Written by Nathan Bokros

I am Nathan Bokros, a first-year grad student at IUP’s Applied Archaeology Master’s. This past summer, July-August 2019, I had the opportunity to be a graduate supervisor for IUP’s archaeological field school alongside another IUP graduate supervisor, Rachael Marks and under the directorship of Dr. Ben Ford and Dr. Bill I have enjoyed working at a field school, this summer was the first time I was a graduate supervisor and not an undergraduate taking a class.  Rachael and I were responsible for supervising, teaching, logging bags for artifacts, taking photos of walls and units, driving vans filled with equipment and students, and giving advice to the undergrads.

The objective of the summer 2019 archaeological field school focused on surveying and excavating the Newport Site, 36IN188, near Blairsville, PA.  Newport was once a village site founded in the late 1700’s situated along the Frankston Road and the Conemaugh River as a sort of dock and resting area for traders and travelers. The site declined after the construction of a new village at a warmer location down river and the development of a railroad.  As a result, the village was abandoned by the mid-1800s.

The field school involved two phases and two groups. The first phase involved leading eleven IUP undergrads and two IUP grad students in conducting shovel tests throughout the site, which was situated in the middle of the woods on a slight hill. Phase two began two weeks later after all the shovel testing was completed.  The undergrads were now working on one-meter by one-meter test units.  The two graduate students conducted their own project, under Dr. Chadwick and with a crew of undergrads, trying to find two buried roads.

Through the heat, occasional rain, flies, and visits from various guests, we all had a good time and learned valuable skills.  We found some interesting artifacts such as large pieces of redware, tiny pieces of ceramics (some had colored designs), glass, bone pieces, unusually large rocks in close formation, a toy horse, and charcoal. Some test units did not contain many artifacts, though there was one that I was fortunate enough to supervise and excavate personally that uncovered many artifacts, like large pieces of redware and a rock so large we dubbed it “The Big Kahuna”.  The graduate students found at least one road and possibly part of another road.

This field school was enjoyable with lots of work digging at the site and processing artifacts in the lab alongside interesting characters making memories and funny quotes. There were a few days where the rain was too heavy so excavate, so we either processed artifacts in the lab or went on field trips to local historical sites, like Hanna’s Town and the Underground Railroad Museum in Blairsville, PA. Along with these trips, there are some unforgettable quotes that will always make me smile. One last memory to share is the mascot of the field school: a golden lab named Maddie who served not just as a service dog for one of the undergrads, but served as a source of joy, laughs, and moral for everyone with her dedication when on the job and adorable friendliness when off her leash. Such a great, busy, and fun field school made for an excellent summer, as well as a looking forward to the start of being a graduate student at IUP.

https://www.iup.edu/anthropology/

Hello All! This is Rachael Smith the new Public Archaeology Graduate Assistant and blog manager.  I am very excited to be adding to this account and hope to get feedback from you all about things you want to see posted.  If you have interest in a topic, comment and I’ll do my best to write something about it.  I little history about me first through.  I graduated from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA in 2018 with a BA in Archaeology, Environmental Studies, and Classical Studies. While I did major in Classics, my heart belongs to historical archaeology.

I have recently been working with a Society of Pennsylvania Archaeology group near my hometown of Pottstown, PA excavating a 1716 Swedish home along the Schuylkill River.  I also recently worked for a non-profit organization recovering the remains of US Marines who died at the Battle of Tarawa during World War II. Personally, I play flute, ride horses, reenact (1830s-60s), spin and dye yarn, knit (a lot), and brew beer with my dad. At home I have a cat, two dogs, two guinea pigs, two horses, and some fish. 

I am currently at IUP working on a Master’s in Applied Archaeology and a Certificate in Geographic Information Systems.  In the future I hope to do more military related recovery operations.  I have discovered that I really enjoy forensics and hope to make that a large part of my career. I also have an extensive history of public archaeology jobs (hence my GA).  It is always a great idea to inform the public about what we archaeologists really do.  And that is exactly what I intend to do.

https://www.iup.edu/anthropology/

Howdy folks, we’re back again for maybe the last post until next semester (maybe I or someone else will decide to post in the meantime).  So, I wanted to end this academic year with some reflection.  It’s already been a year (of the academic variety) since I started graduate school here at good ol’ IUP.  It seems like this year was over in the blink of an eye even with these last few weeks of cramming in assignments and final exams.  I’m somewhat dumbfounded thinking about it, compared to my undergrad experience, grad school has been far more stressful, faster paced, and more rewarding overall.  In this post, I want to narrow that down to partially organize my own thoughts, but to also provide some firsthand experience and advice to anyone considering grad school or that are going to enter grad school soon.

