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The Society for
Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc. Newsletter Winter 20005-2006 SPA at the Pennsylvania Farm Show The SPA had the opportunity to partner with PennDot, the Pennsylvania Archaeological Council and the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission in an educational display at the Farm Show in Harrisburg in January 2006. Volunteers manned the booth to talk to the Farm Show visitors and hand out membership and background information on the Society and archaeology in Pennsylvania. We hope to get a good response from the new contacts as well as a boost to our membership and a heightened awareness of the importance of conservation and preservation of archaeological site in Pennsylvania. We will report on the impact of this display at the Annual Meeting. SPA Consulting Party Reports Note: The SPA has five members on projects around the state. We were invited to participate as consulting parties in an effort to have fluent communication with state and federal regulators on projects that would impact recorded or new, unrecorded archaeological sites in the path of proposed and ongoing projects. DRAFT PROGRAMMATIC AGREEMENT REGARDING THE IDENTIFICATION, EVALUATION, AND TREATMENT OF PLOWZONE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN PENNSYLVANIA On behalf of the two principal, non-governmental archaeological organizations in Pennsylvania, representing both professional and avocational archaeologists, we are submitting final comments on the Federal Highway Administration’s and PennDOT’s proposed programmatic agreement on plowzone sites (a.k.a. lithic scatters). As stated in the initial comments from each organization, it is our position that the proposed programmatic agreement is both unnecessary and ill-conceived. It is designed to deal with a set of archaeological sites whose principal unifying characteristics are that they have been plowed and are not located on floodplains. Neither of these attributes is necessarily related to a site’s potential to contribute to research (i.e. National Register Criterion D). While it may well be that a particular site can be demonstrated to have little or no research value, that decision can legitimately be reached only after two conditions have been met. First, appropriate historic contexts have been developed that allow the assessment of site data within the current body of knowledge. Second, a sufficient amount of fieldwork has been conducted to collect the quantities and kinds of data needed to evaluate the site’s research potential within those historic contexts. The key problem in determining how to address ‘plowzone sites’ lies in the first point made above. The research questions derived from the historic contexts define the nature and extent of adequate fieldwork. The evaluation of plowzone sites’ research potential, and hence their National Register eligibility, rests on the development of historic contexts that allow these sites to be considered as part of local and regional cultural systems. The solution to the ‘lithic scatter problem’ is to devote the necessary resources to develop such contexts, rather than in formulating standardized approaches that ignore cultural meaning. Since federal laws and regulations define significance (under Criterion D) in terms of archaeological research potential, there is no way to divorce agency management decisions from archaeological assessment. All management depends on an evaluation of significance, which is explicitly related to the current state of archaeological knowledge. Given these considerations, the two undersigned organizations oppose the adoption of the proposed programmatic agreement. Final Comments (6 December 2005) Philip A. Perazio, Past President and designated representative, Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology Paul Raber, President, Pennsylvania Archaeological Council Society and Chapter News Call for Papers-A Reminder The theme of the 77th Annual Meeting will be ”A River Runs By It: Archaeology Along Pennsylvania’s Waterways”. There will be three open sessions: Saturday morning, afternoon and Sunday morning. The SPA will be sponsoring a Student Poster Session this year. Anyone wishing to participate should send abstracts of 150 words or less for papers or posters to the Program Chair by March 16, 2006 Program Chair: Bill Tippins, 1090 Freeport Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15238. Phone 412-784-8818, Fax:412-784-8825 or email: btippins@sgi.net Annual Meeting Hosts Chapters are needed to host the SPA Annual Meeting. If your chapter is interested and would like more information, please contact Mary Alice Graetzer, 814-238-5239. Annual Chapter Reports Annual Chapter report forms have been mailed or emailed to the individual chapters. This report details chapter activities for the previous year (2005). This report is a chapter obligation under the SPA constitution. Forms are available to download from the SPA website. If you have questions, please contact the Secretary. Deadline for reporting is April 15, 2006. All SPA chapters are required to report chapter officers to the Secretary annually. This report is necessary for maintaining current contact information for all chapters. Please report officers even if there has not been an election or change of positions in your chapter. Please include addresses, phone numbers and email addresses if