, SOGART, a Chapter of the SGA, is sponsoring the 2012 Symposium on Southeastern Coastal Plain Archaeology, to be held Saturday August 18th in Stubbs Hall Auditorium on the South Georgia College campus in Douglas. Registration is free, and will begin at 8:00AM. Papers are scheduled for all day, and topics should appeal to anyone interested in Georgia archaeology. Click here to access a PDF of the all-day symposium program.

Mark your calendar for the SGA Fall Meeting, scheduled for Saturday, October 27th, at the Columbus Museum, just east of downtown Columbus on Wynnton Road. Organizers have reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn on Manchester Expressway. Rates are $79 and include a hot breakfast. Read the full story for more details.

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus visits Fort Hawkins (Macon) during Archaeology Month, in Spring 2012. Abby tells about her adventures at Fort Hawkins, and provides many photographs of visitors and activities, including excavations and surveying with a transit. Look through them all to find SGA friends and acquaintances!

On Friday, June 29, 2012, twenty-plus members of the GAAS and their guests visited several notable locations in Lumpkin, Stewart County, in southwest Georgia: the Bedingfield Inn, the Hatchett Drug Store Museum, and the Singer/Moye archaeological site, a complex of nine Mississippian mounds, which now belongs to the University of Georgia and is currently being used for a UGA field school.

It’s summer and what are kids doing? Attending summer camp and having fun on summer vacation! For those interested in archaeology as a career or to spur their child to examine the interdisciplinary focus of the field, there are field work and volunteer opportunities. It is great fun for everyone. A great introduction to Georgia archaeology is the book Frontiers in the Soil. This website is THE place to order a copy of Frontiers.

SGA President Catherine Long reports on the Spring Meeting, a GAAS field trip, and plans for a Board Meeting in August—timed to coincide with SOGART’s 2012 Symposium on Southeastern Coastal Plain Archaeology. Plans for the Fall Meeting are underway; stay tuned for details. Once again, the ArchaeoBus will attend CoastFest in October in Brunswick. We hope to see you at upcoming events!

The SGA held its 2012 Spring Meeting in two locations. We attended presentations in the Student Center at the Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville throughout the morning. Then, in the afternoon, we adjourned to the Fort Daniel archaeological site, with tours conducted by Lead Archaeologist Dr. Jim D’Angelo. Our hosts were the Fort Daniel Foundation and the local SGA Chapter GARS.

The June 2012 issue of the newsletter of the Gwinnett County Chapter of SGA, the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS), is now available. The newsletter is named Gwinnett Archaeology Bulletin. The issue has stories about Fort Daniel research and recaps Archaeology Month activities. Find all stories about GARS on this website by clicking here.

Meetings are a crossroads to knowledge. The full story discusses the April 2012 statewide preservation conference. You’ve missed that meeting, but it’s not too late—May also has interesting events scheduled for 2012 Archaeology Month, including the SGA’s Spring Meeting, which will be held Saturday, May 19th, at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the Spring Meeting co-sponsored by SGA and Georgia Gwinnett College! The date is Saturday, May 19 starting at 8am in the state-of-the art Student Center. Click here to access a PDF of the Spring Meeting Program (final version).

The SGA’s 19th annual Georgia Archaeology Awareness promotion, Archaeology Month 2012, has as its theme Commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. Our request for a proclamation designating May as Georgia Archaeology Month was received and acknowledged by the Governor’s office. Representatives from Georgia’s archaeological community, including the SGA, attended the proclamation signing by Governor Nathan Deal on Wednesday, May 2nd.

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus visits Auburn, Georgia, and hosts over 200 visitors including middle-schoolers, homeschoolers and parents, city administrators, a state representative, and more—read the whole story and look at the photos!

The fourth issue of the newsletter of the Gwinnett County Chapter of SGA, the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS), is now available. The newsletter is named Gwinnett Archaeology Bulletin. GARS members are heavily involved in this year’s Archaeology Month, in May, which has the theme Commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812.

The Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance, Inc. and Georgia’s Historic Preservation Division (HPD) are partnering in a public archaeology project at the Lyon Farm in DeKalb County. The public is invited to attend and participate in excavations planned over two weekends in 2012. Fieldwork is designed to 1) locate cabins that housed slaves prior to the Civil War; and 2) uncover evidence of Creek settlement prior to the establishment of Lyon Farm around 1800. You must notify HPD ahead of time if you want to participate in this fieldwork.

The Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission announces a panel discussion titled “Perspectives in Archaeology: Digging for the Truth” to be held Saturday, May 12th, at 2PM, at Trinity Church, Telfair Square, Savannah. Admission is free and the event is open to the public. This is one of many events celebrating Georgia’s 2012 Archaeology Month.

The Augusta Museum of History and the Augusta Archaeological Society, a Chapter of the SGA, invite you to attend Archaeology Day at the 1797 Ezekiel Harris House, 1822 Broad Street, in Augusta, on Saturday, May 6th, 2012. Admission is free. This event is one of many celebrating Georgia’s 2012 Archaeology Month.