I’ll be blunt, this year has had its share of high and low points.  From all-nighters and sleeping under the desk in my office to spending time with the other grad students, there is much that stands out in my mind.  Probably the most important thing I could hope to pass on to future grad students is the necessity of time management.  I swear, figuring out how to efficiently manage my time drastically cut the amount of stress I was under in most situations.  Frankly, it probably could have helped in the other cases if I was a bit stricter with my time, but we’re all human.  You need to balance your time between academics, the things that let your life function (sleep, laundry, meal prep, etc.), and socializing.  DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!  That one small assignment you think you can get done the morning before class will take longer than expected.  Then guess what, there’s six articles you’ve neglected to read to prepare for that or another class.  There is always more to do, hence why I’m writing this from inside McElhaney Hall after finals week.  Some things will get pushed to the back burner, and that is perfectly fine.  Just make sure you make time for whatever got pushed aside, be it GA hours or calling your mother (seriously though, make time for that or you might have local police checking to see if you’re alive).  My personal suggestion for anyone else that has issues with time management: make a list of everything that needs to be done within a week, set goals of what you want to have done by when based on due date and how long you think it should take, and then just try to meet those goals.  It’s fine if you don’t always meet your goals, the point is to see your assignments get crossed of that list and keep yourself motivated because there’s always more to do.

Now that the obligatory time management speech is out of the way, let’s get to the fun stuff.  Some of the best advice I can give is to get to know your cohort.  I’m not saying you must be friends with everyone, that would be incredibly difficult, but get to know them and build some feeling of solidarity.  You’re all going to be under the same types of stress, at least class related stress, so they’ll understand the best about what you’re going through.  It’s common for my cohort to ask questions about assignments and bounce ideas off one another.  They will probably help you more than you’ll realize, and you will likely return that favor.  Build this support system and you’ll be better off in the future because of it.  Connect by doing assignments together, going bowling, or hanging out at the bars (whatever works for your cohort).

The last thing I want to say is take advantage of every opportunity you’re given.  Make the most out of what you can.  Is there a colloquium or webinar happening? Sit in and take notes, bring your lunch/dinner if you need to.  Is the department going on a trip to something like Meadowcroft Rockshelter or a local conference?  Get on the list of people going and be active with your department.  Does another grad student need volunteers to help with field work or maybe an undergrad course needs extra supervision in the field?  If you have the time, then join in.  These are some of the things that will let you make the most of your time by letting you learn and grow in some way.  In my opinion, being active in the department shows that you care and that you’re committed to what you want to do.  You don’t have to do everything I’ve listed, but you’ll be glad you did what you could.

Grad school has been a wild ride so far.  I can’t wait to see what will happen this coming academic year.  Until then, this has been your blogger extraordinaire, Zac.

IUP Anthropology Department

Projectile point from a donated collection.

I’ve been snooping around the old, donated collections that we keep in the big lab room.  Partly for my own curiosity and partly to find something Instagram (@iup_archaeology) worthy.  Honestly, there are some amazing artifacts but there’s so little information about them.  Given time and a few good resources, I could probably narrow down the projectile points to typical typologies found in Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas.  I might even be able to narrow the types further if the associated note cards have any useful or reliable information, but half of them are blank beyond an artifact number.  It’s unfortunate, I wish I could know more about the what, where, and when but that’s just how the cookie crumbles.  I guess it goes without saying, but that’s the downside of collectors doing what they love to do.

A gorget with suspiciously modern looking drill holes.