possible. Pennsylvania Archaeologist Needs Paper Submissions! Bill Tippins, Editor of Pennsylvania Archaeologist, reports that he is running low on manuscripts for the journal. Although he is working hard to get the publication back on schedule, a lack of papers could jeopardize this effort. Unlike past years, when a paper might wait years to be published, a quality submission now may be in print within six months. Site reports, regional studies, or artifact photos are welcomed. Please consult the inside back cover of a recent issue or the Society's website for Submission Guidelines. Publishing is an essential part of proper archaeology, especially if a site has been destroyed by excavation. Please consider helping both the publication and future researchers by submitting a manuscript to Pennsylvania Archaeologist. Membership Status Your current membership status can be determined by examining your address label. The paid up year is printed the label. If your dues are not current, please send the appropriate amount to: Treasurer, SPA P.O. Box 10287, Pittsburgh, PA 15232-0287 Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc. Call for Awards! Any individual SPA member, or SPA Chapter as a whole, may submit nominations in writing to the Awards Chairman of an SPA MEMBER, of any chapter, or an SPA member who is unaffiliated with any chapter, who is deemed worthy of an SPA award in the categories listed below: ARCHEY Award: Nominee must be a member of SPA, not just a chapter. This award is presented to a non-professional who has given significant contributions, over an appreciable period of time, toward the unselfish furtherance of archaeology. The number of separate nominations and the significance of the reasons for the nomination are weighed in making the selection for this award. The individual’s contributions toward archaeology may be offices held; numbers and kinds of speaking engagements; published articles or reports; number and kinds of sites recorded and/or excavated; work with young people to acquaint them with archaeology, etc. J. ALDEN MASON Award: This award is presented to an SPA member who is a professional archaeologist and is based on his or her contribution to education and encouragement of SPA members in the proper pursuit of archaeology. A professional in a related science, which similarly assists SPA members, may also be considered for this award. The nominee need not reside in Pennsylvania. JOHN WITTHOFT Award: This award is presented to the chapter of the SPA that recruited the most new SPA members or reinstated the highest number of delinquent SPA members since the previous SPA Annual Meeting. SHRADER/GEORGE Award: Nominee must be an SPA member under 18 years of age and be an example of the SPA’s ideal youth, whose character, accomplishments, and unselfish effort have furthered the cause of Pennsylvania archaeology. Sites upon which the nominee has participated should be recorded and have a designated State site number and the nominee should have experience in recording such sites and properly cataloging artifacts from the sites. Nomination forms for all categories can be found on the SPA website: www.PennsylvaniaArchaeology.com. Please provide adequate background and information on nominees as inadequate information or failure to meet the award criteria could result in disqualification. Deadline for nominations is March 1, 2006. REMEMBER: All nominees MUST be members of the Society for PA Archaeology, Inc.! The Awards committee is now being chaired by Dr. Catherine Spohn. Her address is 141-A Grandview Ave. Wernersville, PA 19565-1812 or email at: cspohn@state.pa.us Jacob L. Grimm IV C14 Award The Society’s C14 program was designed to help chapters and individual members with the cost of C14 dating. Individual applying must be a member in good standing to qualify for the funding. Applications will be reviewed and awards made at the SPA Annual Meeting if applications are received before the meeting date or May 5, 2006. Please address all requests for matching C14 dating funds to: James Herbstritt, BHP, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North St. 2nd Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0093 or e-mail: jherbstrit@state.pa.us New SPA brochure: the Society has a new brochure developed by past-president Paul Raber in response to a need for a tool for membership recruiting and informational handout. The new brochure will be available at the Annual Meeting in May. Discover and Preserve Brochure The popular “Discover and Preserve” brochure may be used to promote proper recording of artifacts and collections and to encourage donations of collections to proper repositories for curation and preservation. Copies of the brochure are available to chapters. A supply will be housed at the State Museum and may be obtained by contacting Steve Warfel at 717-783-2887 or email at swarfel@state.pa.us. Contribution Opportunities If you are looking for meaningful ways to honor a friend or commemorate an occasion, consider a donation to one of the Society’s dedicated funds. · The James G. Luhman Fund will support Archaeology Month activities and educational initiatives. · The Elmer Erb Permanent Fund maintains Life Memberships and supplements Society projects. Eastern States Archaeological Federation Membership: ESAF will donate 20% of the membership fee to the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc. if dues are paid through the SPA. Membership