Call it a megapolitan area or a megaregion, but Georgia’s Piedmont is experiencing an increase in human settlement that endangers—and destroys—archaeological remains. Join the Society for Georgia Archaeology and help preserve Georgia’s archaeological heritage. Once you’ve joined the SGA, volunteer with the Society to actively help the SGA to preserve, study and interpret Georgia’s historic and prehistoric remains.

SOGART, the South Georgia Archaeological Research Team, a Chapter of the SGA announces that its 2012 Symposium on Southeastern Coastal Plain Archaeology will be held at Stubbs Hall, South Georgia College, Douglas, on August 18th. Presentations are now being solicited for the meeting. Click here for an announcement suitable for posting.

The SGA is proud to present the 2012 Archaeology Month event brochure, accessible by clicking here. All events listed in the brochure are also entered in the SGA’s online calendar All programs, events, and ongoing exhibits listed in the brochure are listed in the full story. Not all events are in May, although May is Archaeology Month in Georgia.

The third issue of the newsletter of the Gwinnett County Chapter of SGA, the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS), is now available. The newsletter is named Gwinnett Archaeology Bulletin. GARS members are planning to co-host (with the Fort Daniel Foundation) an afternoon expo at the Fort Daniel site on May 19th, as part of the 2012 Archaeology Month activities.

On Monday, April 2, 2012, volunteers from the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society, TRC staff, and others from the SGA met at the offices of the cultural resources firm TRC, Inc. in Norcross to roll the Archaeology Month 2012 posters and stuff them in mailing tubes destined for Georgia school districts. Thanks to all the volunteers for finishing this important work.

The Gateway to the Past: Georgia’s Leake Site exhibition will be on display through Sunday, September 23, 2012 at the Columbus Museum, on Wynnton Road east of downtown Columbus. Using excavated artifacts from the Leake site and the Columbus Museum’s collection of Chattahoochee Valley objects, this history exhibition shows visitors what life was like for prehistoric American Indians living in what is now northern Georgia. The exhibition also includes an interactive audio/visual tour. Admission is free. Read more about the Leake site on this website by clicking here.

Please make plans to attend the Spring 2012 Meeting of The Society for Georgia Archaeology on Saturday, May 19th, at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville. The meeting will be held in the Student Center (Level 1, LVIS Room), and registration begins at 8:00am. The SGA has reserved rooms at the nearby Country Inn & Suites—Lawrenceville. These rooms will be available at the group rate until Wednesday, April 18th.

The Society for Georgia Archaeology is proud to present the preliminary program for our Spring Meeting, scheduled for Saturday, May 19, at Georgia Gwinnett College. This meeting is in conjunction with 2012 Archaeology Month. The Archaeology Month theme this year is Commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. The meeting will be held in the Student Center (Level 1, LVIS Room), and registration begins at 8:00am.

The Society for Georgia Archaeology (SGA) and the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists (GCPA) gave two awards at the Georgia Social Studies Fair 2012. The SGA and GCPA are pleased to give awards at this event because it supports our mission “to unite all persons interested in the archaeology of Georgia and to work actively to preserve, study and interpret Georgia’s historic and prehistoric remains.” The 2012 winners are fifth-grader John Hendricks of Jasper Elementary in Pickens County and eighth-grader Connor Hynek of Herschel Jones Middle School in Paulding County. Awards include a copy of the book Frontiers in the Soil, also available from the SGA.

UPDATED! The first two issues of the newsletter of the Gwinnett County Chapter of SGA, the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS), are now available. The newsletter is named Gwinnett Archaeology Bulletin. GARS members are planning to co-host (with the Fort Daniel Foundation) an afternoon expo at the Fort Daniel site on May 19th, as part of the 2012 Archaeology Month activities.

Come to the Museum at Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site on Thursday, March 15th at 7:00pm to hear the REAL story of rock structures on a mountainside in Union County—structures that sparked the recent controversy about Mayans in North Georgia. Our speaker for this meeting of the Northwest Georgia Archaeology Society will be Dr. Jannie Loubser, an archaeologist and world expert on rock carvings and rock structures.

Prior to the 2011 Fort Daniel Frontier Faire in Gwinnett County, several geophysical surveys had been conducted at the site by Dr. Sheldon Skaggs of Georgia Southern University, the combined results of which suggested the presence of features within the footprint of the fort. We have also previously reported that the footprint of the fort’s palisade walls and corner blockhouses, as determined by archaeological investigations, corresponds precisely to the plan for frontier forts sent by President Washington’s Secretary of War, Henry Knox, to the Governor of Georgia in 1794.

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!

Issue number 151 of the SGA’s quarterly newsletter, The Profile, is now available as a downloadable and printable PDF. All stories in The Profile all were originally posted to this website.

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.

