ETSU Archaeological Field School Summer 2013
Rock Shelter Excavations in Pisgah National Forest, NC
*** this site is in the process of being updated - please check back for updates ***
The annual ETSU archaeological field school will take place from May 28, 2013 through June 13, 2013. Students should arrive in Brevard, NC on the evening of May 27. They will depart the project on the morning of June 14. Students will spend three weeks in the field in Pisgah National Forest in the mountains of western North Carolina. We will be conducting rock shelter excavations on sites spanning from the Early Archaic Period (about 10,000 to 8,000 years ago) up through historic Cherokee. We will also likely visit some rock art sites in the area. The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians will be actively involved in the project by giving presentations on archaeology and prehistory from their perspective. Students will learn general field excavation techniques and regional culture history. They will also learn to use a laser transit and data collector as part of the excavations. Students will lodge in a dormitory at Brevard College. The US Forest Service will cover lodging expenses but not food. Students will register for the course through ETSU summer school.
Goals of the 2013 field season
We have some. . . . (work in progress). This is a new project. It is a joint project between East Tennessee State University and the U. S. Forest Service, specifically, Pisgah National Forest. Scott Ashcraft, Forest Service archaeologist, will serve as co-director of the project.
Course Goals
The course is intended to introduce the student to the conduct of field
archaeology. Students will be given the opportunity to apply what they have
learned in the classroom to field situations. Students will learn to orient
themselves in the field and how to maintain three dimensional control in their
excavations. Aspects of archaeological survey, testing, and excavation will be
addressed. Proper mapping and cataloging techniques will also be taught.
Students should gain insight into why archaeologists go into the field to
excavate the archaeological record.
Archaeological field investigations must be problem oriented. We will discuss how to design important research questions and then properly design methods to answer them in a field setting. We will also explore the concerns of archaeologists, cultural resource managers (including federal and state agencies), and native peoples regarding the archaeological record. Artifacts removed from their original context or matrix are of limited use to the archaeologist. Students will learn how to assess archaeological context and integrity. Students will learn how to conduct archaeological field investigations. Click on this link to see course syllabus.
What Students May Expect - SORT OF
(every field season is different)
2009 Field School video by Jeffrey W. Navel (click on image above to see it - takes a minute or two to load)
Students should register for ANTH 4400: Archaeological Field School. Students will be responsible for their tuition costs and meals. As noted above, The US Forest Service will be covering lodging expenses at Brevard College. In an effort to make the field experience more affordable for students, the course is offered as three (3) credit hours OR 6 credit hours (If the 3 credit hour option is chosen, students may later repeat the course for a total of six credit hours). In-State rates for Summer 2013 are as follows: Undergraduates pay $235 per credit hour plus University fees (3 credit hours = $906.00 total). Graduates pay $378 per credit hour plus University fees (3 credit hours = $1326.00 total). Out-of-State rates for Summer 2013 are as follows: Undergraduates pay $610 per credit hour plus University fees (3 credit hours = $2736.00 total). Graduates pay $672.00 per credit hour plus University fees (3 credit hours = $3342.00 total). For non-ETSU students, there is a $25.00 University application fee as visiting students. See Visiting Students.
Enrollment is open to students from any university, although priority may be given to ETSU students. No one will be admitted for enrollment without completely filling out and agreeing to the terms of this application form. Applications are to be accompanied by a $50.00 materials fee for each student. Forms are due no later than April 30, 2013. Students who submit applications after this date may be placed on a waiting/alternate list. Enrollment is limited to 10 students for 2013, and is open only to students taking the course for credit - no audit students or volunteers will be accepted. Download application form.
Student comments from previous field seasons
"I would fully recommend . . . field school to any student with an interest in archaeology. It is a chance to broaden one's knowledge in a way that is impossible to do sitting in a classroom. It is an experience I will never forget. . . Attending field school has been the climax of my college career."
"This is the best class I have ever had."
"The field school is a valuable experience on many levels. Students not only learn about archaeology techniques and methods, but also social skills and group participation. The field school was by far one of the best experiences that I have had at ETSU. . . I have also learned to function better in a group. Group skills are very important to students entering the work force, and I feel that the ability to cooperate and be productive with co workers is not emphasized enough in the college curriculum."
The Upper Cumberland
Plateau of Tennessee
The Cumberland Plateau rises some 1000 feet above the adjacent Tennessee River
Valley. It is part of a larger region referred to as the “‘great Wilderness’,
that dark and mysterious forest” in early historic times (Campbell 1921:32). For
reasons not entirely clear (although the above quote may offer some clues),
however, the region has traditionally been viewed as a cultural backwater (e.
g., Swanton 1946). I have been conducting archaeological and historical research
on the Upper Cumberland Plateau for ten years now, and it is my contention that
the notion of “cultural backwater” could not be farther from the truth. Campbell
(1921:xxi) underscores this by calling the region (the Southern Highlands), “a
land of promise, a land of romance, and a land about which, perhaps, more things
are known that are not true than of any part of our country.” It is certainly a
land of archaeological promise for underneath the sandstone bluff lines and in
the myriad hardwood coves and box canyons of the plateau are thousands of rock
shelters and hundreds of caves. These karstic features are not only part of the
natural landscape but also part of the cultural landscape. Prehistoric Native
Americans used and occupied these
rock shelters and
caves for 12,000 years. “Throughout Appalachia,
almost by definition, rock shelters are extremely important repositories of
archaeological materials” (Watson 2001:320). In fact, people have lived on the
plateau year-round since Late Archaic times, about 4000 years ago.
It is my hope and belief that students will not only have a meaningful
archaeological experience, but also a meaningful cultural experience during
their stay on the Upper Cumberland Plateau. Below you will find links to some
interesting and fun places to visit in your
“down time”.
Web sites of Interest:
North Carolina Rock Art Survey
Contact information:
Dr. Jay D. Franklin
Associate Professor of Archaeology
Department of Sociology & Anthropology
Box 70644
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City TN 37614-1702
423-439-6653
423-430-4370 (main office)
423-833-6249 (cell)
References Cited
Campbell, John C.
1921 The Southern Highlander and His Homeland. Russell Sage Foundation,
New York.
Franklin, Jay D. (2008) Luminescence Dates and Woodland Ceramics from Rock Shelters on the Upper Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. Tennessee Archaeology 3(1):87-100.
Swanton, J. R.
1946 Indians of the Southeastern United States. Bureau of American
Ethnology Bulletin No. 137. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.
Watson, Patty Jo
2001 Ridges, Rises, and Rocks; Caves, Coves, Terraces, and Hollows: Appalachian
Archaeology at the Millennium. In Archaeology of the Appalachian Highlands,
edited by L. P. Sullivan and S. C. Prezzano, pp. 319-322. The University of
Tennessee Press, Knoxville.
Roundleaf Catchfly: native
wildflower of the Cumberland Plateau
