Katie Joins the Dig

Katie wrote up a letter of her credentials this spring in hopes of assisting with the summer dig hosted by Dickson Mounds and Michigan State University. Accepted in, she's been working hard this summer.

Screening for artifacts- this technique allows the discovery of artifacts too small to notice while skimming the earth layers, but larger than 1/4 inch in size. This means many small pot sherds, chert flakes, bits of charcoal from fires, clay blobs, and bits of bone.

Pausing for a photo on this hot afternoon. Behind is the shade canopy covering the spot where Katie and Gwen are digging.

All artifacts from this pit feature go into the bag. Later on, they are washed, sorted, and cataloged. Junior volunteers Ronan and Hannah joined in for an hour this day.

The pit feature that Team Paleo has been helping with. They are working with a graduate student from Michigan State University, and learning to differentiate the colors, textures, and subtleties of soil within a feature. This hole goes down about 2 or so feet. 

Gwen Digs a Hole

Gwen decided she'd like to try her hand at a real dig this year. She sent in a letter to Dickson Mounds with her qualifications and interests and was accepted as a volunteer. Each day starts early and ends late with a little sunburn and a lot of fatigue. But Gwen is having the time of her life! The dig is hosted by Dickson Mounds Museum and Michigan State University.

Screening dirt to isolate small artifacts such as chert flakes, pottery sherds, pebbles, and charcoal. 

Gwen's first post mold excavation! 

The screening station 

The excavation 'block' with a tarp over half of it to prevent the dirt from drying out. Each block is 4 meters by 4 meters. This block contains a post mold and another pit feature... so far!

Cleaning the equipment is important! Rusty tools don't work well.

We use wire brushes to clean off the dirt, and files to sharpen the shovels and trowels. 

Searching for Artifacts at the Ogden-Fettie Site

After a wonderful afternoon working with the crew at Dickson Mounds Museum, Team Paleo hit the local ice cream joint in Havana, Illinois. The Team savored some single scoops while we chatted about the day's work.

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

Welcoming Two New Junior Team Paleo Members

 Junior Team Paleo Member Hannah

Junior Team Paleo Member Ronan

Hannah and Ronan taking a break from a hot afternoon by exploring the mound at the Ogden-Fettie site.

Using the Total Station Transit To Prepare the Excavation Site

Last Friday Team Paleo found themselves working in the field at a local dig site, known as the Morton Village Site, to prepare for students from Michigan State University to excavate in a few weeks. When we arrived at the archaeological site, Dr. Conner, the person in charge of the dig, handed us a satellite map with a grid, and a long pole with a mirror on top. He showed us a rectangular box sitting atop of a tripod. The box was a device called a Total Station Theodolite. When we aimed the reflector pole at it, the Total Station would bounce a laser off of the mirror. The machine measured the time it took for the laser to return, and used trigonometry to figure how far away the reflector was.

We would be using the reflector to measure out 30 meter (98 feet) squares for magnetic surveying. After trekking approximately 30 meters through knee-deep grass, the team received information from Dr. Conner over a small radio, telling us how far we needed to move to get to the right spot. Finding the exact location to place a stake usually went something like this: * Static * “...Move it 1.6 meters towards me...”  * Static * “...6 inches to your left...” * More static * “...That looks good... Move it right 4 inches...” * Static * “...Go south 15 meters...” We would move back 15 meters and repeat the process all over again.

Several hours passed, and finally our work was complete. We returned with the reflector, where Dr. Conner informed us that in the next few weeks, the folks in charge of the survey would arrive with a magnetometer and scan the squares we laid out. A magnetometer scans the ground to detect minor differences in the magnetic properties of the soil. Dr. Conner invited us back to help with the survey. We all agreed, and are eager to try our luck with another expensive machine.

Total Station Transit

Reflector

More Information on the Total Station Transit 

A Total Station, which we used to determine the location of our dig site, is designed to measure the distance and angle between itself and another point. It starts by sending an electric laser to a reflector. When the beam returns from the reflector, the transit measures the return time and uses trigonometry to calculate the distance from the reflector. A grid, established in the 1980s at the Morton excavation site, allows us to pinpoint the coordinates of the point we want to find. Using the original grid as a starting point, a handheld computer calculates the coordinates so that we don't have to figure it in our heads.

We used a GIS, or Geographic Information System, to map information about the site. The GIS also stores coordinates for past excavations, allowing us to refer to them. Team Paleo identified new excavation areas we wanted to survey and then we placed the coordinates of the 30 x 30 meter blocks into the GIS. Then the information was transferred to the handheld computer. The computer signals the Total Station transit to find the first set of coordinates, and the transit calculates the angle and distance of the location. When the person manning the transit aims it in the given direction, the person in the field with the reflector lines up with the transit. They move back and forth until they find the coordinates indicated. In the last satisfying moment, an indicator stake is placed at the final coordinate.

Articles written by Gwen McDaniel