Diaries are one of many primary sources about the past. Primary sources are records from people who had first-hand experience with what is recorded in the materials they have left behind. On this website we have a diary—of Abby the ArchaeoBus. The ArchaeoBus is a major outreach project of the SGA, and billed as Georgia’s mobile archaeology classroom. Using Abby’s diary as an example, consider the strengths and weaknesses of diaries as aids to understanding the past.

…in which Abby the ArchaeoBus attends the Georgia Council for the Social Studies Conference in Athens along with hundreds of teachers, many of whom, she discovered, are quite knowledgeable about Georgia archaeology.

Catch up with the news of the SGA’s Augusta Chapter, the Augusta Archaeological Society, by reading the December issue of the AAS’s newsletter, The Debitage. The issue details activities of the AAS in 2011, and plans for a holiday party on December 8th.

Abby the ArchaeoBus discusses visiting the Southeastern Archaeology Conference in Florida, and participating in Public Archaeology Day while parked outside the Museum of Science and History in Jacksonville. Enjoy photographs of the event as part of the diary entry.

The well-attended October 2011 Frontier Faire at Fort Daniel, sponsored by the Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society, a Chapter of the SGA, and the Fort Daniel Foundation, hosted a Trading Post, tours, a candle-maker, both Girl and Boy Scouts, a food area and more. The 2011 Frontier Faire is considered a definite success and will serve as a model for next year’s Faire.

Are you looking for funding for educational or outreach activities? The Southeastern Archaeological Conference offers one grant per year, not to exceed $2000. The end of this grant cycle is December 1, 2012. Read more on the SEAC website here.

See lots of photos of the SGA’s ten tables and the ArchaeoBus at CoastFest 2011, held in October in Brunswick, by checking out the full story. Well over 9000 people attended CoastFest, and hundreds toured the ArchaeoBus and the exhibits under and around the SGA tent. The SGA installation was supported by 18 volunteers, many from the Golden Isles Archaeological Society, and also from Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and the United Kingdom.

Careful preservation planning means knowledge about important historical and archaeological resources are part of the planning process. In late October 2011, Georgia’s Historic Preservation Division released Preservation Primer: A Resource Guide for Georgia, available in both high- and low-resolution PDFs. The Primer will help you identify historic properties, evaluate them, and develop local preservation planning strategies. And help protect your community’s resources.

The Northwest Georgia Archaeology Society will host their Artifact Identification Night at the Etowah Mounds Museum on Thursday, November 10th at 7:00 pm. All members of the public are invited.

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.

The University of Georgia Student Association for Archaeological Sciences recently sponsored a day-long atlatl workshop with Scott Jones, primitive technologist and expert in atlatl manufacture and use. Twelve SAAS members and their faculty advisor, Jared Wood, gathered at Scott’s outdoor classroom at “The Woods” just northeast of Lexington, and listened to Scott’s exciting lecture, then practiced primitive skills, and had great fun taking aim at cardboard quarry. The full story includes many exciting photographs of the outing.

The ArchaeoBus spent Friday, October 21st, 2011 at Georgia Council for the Social Studies conference in Athens, attended by 510 educators. The ArchaeoBus, accompanying displays, and the door prize the SGA offered were all well-received.

This week, 24–31 October, 2011, the SGA’s ArchaeoBus is at Fort Hawkins and open to the public, while excavations are in progress. This is the first time the ArchaeoBus has visited active excavations! Fort Hawkins, on a hill above the Ocmulgee National Monument and downtown Macon, dates to 1806, before Macon was founded. On the 31st, attend a Press Conference at 3:00PM, when you can see all that was found during the week, and tour the ArchaeoBus. At 5:00PM, the first Fort Hawkins Halloween Hauntings will begin, with ArchaeoBus tours a major highlight of this free, fun, family event.

UPDATED! Issue number 150 of the SGA’s quarterly newsletter, The Profile, is now available as a downloadable and printable PDF. All stories in The Profile all were originally posted to this website.

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.

Leading national archaeological organizations are partnering to participate in National Archaeology Day, on 22 October 2011. What will you do to celebrate? In addition, across the US and Canada, there are events throughout the whole month of October. What will you do to celebrate archaeology this year? And, it’s not too soon to start planning your 2012 National Archaeology Day celebrations!

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.

It is that time of the year when good things happen. Read President Catherine Long’s message to members about recent and upcoming events and plans. And plan to see fellow SGA members at the 2011 Fall Meeting in Athens on 22 October, and attend the silent and live auctions that evening to benefit the SGA’s Endowment Fund.

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.

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 the full story.

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, at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon. In partnership with the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists, the SGA is supporting a plan to interface more effectively with the Atlanta Regional Commission. The ArchaeoBus is scheduled at events in Perry and along the coast this fall. We look forward to seeing you at the SGA Fall Meeting in Athens on Saturday, October 22. Slots are still open for those who wish to give presentations. On Saturday evening, we hope you can attend a live auction to raise money for the SGA. In addition, we plan to implement click-online membership renewals and donations soon.