An artifact without provenience provides far less information than one with provenience.  Some archaeologists might even go as far to say that an artifact without provenience, or more specifically, an artifact from a private collection is useless since we can’t confirm anything about it.  Those same archaeologists, well, let’s say they’re probably less than willing to take any information provided by a collector seriously.  Their skepticism renders provided information, as limited as it’s likely to be, useless and I can’t say that doesn’t have some valid reasoning behind it.  However, I would like to argue that an artifact without provenience or with questionable provenience remains useful for archaeologists.  Not as useful as it would have been, but we can still potentially learn from it.  For example, if we were to look at a private collection from the Squirrel Hill site.  Sure, the current holder of the collection might not be able to tell us where every artifact came from exactly, but as Squirrel Hill has been plowed over the years, these items would not have been found in context beyond the tilled soil (if they were surface collected).  It would have assured us that these artifacts came from the site but if a collector has documented the location, maybe through a photo or a GPS point, then that’s arguably reliable for connecting it to the site.  Again, I’ll say arguably because there is room for skepticism.  So, how would this be useful?  Frankly, it would be an example of material culture from the site, adding to our understanding of what material culture from that site could be like.  Again, leaving some room for skepticism but considering the possibilities.  Something out of context could also prove useful for interpreting the humans behind the tool.  You don’t need to connect it to a culture to ask why something was made or how it was produced.  Sure, connecting to a culture helps answer these questions by bringing in specifics and potentially comparisons of similar samples.

I think I’m rambling, so I’ll try to sum up my point.  Even if an artifact lacks context, it is still a piece of the archaeological record.  I see the information it provides, as limited as it may be, as worth having and using even if it means including an asterisk to keep potential issues in mind.  I’d rather we take the time to work with collectors, to gain whatever information that we can, than to lose out on everything.

Projectile point of unknown provenience from a collector’s donation.

Projectile point of unknown provenience from a collector’s donation.

IUP Anthropology Department

This is my second and final summer leading the PHAST crew. PHAST (Pennsylvania Highway Archaeological Survey Team) is an archaeological survey program created through an inter-agency partnership between Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and IUP. Each summer, 3 crew members and a field director (that’s me) take on a list of small archaeological surveys required by State and Federal regulations for PennDOT projects which propose ground disturbance. The crew this summer are all graduate students at IUP who have just completed their first of two years: Steven Campbell, Sam Edwards, and Kristina Gaugler. Most of our projects are bridge replacements and intersection realignment that do not have a large footprint. This gives us many opportunities to work in different parts of the State. Oftentimes in cultural resource management those working in the field are less involved in the lab work and report writing, so the holistic experience offered by the PHAST program is one of it’s biggest draws.

PHAST crew from left to right: Kristina Gaugler, Sam Edwards, Ross Owen, and Steven Campbell

Since mid-May, we have completed the fieldwork for 4 projects, finding one archaeological site in the process: a multi-component site with both prehistoric and historic artifacts present. A rainy month of June has slowed us down some, forcing us to search for drier portions of the Commonwealth. Unlike Dr. Ford, none of our crew is qualified to conduct underwater archaeology…

The joys of fieldwork in the rainy season….

After a few weeks working in the center of the state and dealing with a flooded project area, we headed to Wyoming County in the northeast corner of Pennsylvania. After the fourth of July, PHAST will begin a project in Venango County in the northwest corner of the state. In addition to our growing list of hotels to stay in (or avoid staying in) and the good eats in small towns across Pennsylvania, our travels force us to become familiar with several regions of the state.

Our background research, fieldwork, and reporting require us to learn about the environments we are working in in order to interpret the soils and artifacts we unearth in our excavations. Upon encountering a field full of chert, a material often used to produce stone tools, further research into the bedrock geology along with analysis of the samples we collected allowed us to determine that the chert was naturally-occurring and unrelated to human modification. Working in floodplains along creek sides we must pay attention to geologic factors which influence the routes of waterways over time, historic deforestation and mining across the state, and more recent events such as Hurricane Agnes which caused significant flooding along waterways in Pennsylvania.

shovel test pit

Running the PHAST crew is an excellent learning experience, constantly forcing me to adapt to new situations and solve unexpected problems as they arise. The network of support from the university, from PennDOT, and from the crew is what keeps everything running smoothly – ensuring that it is not only a learning experience, but a productive component of PennDOT’s cultural resource management program. In addition to the educational benefits it provides, and the contributions PHAST makes to interpreting the archaeology of Pennsylvania, the program also helps to save money. As an in-house program utilizing student interns, PHAST is able to complete projects required by Federal and State regulations for a fraction of the cost if a private company were to do the same job. In doing so it also helps to train students to work in the cultural resource management industry spreading the benefits across state and agency lines.

Zooarchaeology Interest Group

By: Charles Edwards (Sam)

The 2018 Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference was an enjoyable and informative event. The research that was presented included a variety of subjects from both pre-Historic and Historic contexts. There were several workshops in addition to the presentations, covering toolstone sources, X-radiography, 3D modeling, and zooarchaeology. As graduate students, we were able to participate in the activities hosted by the MAAC Student Committee as well. This included a social mixer, a raffle (with no paucity of prizes), and an “archaeology Olympics”. For those of us looking to get back into the technology loop, an exciting experience was the virtual reality reconstruction of a Native American site, demonstrated by a graduate student from George Mason University. Overall, the Conference was well worth the two and a half hours of volunteering at the registration table that got me in for free!

