 |
| Three beautiful oaks crown the ancient mound at the Ogden-Fettie site |
So, you went out to the Ogden-Fettie
site today...
Katie: Yes, we combed the fields
looking for artifacts.
Gwen: And gathered artifacts from
certain grids so we could map out how densely packed the artifacts
were in the area. As well as what major types of artifacts are in
each location. The other kids found lots of pottery but we found
mostly chert flakes and sandstone.
Katie: And we found a really small pink
colored arrow point.
Gwen: I think I found the end of a
drill. It was the right width and had chip marks on either side.
How did you find these artifacts?
Katie: We walked in rows looking for
any artifacts sticking out of the ground. Any little flakes from the
arrow points and bits of pottery... some things just stand out
against the dirt and soil in the field.
 |
| Under the shadow of a Native American mound, the gals from Team Paleo scan a recently tilled field for artifacts. |
So you were searching in a plowed
farm field?
Gwen: Yes. The Ogden-Fettie site lies
in what is now a farm field. There is a large mound in the center of
field- I'm not sure if it was a platform mound for a building or
burial mound. The mound is kind of square or rectangular shaped like
the one at Cahokia, but this is not as big.
Katie: But we were searching near the
mound, below it. It was really interesting being able to just look
down and see an arrow point! When I found a raccoon skull, initially I just saw
a few teeth, but by digging around I uncovered the whole thing.
 |
| To search for artifacts, each person (or team of people) tackles a 30 X 30 meter square. We simply walk up and down the square, covering a 3 foot swatch at each pass. After about 10 laps the square is covered. Depending on the density of artifacts, a square could take 20 minutes to an hour to search through. |
What goes through your mind when you
pick up an artifact?
Katie: It's interesting that Native
Americans have touched these things and we are here hundreds of years
later, touching the things that no one has seen in centuries.
Gwen: I'm always surprised that the
artifacts are still there. I see something and know it is a chert
flake, but others might just think it is a rock. One thing that I do
is I try to imagine what it was like when there were houses here- or
a settlement. Dr. Mike says there might be pit features there because
we found areas dense with pottery sherds and chert flakes.
Katie: I love being able to work on
uncovering all these artifacts. Ancient people LIVED here, worked
here, spent their whole lives here- How interesting to work in the
same place others did hundreds of years ago.
 |
| Team Paleo and Dr. Mike |