A block of fifteen rooms are reserved at the Holiday Inn in Athens (197 E. Broad Street) for the upcoming Fall Meeting. The meeting will be all day on Saturday, October 22nd, 2011. Please ask for the SGA rate of $99.00 (plus taxes and fees) and call 706.549.4433 to reserve your room. This rate is good until September 30, 2011, and you are encouraged to register early.

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.

Check out Georgia Flashback to take a look at the newest available learning tool designed with 8th grade students in mind. The game teaches students about our state’s history, architecture, and cultural geography. It was created by a team from the Georgia Department of Transportation, Greenhorne & O’Mara, and the History Workshop. Watch out! It’s addicting!

SGA’s ArchaeoBus, nicknamed Abby, visited a week-long Girl Scout Eco-camp in Oglethorpe County in July, 2011. Amy Glinski, leader of the camp, along with SGA’s Tom Gresham and Teresa Groover presented a half day of programming and hands-on activities to 40 girls who ranged from 6 to 13 years old. We think this was another successful venture for the ArchaeoBus and was a slightly different audience and setting. We are finding that the ArchaeoBus is readily adaptable to a wide range of audiences.

Jeanne Cyriaque, African American Programs Coordinator for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division has notified the SGA about the launch of “African American Voices,” Oakland Cemetery’s first cell phone walking tour, which consists of twelve burial sites, located in the African American burial section of the cemetery.

The Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society-GAAS has been busy this summer. Many chapter members have volunteered at various sites throughout Georgia and have been able to expand their archaeological knowledge through hands on excavation as well as participation in site supervisor lectures and updates. GAAS continues to be a great avenue for individuals interested in the hands-on archaeological experience. GAAS also has big news regarding their chapter president. Dennis Blanton has stepped down as president and, replacing Dennis will be Lyn Kirkland, who has been a member of GAAS for over 20 years.

Issue number 149 of the SGA’s quarterly newsletter, The Profile, is now available as a downloadable and printable PDF. All stories in The Profile all were originally posted to this website.

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.

The SGA’s eighteenth annual Georgia Archaeology Awareness promotion, Archaeology Month 2011, had as its theme Gone But Not Forgotten: Rediscovering the Civil War Through Archaeology. The Governor proclaimed May Archaeology Month, at a signing attended by several SGA members. The spring meeting was held on Saturday, May 14th in McDonough. Attendees spent the day socializing and listening to several presentations. On Sunday, attendees headed to Nash Farm Battlefield and Museum, and also the Historical Museum in Heritage Park and Veterans Wall of Honor. The SGA thanks our co-sponsors and all who helped this meeting to be such a success.

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.

The SGA is very proud of drawing upon volunteer resources, donations from generous supporters, and creative exhibit ideas, particularly from Chief Tender Rita Elliott, to create, launch, and staff our ArchaeoBus. Recently, Rita discovered that the other Rome, the one in Italy, also has an “archeobus.” The SGA, however, strongly suspects that ours came first!

The Society for Georgia Archaeology proudly presents the 2011 Lesson Plan—“Learning Through Archaeology: Rediscovering the Civil War in Georgia.” This plan was developed based on the Georgia Archaeology Month theme—Gone But Not Forgotten: Rediscovering the Civil War Through Archaeology. The Plan explores the meaning of archaeology and reveals facts relating to the Civil War in Georgia. The featured archaeological site is Nash Farm Battlefield, in Henry County near McDonough. The largest cavalry charge in the history of Georgia happened here in 1864. Classroom activities include suggestions for making hardtack or other foods consumed by soldiers and using copies of historic Civil War photographs to consider the archaeological sites the people and material culture in the images would have left behind.

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”.

Remember that the Society for Georgia Archaeology produces this website, and is a volunteer organization. So, if you are fascinated by Georgia’s archaeology, including stories you read on this website, join the SGA! Then, volunteer to help SGA accomplish its mission and goals! And have fun with other interesting people who also care about Georgia’s archaeology.

At the GIAS meeting, Tuesday, May 3, 2011, archaeologist, Fred Cook presented Guale vs. Irene: A Comparison of Archaeological Cultures. During the meeting, Cook happily presented a plague for helping with the Selden Project in Brunswick, Georgia, over the spring to Jennifer Kennedy, her daughter, Shelby Kennedy, and to Jack Caldwell. Cook appreciated each of their help very much.

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!

Read the agenda for the SGA’s Spring Meeting, which will be held at the Henry County Chamber of Commerce in McDonough on Saturday, May 14th, by clicking here. Events associated with the meeting commence on Friday the 13th, and continue on Sunday the 15th. Read all about the Spring Meeting by clicking here.

Organizers of Archaeology Day at the 1797 Ezekiel Harris House, 1822 Broad Street, in Augusta, invite you to attend on Saturday, May 7th. Free admission. The event is sponsored by the Augusta Museum of History and the Augusta Archaeological Society, a Chapter of the SGA.