Survey grids with War of 1812 Perry Monument in background

By: Zaakiyah Cua

It’s closing in on sunset and a group of three IUP Applied Archaeology M.A. students along with their professor work quickly collecting geophysical data several meters offshore on Misery Bay of Presque Isle State Park. As they work, a deep guttural groan comes from the ice, roaring under them and shooting off across the bay as quickly as it came. The students pause, look around, and continue their work. They have been hearing these noises from the over 12” thick ice surface all weekend, and have grown accustomed to the strange, eerie sounds. Two weekends ago, IUP Applied Archaeology students and professors conducted a geophysical survey of the frozen Misery Bay under the direction of Dr. Ben Ford, Dr. William Chadwick, and myself. The project was funded through a grant from the Regional Science Consortium and received full support from the PA DCNR and the PA Sea Grant. After spending a weekend on the groaning, moaning Misery Bay, I have come to find out that these sounds mentioned above do not necessarily indicate dangerous ice, they are a product of warming and cooling temperatures.

Day 1 GPR

Presque Isle State Park is in Erie, Pennsylvania and consists of a geologic spit complex, essentially a large peninsula sticking out from the mainland. Misery Bay consists of 200+ acres and is situated on the southeastern side of the peninsula. The goals of this project were to test the use of geophysical methods on the ice surface to determine if terrestrial methods could fit into the shallow water niche often difficult to survey with deep water equipment. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and gradiometry were the two methods chosen for the project. If successful, not only would this methodology guide subsequent diver surveys, but it could be successful in locating submerged cultural resources such as shipwrecks. Misery Bay was the perfect place to conduct this study as it offered an ice surface associated with a rich maritime history tracing back to at least the War of 1812. First a brief history…

Ross Owen collecting gradiometer data

During the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States of America, it was evident that control of the Great Lakes was crucial to victory. The Presque Isle spit formed a natural barrier for the US to build their naval fleet and was utilized for this purpose. A naval base was established on the peninsula, and Misery Bay was utilized to build and repair ships. Following the Battle of Lake Erie, and the US victory, Misery Bay was also used to scuttle, or intentionally sink, some of the warships for preservation, and later use. Since then, two ships have been raised, restored, and used as naval museums. The Erie Maritime Museum, Flagship Niagara, PASST (Pennsylvania Archaeological Shipwreck Survey Team), and other entities have conducted incredible research pertaining to the War of 1812 and the Battle of Lake Erie. Since 1812 and into more recent times, many vessels have been deposited in Misery Bay. With this history in mind, the bay offered an ideal location to test the methods with the possibility of identifying locations of vessels.

PASST divers in their element

In the three days the survey was conducted, major collaborative efforts between IUP researchers, the PA DCNR, PA Sea Grant, and PASST contributed to an incredibly successful project. Anomalies of interest were identified in the geophysical data, one of which was preliminarily investigated by the PASST divers on the last day of survey. The PASST team cut through the ice, dove down to identify if the anomaly was actually something, and positively identified a structure buried in bay floor sediments. What’s really cool about the PASST team, is that the members are certified divers who partake in survey work as a hobby and have true passion for what they do. During the weekend, IUP researchers also interacted with interested members of the public who stopped by to ask what we were doing out on the ice. These ranged from ice fishermen who shared the bay with us each day to weekend travelers. Finally, the IUP team spoke with the media regarding the survey and its implications to future work. It was definitely an experience talking with the media – it you get a chance, check out the Erie News Now coverage of our work.

Day 1 Pre-Project photo with DCNR and Sea Grant staff.

While the bulk of the post-fieldwork analysis is still underway, this project was quite successful. It offered an incredible opportunity to be involved in truly collaborative work with state agencies, funding entities, avocational groups, the public, and the media. Additionally, the project offered myself and other students involved professional development and a unique set of field skills to add to our toolkits. I especially want to acknowledge the two IUP graduate students who aided with the fieldwork; Steven Campbell and Ross Owen, we couldn’t have done it without your help! Overall this was a phenomenal experience. We lucked out with solid ice and good weather, pulled off a super successful project.

IUP ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT