The Archaeology Education A Team: Public Archaeology and Public Media

Introduction

The pandemic created a variety of challenges for those that do public outreach. However, it also provided an opportunity to try new approaches, form new partnerships,  remove ourselves from our comfort zone, and learn new things. The FPAN North Central Regional Center, located in Tallahassee, Florida, has always had a good relationship with WFSU Public Media, the local PBS and NPR affiliate, but the pandemic provided the impetus to strengthen that partnership and take it to the next level! WFSU's television production expertise and FPAN's archaeology outreach expertise resulted in a series of quality public television programs as part of the PBSKids Camp TV virtual summer camp program. The broad audience and reputation of PBS and WFSU allowed us to broaden our following and provide public outreach programs to an audience that would have otherwise been outside of our immediate reach. 

The Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN)

The Florida Public Archaeology Network’s mission is to promote and facilitate stewardship, public appreciation, and value of Florida’s archaeological heritage through regional centers, partnerships, and community engagement. We approach our mission by focusing in three core areas: Public Outreach, Assistance to Local Governments, and Assistance to the Florida Division of Historical Resources. For this topic, we will be focusing on public outreach.

FPAN has eight regional centers throughout the state that each operate their own visible public outreach programs. Under normal circumstances, these public outreach programs consist of promoting archaeological and heritage tourism, assisting heritage-based organizations, disseminating information to the public, working with volunteers, and attending regional heritage events.  In March of 2020, that all changed when the State of Florida, along with so many other states, shut down due to COVID 19. This unprecedented event changed the face of public outreach for FPAN staff, but also allowed us unique opportunities to experiment with various platforms in order to reach people safely and effectively. The majority of our public engagement was done digitally or virtually. 

WFSU Public Media

WFSU Public Media provides quality public broadcasting services to the North Florida and South Georgia area. WFSU Public Media is both an NPR and a PBS member station. Their FCC licenses are held by Florida State University. WFSU Public Media provides two television broadcast stations (WFSU and WFSG), one cable television station (4fsu), one statewide satellite television service (The Florida Channel), and Internet webcasting services. WFSU Public Media provides community outreach and educational services, such as the American Graduate Project and children's projects associated with PBS KIDS. Their mission is to enrich lives and cultivate diverse perspectives by connecting the community through media content and services that inform, educate, and entertain.

Camp TV

Camp TV is a PBSKids program that provides a day-camp experience for kids every weekday via television! The head counselor, Zach, guides “campers” as they learn through play in the comfort of their own home. This virtual programming was vital in the summer of 2021 due to the closure of so many in-person summer programs for children. Guest experts are invited on the program to lead activities like science experiments, dances, animal encounters, story times, and crafting. Partners from across the nation included the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, OK Go, Memphis Zoo, Lincoln Center and more. 

Thanks to grant funding from WNET in New York, WFSU Public Media was able to highlight several partner organizations from across the Tallahassee area in their own series of Camp TV videos! Throughout the 2021 summer break, children’s educational videos appeared on WFSU-TV, Facebook and YouTube. In addition to the Florida Public Archaeology Network, other local partners featured for this program were the Florida Center for Reading Research and the Southern Shakespeare Company.

 

Barbara guiding children through the PB&J Archaeology
activity for Camp TV

The Florida Public Archaeology Network, with the expertise of the WFSU’s film crew, filmed two educational activities from our “Beyond Artifacts” curriculum guide at the WFSU studios in Tallahassee, Florida. Barbara Clark (North Central Regional Director) acted as the host guide for “Peanut Butter and Jelly Archaeology”. This activity teaches children how archaeological sites are formed, how time is recorded in soil stratigraphy, how archaeologists excavate a site, and how stratigraphy can be destroyed by human activity.  Tristan Harrenstein (North Central Regional Public Archaeologist) acted as the host guide for  the “cookie excavation” program. This activity teaches students the process of excavation and how delicate artifacts are recovered from the soil by archaeologists. 

Tristan Harrenstein (FPAN Public Archaeologist) and Suzanne Smith
(WFSU Executive Director) prepare to film the "Cookie Excavation" activity. 

          In conjunction with the televised Camp TV programming, WFSU/PBS  hosted a virtual camp for the 2021 Summer break, PBS Camp TV! This virtual camp – sponsored by Leon County Schools – brought a day-camp experience to  children’s homes, with local partner spotlights (including the Florida Public Archaeology Network), engaging hands-on activities, and standards-aligned educational content. This program was conducted over Zoom, with Camp TV “counselor”, Zac, and a WFSU staff member guiding the children through the activities. After the guided activity there was a question and answer session with the guest. For this portion the children did PB&J Archaeology and then spent time virtually with Barbara Clark from FPAN discussing the activity. This interactive component provided a unique opportunity for the kids to interact with the expert and ask questions about their field.

Camp TV "Counselor", Zac, takes children through the PB&J
activity step-by-step via Zoom during the live virtual camp.

