Archaeology In Action for Adults
Weekly sessions; Monday through Friday; June 8 through July 10, 2009
8:30 am to 4 pm each day, rain or shine
• Application deadline extended to June 1, 2009
Instructors:
Dr. Brian Redmond, Curator and Head of Archaeology
Brian Scanlan, Supervisor of Archaeology Field Programs
In the summer of 2009, the Department of Archaeology will carry out test excavations at the Heckleman site, a prehistoric Native American settlement located on the Huron River near Milan, Ohio. The program is designed for Museum members who want to participate in an actual archaeological dig and learn the basic techniques of excavation and data recording. Participants may enroll in one to five weeklong sessions. Minimum age 16. Limit 15. Museum membership is required.
The Heckleman site was first investigated in 1968 by Dr. Orrin Shane of Kent State University. These and subsequent excavations discovered a large prehistoric ditch feature that enclosed a large settlement thought to date to the Early Woodland period (ca. 500 to 100 BC). Numerous Middle Woodland period (ca. 100 BC to AD 400) stone tools and pottery sherds resembling Ohio Hopewell culture artifacts from southern Ohio were also found during these excavations. In 2008, test excavations resumed on the basis of a geophysical survey which relocated one ditch and identified another, as well as a previously-unknown oval enclosure. This oval enclosure may represent a Late Prehistoric period (ca. AD 1200-1500) stockaded village. Test excavation of one of the large ditches in fall 2008 by the Firelands Archaeological Research Center recovered additional Hopewell stone tools and pottery, butchered animal bones, and charred plant remains. It now appears that the Heckleman site may have been the location of three large prehistoric occupations which spanned a period of as much as 2000 years.
In the summer of 2009, CMNH archaeologists will return to the Heckleman site to systematically test selected areas to identify the various prehistoric occupations and to "ground-truth" many of the subsurface anomalies and enclosure located by the geophysical surveys.
To learn more about the activities of the Museum's Department of Archaeology, visit Blogging Archaeology.
Fees:
$200 per week. Application deadline extended to June 1, 2009.
For more information and an application, download the application or contact Brian Redmond at (216) 231-4600 ext. 3301, email bredmond@cmnh.org.