includes Archaeology of Eastern North America (AENA), and informational announcements throughout the year. Fees are: $30.00 Individual membership and $40.00 Institutional. For postage to foreign countries add $5.00. Please make checks payable to Treasurer, SPA. Foreign Checks must be in US funds or drawn on a US bank. Send to: Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc., P.O. Box 10287, Pittsburgh, PA 15232-0287 In Memoriam The Section of Anthropology is saddened to report that Dr. James L. Swauger died Sunday, December 18, at 9:00. Jim first became associated with Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 1935. He began his museum work with the then Section of Archaeology and Ethnology (later Section of Man and eventually Section of Anthropology), where he held various positions as Laboratory Assistant, Custodian, Curator, and Senior Scientist. He worked briefly in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology in 1942, before entering the US Army during World War II, and throughout his museum career volunteered in the Section of Invertebrate Zoology, where he pinned "stinkbugs" (his favorite bug). In 1955, he was appointed Assistant Director under Director M. Graham Netting, a position he held until the mid-1970s, after which he returned to Anthropology to pursue his particular interest in petroglyphs (Indian rock carvings) of the eastern United States. During his long career, Jim conducted archeological research in western Pennsylvania and in the Near East. He was a main player in establishing the Upper Ohio Archaeology Survey in the 1950s, during which Drs. William Mayer-Oakes and Don Dragoo energized archaeological research in western Pennsylvania and surrounding states. Jim conducted early historical archaeological research at Fort Pitt, Fort Duquesne, and Fort Necessity in the early 1950s. In the 1960s, Jim was instrumental in developing the International Program, a now-defunct program that for almost 30 years brought staff from museums in many countries to CMNH. At the time of his death, Dr. Swauger was living at a retirement home in Rhode Island near a daughter. He was born in West Newton, PA, in 1913 and died at the age of 92 years, having celebrated that birthday on November 1. Jim was predeceased by his wife Helen, who had suffered a stroke and died in the 1990s. David R. Watters, Ph.D. Curator-in-Charge Section of Anthropology Carnegie Museum of Natural History A donation to the Elmer Erb Permanent Fund was received in memory of Justin Burkett, son of Ken and Cheryl Burkett. The Society sends its deepest sympathy to the Burkett Family in this time of great loss. Chapter News Cumberland Valley Chapter #27 Jeff Kottmyer Contributors Needed! Work on the Pennsylvania Archaeological Database for Novices has been a rewarding learning experience for me personally; especially working with Janet Johnson and Dr. Noel Strattan. I hope that I can share this experience with you as a contributor and then we can share is product with future novice archaeologists. Currently there is a need to develop taxonomies for 28 of the 29 top-level codes in the Bureau of Historic Preservation archaeological database. The Points taxonomy was completed using Dr. Jay F. Custer’s Projectile Point Classification System for the Middle Atlantic Region and it works wonderfully with a wizard, drop down lists, Org Plus taxonomy breakdown structure, and informational data boxes and pictures that can be selected when learning about the points or archaeology in general. The 29 top-level codes follow these Artifact codes: Chipped StoneWould you develop one of these classification systems? If you are interested email me, jeffkottmyer@yahoo.com, to discuss the specific requirements. Meetings and Workshops SAA 71st Annual Meeting San Juan, Puerto Rico April 26 - 30, 2006 Go to: www.saa.org for registration and program and information on volunteering to help with the meeting. Archaeology Month in Maryland Our neighbors to the south will be celebrating their Archaeology Month in April. Please visit: www.marylandarcheology.org for a list of activities. National Park Service’s 2006 Archaeological Prospection Workshop The National Park Service’s 2006 workshop on archaeological prospection techniques entitled Current Archaeological Prospection Advances for Non-Destructive Investigations in the 21st Century will be held May 15-19, 2006, at the Fort Frederica National Monument, Georgia. Lodging will be at the Quality Inn Island House on St. Simons Island, Georgia. This will be the sixteenth year of the workshop dedicated to the use of geophysical, aerial photography, and other remote sensing methods as they apply to the identification, evaluation, conservation, and protection of archaeological resources across this Nation. The workshop this year will focus on the theory of operation, methodology, processing, interpretation, and on-hands use of the equipment in the field. There is a tuition charge of $475.00. Application forms are available on the Midwest Archeological Center’s web page at http://www.cr.nps.gov/mwac/. For further information, please contact Steven L. DeVore, Archeologist, National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Federal Building, Room 474, 100 Centennial Mall North, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-3873: tel: (402) 437-5392, ext. 141; fax: (402) 437-5098; email: steve_de_vore@nps.gov.
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