What makes us different is what makes us human..
next fieldschool: Summer 2010
Fieldwork on the Parker Farm and Carman Sites, Two Pre-contact Cayuga Iroquois Villages in Central New York State
The Department of Anthropology of the University of Pittsburgh is offering a six week archaeological field school during the summer of 2008 in the Finger Lakes region of Central New York State. Students will participate in an ongoing program of field research designed to investigate the settlement organization and subsistence practices of the Cayuga Iroquois along with the impact of European contact on this group. The program will include instruction in techniques of site survey, surface collection, excavation, mapping and preliminary artifact analysis, as well as lectures, demonstrations, and field trips.
Students will assist in research at two Cayuga Iroquois sites occupied during the mid to late 1500s. The specific region where these two sites are located is in the Appalachian Highlands and is somewhat marginal for maize horticulture compared with other areas closer to the Lake Ontario Plain. The occupants of these sites seem to have been heavily invested in hunting deer. The period of site occupation occurs during an interval of colder climate which may have ultimately led to the movement of Native groups out of this region by the early 1600s. The 1500s is also a time when conflict increases between Native American groups, preceding the time of extensive European contact. To the east, dramatic changes were taking place among Native American groups in northeastern North America as a result of direct contact with Europeans. To the west, in central New York State, the impacts of contact were less at this time. In this area the most dramatic changes (including a big increase in European trade goods and missionary activities) took place later in the early 1600s. However, we do see the beginnings of change associated with accommodation and resistance to Europeans at this time, and some European trade goods have been found.
Previous fieldwork on these sites has provided information about site size, the pattern of distribution of cultural material across the sites, as well as evidence for several longhouse structures. Field work this summer is designed with several goals in mind. We will work at both sites, with the aim of completing several tasks at each. First, at the Parker Farm site, we will continue testing to identify evidence for additional structures and features. We hope to obtain comparative material so we can examine diversity within this settlement and better understand the occupational history at the site. Second, we will test the village midden to increase our sample of material from the site, as well as to evaluate evidence for prior disturbance in this location. Third, we will test for and evaluate historic claims that a palisade surrounded part of the site. At the Carman site, we will undertake testing of outlying areas of the site to obtain a representational sample of material from peripheral areas. In addition, as part of the ongoing project to examine pottery production in this area, we will collect clay from the nearby creek to provide comparative material for experimental work.
Course
Anthropology 1535: Basic Archaeological Field Training (6 credits)
This course provides basic training in field methods and preliminary artifact analysis. We will discuss research design and how it structures our fieldwork, as well as the importance of field observations for subsequent interpretation. Students will learn how to acquire field data through excavation, surface collection, and survey. Emphasis is on the development of field skills associated with excavation including mapping, using a transit, drawing profiles and floor plans of excavated units, recovering material culture including stone, pottery, and animal bone, and the preliminary processing of these materials in our field lab. This course will train you to recognize archaeological sites and cultural material and to collect data in a systematic and scientific manner.
Required Books
Field Methods in Archaeology by Thomas Hester, Harry Schafer, and Kenneth Feder, 1997, 7th edition. Mayfield Publishing Company, Mountain View, CA. ISBN 1-55934-799-6, pbk.
Iroquoia: The Making of a Native World by William Engelbrecht, 2003. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, NY. ISBN 0-8156-3060-3, pbk.
Get More Information
Dr. Kathleen M. S. Allen, Director
Archaeological Field School
Department of Anthropology
3123 WWPH
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh PA 15260
kmallen@pitt.edu
Deadlines and Application
Please check this webpage later for application deadlines for the 2010 fieldschool. Students are encouraged to apply early as enrollment is limited. The field school is subject to cancellation if there is insufficient enrollment. Please return all application material to the above address.
Click here for the Application Form
Who Can Apply?
All college students in good academic standing (2.5 QPA) and other adults who wish to earn college credit may apply. No prior field experience is assumed. Previous exposure to archaeology in the form of an introductory archaeology course is very helpful. Students must have health insurance coverage in order to participate in the program. Health insurance may be purchased from the University of Pittsburgh if needed.
Faculty
Dr. Kathleen M. S. Allen, Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh, is the field school director. She has conducted eight seasons of excavations in this part of New York State, and has extensive fieldwork experience in northeastern North America. A teaching assistant from the Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, is also part of the field school staff.
Cost
In 2008, the program cost of $2950 included tuition for six credits, room and board, and transportation between Pittsburgh and Ithaca. Daily transportation between Ithaca and the archaeological sites, a distance of about ten miles, was also included. There was an additional university fee of $75 to cover administration and computer registration for the program. Students from out-of-state and in-state but non-Pitt students must apply for admission as "guest students" and pay an additional $45 application fee.
Accommodations
Field school students reside in housing in the City of Ithaca, New York near the Cornell University campus and within two blocks of a series of waterfalls along Cascadilla Creek. Ithaca has a college-town atmosphere and numerous state parks and waterfalls are located within a few miles of the houses. Most students are able to have their own rooms with desks and bookcases. Cooking is done on a cooperative basis with all students participating. Students generally enjoy the camaraderie of living and working with a group of their peers interested in being a part of an archaeological research project. The archaeological lab is located in one of the houses, and we have periodic evening lab hours and guest lecturers.
The University of Pittsburgh, as an educational institution and as an employer, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, or marital, veteran, or handicapped status. This is a commitment made by the University and is in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations. All relevant programs are coordinated through the Office of Affirmative Action, 901 William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260; Dr. William A. Savage, Director. For more information, please call:(412) 648-7860.