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.

Frontiers in the Soil is a classic in archaeological literature that should be useful to everyone. Using easy-to-read text by Roy S. Dickens, Jr., and creative color cartoon illustrations by James L. McKinley, Frontiers interprets Georgia’s past with humor in over 100-pages of delightful reading. Click here to download the order form for Frontiers in the Soil.

SGA President Catherine Long updates members of the SGA on current activities by the Society’s leaders. We’re getting ready for Archaeology Month 2011 and our associated Spring Meeting, planned for McDonough on May 13–15. The theme is Gone But Not Forgotten: Rediscovering the Civil War Through Archaeology. That’s not all, however; the SGA has many committees, including on Membership, Advocacy, the ArchaeoBus, Website and Communication, Chapter Relations, and the Endowment—and more. The SGA’s newest committee is charged with selling over 3500 copies of the 2nd—and final—edition of Frontiers in the Soil; look for details on ordering on this website soon! Catherine also requests volunteers to work on poster packaging.

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.

In my role as an SGA board member, notes Lynn Pietak, I was asked by President Catherine Long to attend the Georgia Social Studies Fair 2011, to give awards sponsored by the Society for Georgia Archaeology (SGA) and the Georgia Council for Professional Archaeologists (GCPA). The fair was held at Dutchtown High School in Hampton, Georgia.

Linda Lane, member of SGA’s local chapter Golden Isles Archaeological Society (GIAS) wrote an article for Dig magazine titled “It’s Not What You Find-But What You Find Out.” Dig magazine is published for children ages nine and older in partnership with Archaeology magazine. Its main focus is making archaeology, paleontology and earth sciences interesting to children.

The Savannah River Archaeological Research Program (SRARP), a division of the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, conducts archaeological research on and around the US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site. The SRARP has recently added several downloadable PDFs of publications about archaeology to their website.

Considerable archaeological data and information are held in the public trust—because archaeological resources are on public lands, because public money funds research, and because some archaeological research is conducted because of public policy and laws. Thus, this story examines the relationship between archaeology and civic engagement using a 2008 National Park Service Technical Brief that’s available online as a basis for the discussion.

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.

Recently, a team of volunteer and professional archaeologists directed by professionals from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, West Florida University, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources have discovered the site of the original lightkeeper’s house on Sapelo Island. Since the collapse of the ruins, probably in the early 1900s, its location had been lost. The SGA leadership visited the lighthouse in February 2010, perhaps walking over the buried remains of the house.

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 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 January 2011 issue of Atlanta Antiquity, the Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society’s monthly newsletter, is now available. This issue announces the new GAAS leadership.

Go on a road trip and visit the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center, near Buford. We all know that for Earth’s living things, water is life. And the Center’s displays focus on water as a way to link science, culture, and history. Archaeology, of course, sheds light on these interrelationships.

On October 6, 8, and 13 of 2010, Blue Ridge Archaeological Guild members assisted Becky Bruce-Vaughters (US Forest Service archaeologist) and Dr. Jack Wynn (US Forest Service archaeologist, retired) in conducting shovel tests, metal detection, and artifact collections at two historical sites near the shoreline of beautiful Nottley Lake in Blairsville, Georgia.

Look into your crystal ball. What do you think the greatest challenge is to archaeology in the media? Zachary Nelson argues in the November 2010 issue of The SAA Archaeological Record, the newsletter of the Society for American Archaeology, that the profession’s greatest challenge is…read the full article and see!

In the Georgia Department of Natural Resources—Historic Preservation Division’s free digital newsletter, Preservation Posts, for November 2010, Archaeology Section Chief and Deputy State Archaeologist—Terrestrial Bryan Tucker discusses his perspective on his profession, including his response to “What is the coolest thing you have ever found?”

In fall 2010, the Bishop Museum in Hawai’i put the state’s archaeological site file data online in a searchable database open to public use. Many states, including Georgia, restrict access to this information. Read about the Hawai’i database and consider the implications of making this data available to all.

The Cave Spring Log Cabin Project is participating in the Pepsi Grant Program for December. Help them win financial support from Pepsi by voting for their project all through December! Thank you!

In late October the ArchaeoBus attended the Georgia Council for the Social Studies annual state conference in Athens.

As archaeologists, we are the first to enjoy many pristine places and are able to contemplate how to bring them to life within communities. It is not in our blood to hide the past from the public. We preserve our findings and think of ways the public can best enjoy it. As true archaeologists, we do not stand selfishly by enjoying our priceless artifacts deep in the basement of our houses, hidden from the public. Instead, we tell the world about it, study it, and dedicate our lives to its interpretation.

In which…Abby the ArchaeoBus hosts thousands of visitors at the 2010 Georgia National Fair in Perry….

Abby the ArchaeoBus met countless numbers of the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Georgia National Fair in Perry this October. Visitors had a unique opportunity this year to learn about Georgia’s archaeology and preservation in a fun and interactive way, courtesy of the Society for Georgia Archaeology. Families and adults were actively engaged in learning these messages, as were field trip students. Countless children left Abby positive messages in her visitor book. Also, a special thanks to the hard working cadre of volunteers at the ArchaeoBus exhibit.

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!

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.

Savannah College of Art and Design student Adrienne Birge-Wilson, who is in the Historic Preservation (HP) program, tells what a great time she had joining SGA members and guests at the 2010 Fall Meeting, a tour of archaeological sites in the St. Simons Island area. Not only did she and other SCAD students enjoy themselves, Ms. Birge-Wilson notes that they now understand “archaeology’s pertinence in HP’s sphere of immediate concern.”

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 SGA has joined The Coalition to Preserve the Georgia Archives and needs you to help support the Archives. Get ready to DIAL NOW. Calls to members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and/or the Senate Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee are especially important. On Monday, 11 March 2013, the House Appropriations Committee passed the 2014 state [...]

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.

Abby the ArchaeoBus has updated her diary, with an entry describing some of her upcoming events, including attending CoastFest on October 7th, the Georgia National Fair for eleven days in mid-October, and the Georgia Conference on the Social Studies in Athens on October 28th and 29th. Check out the flyers, too!

You can still order $5 box lunches for the Saturday picnic on Gascoigne Bluff until 8 October, and you can register right up to the start of the meeting in the conference hall at Sea Palms on Saturday, 16 October, from 8-9 am. However, the deadline for discount room rates at Sea Palms expired on 8 September; you can still book rooms at their usual rates.

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.

The Internet provides great resources for those researching and learning about archaeology. Finding the really good stuff, however, can be difficult. Here’s some help: the Arkansas Archeological Survey has posted some really good stuff!

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.

The SGA’s 2010 Spring Meeting, held Saturday, May 15th, at The Parks at Chehaw, just outside of Albany, featured demonstrators knowledgable in the skills of ancient peoples. The theme of this year’s Archaeology Month was Making the Past Come to Life! Exploring Ancient Techniques. The full story has more photographs.

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.

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.

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, “Savannah Under Fire.” The blog has frequent updates, sometimes more than once per week!

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 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 Society for Georgia Archaeology proudly presents this year’s lesson plan for teachers and other interested parties! The theme SGA has chosen for Georgia Archaeology Month 2010 is Making the Past Come to Life! Exploring Ancient Techniques. We hope that the readers of this lesson plan will become familiar with a range of skills and techniques used by the early inhabitants of Georgia, and perhaps better understand the dynamic interaction between the natural environment and humans and their culture.

The Augusta Archaeological Society, a chapter of the SGA, and Augusta Museum of History are cosponsoring Archaeology Day at the 1797 Ezekiel Harris House in Augusta on Saturday, May 8th 2010. Read the full story and download the colorful and informative flyer you can circulate. This is one of many fun Archaeology Month activities planned around the state.

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.

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

The SGA proudly announces the 2010 Archaeology Month events, including our Society’s semi-annual meeting on May 15th at The Parks at Chehaw, near Albany. They are scheduled around the state and include open houses at archaeology laboratories on university campuses, lectures, and hands-on activities at historic sites. Click here for the full listing.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

The January and February 2010 issues of Atlanta Antiquity, the newsletter of the Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society, a chapter of the SGA, are now available online.

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.

The Society for American Archaeology recently announced that their newsletter, published five times each year, is available in a new format for reading online beginning with the 2010 issues, and also is downloadable.

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.

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!

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.

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.

George S. Lewis, a very active member of the Augusta Archaeological Society and the Society for Georgia Archaeology, wrote a history of the AAS in July 1989. Titled “A Brief History of the Augusta Archaeological Society,” this document is now available in PDF form.

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 President Dennis Blanton catches us up on the business of the Society.

CoastFest 2009 broke all records for attendance this year with over 7000 visitors. The SGA sent the ArchaeoBus and set up tables, with many volunteers helping educate the visitors. The theme was “Save Georgia’s Dirt!”

Plan an event anywhere in the state for Archaeology Month in spring 2010! This story links to a form you can download and fill out to get your event in our Calendar of Events brochure. Activities of all sorts are welcomed!

The theme for Archaeology Month 2010 will focus on Primitive Technology, and the committee is very close to deciding on a catchy title for use on the poster and other promotional literature for this celebration. Committee members are busy working to nail down a time and place for the event in the southwestern corner of the state near Albany.

The ArchaeoBus wranglers have been busy. During the past six months with few attempts to solicit venues, we have exposed 8,500 people to the Archaeobus and archaeology. Read the full story for a summary of ArchaeoBus activities, and a discussion of funding sources and some volunteers (a hearty thank you to each!) and expenses.

The Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society (GARS) held a public archaeology day at the Creekside Rock Shelter in the Gwinnett County during the 2009 Winn Faire, October 13 and 14. The Faire, sponsored by the Gwinnett Historical Society, brought hundreds of visitors to the site. GARS and the newly incorporated, not-for-profit, Fort Daniel Foundation (FDF), also had a booth at the Faire. Their work at the Fort Daniel site also continues. Go to the full story to read more about GARS activities.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

R. Charlton’s Coffeehouse at Colonial Williamsburg is a new building now open for business!

You’ve been hearing about the end of the world in 2012? Read the real dirt here!

CLUE: NOT!

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 website updates.”

The Society for Georgia Archaeology’s ArchaeoBus is a Mobile Archaeology Classroom. Teachers in Clarke County, Georgia, can make reservations now for January through June of 2010. Click here for Guidelines for Educators, which includes a request form and student response form. Click here for the document Standards, Skills, Domains, and Learning Styles addressed by the [...]

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 Fort Daniel Foundation has scheduled its annual meeting for 7:00 pm on December 15th at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center (GJAC) in Lawrenceville in the 2nd floor conference room center.

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.)

The Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society has scheduled a field trip to the Roswell Mills site for Sunday, November 15.

The Gwinnett Archaeological Research Society will be having work day at Fort Daniel this Saturday, November 14, weather permitting, beginning about 9:30 am.

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.

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.

Do some research online and save fuel! Georgia’s Secretary of State’s website includes the Virtual Vault, which contains historical documents, records, maps, etc., dating back to 1733, as well as recent photographs.

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.

John H. Blitz doesn’t mince words. Answering the question who built the mounds at the famous Mississippian settlement next to the Black Warrior River at Moundville, Alabama, Blitz writes: “We don’t know” (page 4). Nevertheless, Blitz presents a useful summary of the settlement, research relevant to interpreting it, and the history of how it came to be the 320-acre Moundville Archaeological Park in a new book.

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.

Quick: where in the world is the largest concentration of Bronze Age graves?

Can’t you just guess that they might be threatened by development?

Read on….

CoastFest is Georgia’s largest organized celebration of the state’s rich and vast coastal natural resources, and this year will be held on Saturday, October third, in Brunswick.

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.

Our annual public meetings and Archaeology Month events are occasions that expose all that is good about SGA. Our members respond with a great turnout and inevitably we reach a goodly number of others who are just plain curious about Georgia archaeology. The spring meeting at Wesleyan College in Macon was just such an event [...]

The sixteenth annual Georgia Archaeology Awareness promotion, Archaeology Month 2009, had as its theme Mounds in Our Midst: Monuments of Prehistoric Culture in Georgia. The annual Spring Meeting was held on May 16 at Wesleyan University in Macon with a crowd of 103 in attendance. An interesting array of presentations was compiled by President Dennis Blanton who was in charge of coordinating the program for the day. While the majority of the presentations focused on the archaeology of mound sites throughout the state, the audience also received an update on the preservation efforts at the Fort Daniel site in Gwinnett County and learned about the documentation of the Flat Rock African-American Cemetery in DeKalb County. The highlight of the day was the long-awaited unveiling of the ArchaeoBus (A.B. or Abbey for short); the rain ceased just in time for this special occasion. Those who were brave enough to wait out the rains Saturday evening and night and face the mud and biting insects on Sunday morning received another special treat. Approximately 25 courageous individuals hiked into the swamp under the leadership of park rangers from Ocmulgee National Monument to tour the Lamar Mounds and Village site.

With the crash of a champagne bottle over her fender, a new green bough laid upon her, the cadence of a drum roll, and the suspenseful unveiling of the tarp, Abby the ArchaeoBus was officially christened. Over 70 guests participated in the historic event during the spring Archaeology meeting in Macon on May 16, 2009. [...]

The South Georgia Archaeological Research Team, a chapter of the Society for Georgia Archaeology, has scheduled their 2009 Symposium for August 15th at South Georgia College in Douglas. The topic of the symposium is the archaeology of the Southeastern Coastal Plain. The meeting will be held in auditorium in Stubbs Hall (the Science Building). The [...]

May 23 was a great Archaeology Identification Day in Augusta. Rain threatened all day long but in the end, there were 160 visitors who came to the 1797 Ezekiel Harris House on Broad Street. Roughly 15 people brought in artifacts to identify and several AAS members brought in frames of artifacts for display. Archaeologists with [...]

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Long time SGA member and primitive technology researcher Scott Jones has just published a book that is a compilation of his articles from the past decade related to primitive technology and experimental archaeology. Scott has practiced primitive technology for two decades and now makes a living presenting the subject to the general public (always with [...]

Wiley Publishing has just issued Archaeology for Dummies ($21.95) by SGA member Nancy White. The book tells how archaeology is detective work and traces over 2 million years of prehistoric human cultures. It demonstrates how archaeology uncovers things about historic times that history can’t, and shows how archaeological knowledge is useful for modern issues like [...]

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.

Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) archaeologists met in September at New Echota State Historic Site in Gordon County with members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Elder’s Advisory Council and Federal Highway Administration to discuss the proposed bridge replacements and roadway improvements to State Route (SR) 225. Tribal elders and members of EBCI [...]

Georgia Mountains Archaeological Society (GMAS) members hosted “Georgia Archaeology Day at Elachee” on Saturday, May 10, in the large classroom at our sponsor’s Environmental Education facility near Gainesville. There were exhibits on the various projects the club members have been involved in, field and laboratory techniques used by archaeologists, and experimental archaeology exhibits such as [...]

This year the GARS Archaeology Month event was a public archaeology day at the Creekside Rock shelter located on the historic Elisha Winn property in Dacula, on May 3 and 4. The site was first identified, recorded, and excavated by GARS in 2006. Although contending with intermittent showers and poor turnout on Saturday, two large [...]

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Archaeology Unit at the Office of Environment/Location is an integral part of the GDOT mission statement that promises a “safe, seamless and sustainable transportation system that supports Georgia’s economy and is sensitive to its citizens and environment.” The responsibilities of the GDOT Archaeology Unit within the mission are two-fold. [...]

Screening at Callaway Gardens Site 9Hs157. Southern Research, Historic Preservation Consultants, Inc., and the Ida Cason Callaway Foundation held an archaeology demonstration dig in conjunction with the Summer Meeting of the American Council of Engineer Companies/Georgia on June 16th. The ACEC met this year at the Southern Pines Conference Center at Callaway Gardens in Pine [...]

Prominently displayed on the office wall of the Muskogee (Creek) Tribe’s Chief Justice, Patrick Moore, is a tattered old flag. At first glance, one might assume it was a Civil War ancestor’s regimental banner. The Okmulgee, Oklahoma attorney, though, will be quick to tell you that it is a 200-year-old battle ensign of the Creek [...]

On May 5, 2005, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) co-sponsored Archaeology Day at the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains. Timed to coincide with Georgia’s Archaeology Month, this event turned out to be highly successful and richly rewarding for the both the sponsors and participants. The event was geared for groups of second [...]

Site Loss in Georgia is a special issue of Early Georgia, published in Spring 2005. The first article, “When the Past is Destroyed: Loss of Archaeological Sites Due to Urbanization,” by Stephen Kowalewski, evaluates the state of preservation of Georgia’s archaeological sites. Here, for the first time, objective lines of evidence useful in assessing the [...]

Click here to download the order form for Frontiers in the Soil.

This entertaining, colorful cartoon book is about archaeology, particularly in Georgia; it is accurate and amusing. The book features hand-lettered text accompanied by eye-catching, vivid, often humorous artwork. The volume also provides various ideas for archaeological projects. Although oriented toward Georgia and Southeastern archaeology, this volume is useful for understanding general concepts in the archaeology [...]

SGA’s 2004 lesson plan centered on republication of Frontiers in the Soil: The Archaeology of Georgia. The author, Roy S. Dickens, Jr., was a well-known archaeologist who worked in Georgia, and across southeastern North America. His engaging text is supported by the captivating artwork of James McKinley. The first edition, published in 1979, quickly sold [...]

Members of the Bulloch Hall Archaeology Society, the SGA Chapter based in Roswell, organized a cleanup workday at Roswell Mill, on 11 January 2003. It was a bit cold, but, thankfully, sunny. All photographs are copyright Michael Shirk.

Georgia Archaeology Month 2002 focused on the prehistory of southwest Georgia, and especially the archaeology of the famous village and mound community we now call Kolomoki (pronounced ‚“Coal-oh-moe-key”), which is located in Kolomoki Mounds State Historic Park in Early County, near Blakely. At Kolomoki, Native Americans lived, worked, played, and died. It was most heavily [...]

Resources at Risk: Defending Georgia’s Hidden Heritage is a special issue of Early Georgia, published in May 2001. The goals of this issue were 1) to expand public perception of what archaeology is and what archaeologists do; 2) to call attention to the urgent need for the preservation and stewardship of archaeological resources, or at [...]

Archaeologists seeking to reconstruct past lifeways rely for their interpretations on the timeworn remains of ancient cultures for guidance; here in our humid Georgia climate, we are further disadvantaged since often only the inorganic residues of prehistoric culture remain. The study of stone tools, sherds of pottery, and the scant remnants of organic items and [...]

Long-time SGA member Rita Elliott edited this 1992 special issue of Early Georgia; its full title is ‚“Archaeology in the Classroom: By Teachers for Teachers—Used Archaeology: Practical Classroom Ideas for Teachers by Teachers.” Notes Ms. Elliott in the Foreward: Welcome to a new partnership. The past decade has seen a growing relationship between the world [...]

The Profile Papers: Technical Papers from the First Seventy-Five Issues of the Society for Georgia Archaeology Newletter was compiled by Patrick H. Garrow and George S. Lewis. The SGA reprinted useful and important articles that were difficult to obtain in the days before digital publications and widespread use of the Internet.