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Home PageARCHAEOLOGY MONTH CELEBRATED IN
MISSOURI STATE PARKS AND STATE HISTORIC SITES
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, AUG. 16, 2007 -- September is Archaeology Month, and six state parks and historic sites will host special programs related to archaeology in Missouri. Sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, these programs and events are free and open to the public.
The following state parks and historic sites are hosting events:
- Sept. 12 -- Oct. 31 -- "Homeland: Northeast Missouri and the Sac and Fox Journey Home" Exhibit, Van Meter State Park, Miami, 660-886-7537.
This traveling exhibit, produced in partnership with the Sac and Fox people, Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, will also feature "The Story of the Twelve Boys," a Sac and Fox creation story. - Sept. 8 -- Archaeology Month Symposium: The Woodland Period in Missouri, Arrow Rock State Historic Site, Arrow Rock, 660-837-3330.
The following programs will be offered from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.:
"Woodland People of East Central Missouri"
"Early Woodland Settlement in Missouri"
"Jaguars and Middle Woodland! Oh My!"
"Central Missouri Hopewell -- We Really Should Know More"
"Middle Woodland Use of Obsidian in Missouri"
"1906 Excavation of the Dawson and Easley Mounds"
"Report on the Mendenhall Sites Excavations of 1983, 1985 and 1986 in Boone County, Mo."
"Excavations at the Big Loose Creek Site: A Late Woodland Village in Osage County, Mo."
"The Meramec Spring Phase: Prehistoric Culture Continuity and Change" - Sept. 10 -- "Lost in the Woods: Rediscovering the Maddin Creek Petroglyph Site in Washington County, Mo.," Mastodon State Historic Site, Imperial, 636-464-2976.
Carol Diaz-Granados, Ph.D., adjunct professor of anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, and Greg Paulus, president of the Mound City chapter of the Missouri Archaeological Society, will present a lecture at 7 p.m. on the Maddin Creek petroglyph, which has been rediscovered in Washington State Park. - Sept. 15 - Archaeology Day, Graham Cave State Park, Danville, 573-564-3476.
Visitors can participate from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in events such as spear throwing and early American Indian games. They can learn about Missouri fur-bearing animals and how to make spears, projectile points and bone crafts. Graham family descendents and Brant Vollman, archaeologist with the Department of Natural Resources, will be on hand to answer questions about Graham Cave history and the early excavations. The University of Missouri will display artifacts excavated from Graham Cave. - Sept. 22 -- "Sac and Fox Migration through Northeast Missouri," Van Meter State Park, Miami, 660-886-7537.
Sandra Massey, representative from the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma, and Deanne Bahr, representative from the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, will be on hand at 10 a.m. to discuss their tribal migration routes from Canada through the Great Lakes region, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and the Platte Purchase area of Missouri. They will also answer questions. - Sept. 22 -- Archaeology Day, Iliniwek Village State Historic Site, Wayland, 660-877-3871.
Tours of current excavations, flint knapping demonstrations, an atlatl contest, artifact collection displays and a free meal of bison burgers, fish and sweet corn will highlight this event, which will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. - Sept. 22-23 -- Archaeology Day, Mastodon State Historic Site, Imperial, 636-464-2976.
On Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., artisans will demonstrate skills of prehistoric Native Americans including skinning deer hides, flint knapping, fire starting and spear throwing. Children are invited to paint rocks, grind corn and crack walnuts. Local artifacts will be displayed and avocational and professional archaeologists will identify artifacts. Tours to the former excavation site will be offered hourly. These activities take place on Saturday only. As part of the event, admission to the historic site's museum will be free on Saturday and Sunday. The museum will be open on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. - Sept. 30 -- "Can You Dig It?" Archaeological Activities for Middle School Students, Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, St. Louis, 314-340-5790.
Tim Baumann, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, will lead hands-on activities from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for middle school students on archaeological research at the historic site. Students will be introduced to excavation methods, historic artifact analysis, oral histories and archival research. Contact the site to make advance reservations. - Sept. 30 -- "Prostitutes, Madams and Archaeology," Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, St. Louis, 314-340-5790.
Valery Altizer, assistant professor of anthropology at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, will present a lecture from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on archaeology and its contribution to the studies of prostitution and boarding houses in Kansas City, Washington D.C. and St. Louis. Her research has uncovered hidden clues to the lives of these women, who served an invisible and invaluable purpose in turn-of-the-century society.
For more information, contact the individual parks or historic sites or the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf). For more information about state parks and historic sites, visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com.