 

Conclusion

 While the pandemic created many challenges for those that do public outreach, it also provided an opportunity to try new approaches, form new partnerships, and strengthen old partnerships. FPAN had done some small scale events and projects with WFSU Public Media before, but Camp TV strengthened that partnership and took it to the next level. One very important benefit to virtual programming is the ability to reach those that are not in your immediate vicinity. WFSU and PBS already have a strong following and membership base, as well as a reputation for quality educational programming. Partnering with them  enabled FPAN to reach children across the country, which obviously we are not able to do with in-person programming. Furthermore, because of grant funding obtained by WFSU, there was no additional cost for either WFSU or FPAN, besides the time investment associated with production of these videos. The series received 1.2 million gross impressions. A gross impression is a metric used in television  to determine how many opportunities there were for a program to be viewed. The program aired 4,128 times on 121 stations, in 17 of the top 30 markets. As previously mentioned, this reach would not have been possible without virtual programming or our partnership with WFSU. Partnerships like this, along with the success of this and other virtual programs, have led FPAN to continue some virtual programming even as we start to do in-person events.

Although we are a Florida-based organization, and prioritize programming that emphasizes the protection of our state’s cultural resources, we realize the benefit of reaching a broader audience that crosses state lines and even international boundaries. Virtual programming is a simple and effective way to reach a broader audience without ever leaving the state. Partnerships with organizations that have a large following and strong reputation for quality programming, such as local PBS stations, help to spread our message farther than we may be able to do alone, thus leading to a broader appreciation for archaeological resources everywhere.

 

National Hispanic Heritage Month: Un legado de florida

 National Hispanic Heritage Month is from September 15 to October 15. In 1968, under President Lyndon B. Johnson, this celebration started as Hispanic Heritage Week. It was expanded by President Ronald Regan in 1988 to a full 30 days.  It celebrates the many cultures, achievements, and contributions of Hispanic Americans. From food to architecture, evidence of Hispanic culture and history are everywhere in Florida! In fact, a good number of place names in Florida are Spanish. Today in Florida there are over 266,000 Hispanic businesses operating. 23% of Floridians claim Hispanic heritage, with Florida having the third largest Hispanic population in the nation. 

Florida was first "discovered" (using quotations because there were many Native Americans already living in Florida prior to Spanish arrival) by the Spanish and claimed for the Crown of Spain. In grade school we learn about the 13 original colonies of New England, but the fact is that Florida boasts the earliest European settlements. Tristan de Luna first attempted to establish a colony on Pensacola Bay in 1559. It was subsequently wiped out by a hurricane, but St. Augustine holds the title of the longest continually occupied European city in the New World. Pedro Mendez de Aviles landed there in 1565. Jamestown, Virginia was not founded until 1607. 

UWF graduate student excavating the shipwreck of one of Tristan de Luna's 
fleet in Pensacola Bay (photo courtesy of the Pensacola News Journal)

As we mentioned, Native Americans existed and were flourishing in Florida prior to the arrival of Spanish explorers. The Spanish Mission system was an attempt to Christianize the Native Americans. Archaeological evidence and historical documentation provide information on the interactions of these two very different groups. Mission San Luis is a living history museum dedicated to interpreting this story. If you are ever in the Tallahassee area, be sure to check them out! Even the first Christmas in the New World was apparently celebrated in Florida! Hernando de Soto and his expedition wintered in Tallahassee at the Apalachee village of Anhaica in 1539 to 1540 and celebrated the holiday at their encampment located in the vicinity of what is now the location of the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research.

Even after Florida was admitted to the United States in 1845, the Hispanic influence was undeniable. In 1886, Vicente Martinez Ybor opened a cigar factory outside of Tampa. This forty-acre factory complex included housing and amenities for thousands of immigrant workers. Many workers were Cuban, Italian, and Spanish. This area became known as Ybor City, which is still a tourist hot spot today. Many of these workers supported the fight for Cuban independence. Tampa served as the primary staging area for U.S. troops during the Spanish-American War in 1898. 

The Freedom Tower in Miami served as the reception building 
for Cubans fleeing Fidel Castro's regime. (photo courtesy of the NPS)

In 1959, Fidel Castro led the Cuban Revolution and the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista's government. More than 155,000 Cubans fled the island between 1959 to 1962, many of them making Miami their new home. The Freedom Tower, often referred to as the "Ellis Island of the South", in Miami served as a government reception facility for fleeing Cubans. Thousands received services and assistance at this building  through the early 1970s. From Cuban food to Cuban music, there is no denying that Cuban culture has shaped Florida, especially southern Florida. 

From Spanish Conquistadors and the massive coquina Castillo de San Marco to a Cuban pastry at Publix and the beautiful Spanish-inspired Mediterranean architecture of Addison Mizner, the Hispanic influences in Florida are vast. In fact, this post barely touches the surface. If you would like to explore more we suggest the Spanish Colonial Heritage Trail and the Florida Hispanic Heritage Month site. And if you would like to check out some Hispanic art, history or food you can check out Visit Florida for places to visit.

Shotgun Houses: Practical Architecture for the Southern Climate

 As Floridians all move from July to August, the two hottest months in the state, we all are very thankful for our air conditioning and modern conveniences that help keep us cool. But how did Floridians survive a Florida summer prior to those modern developments? To some this may seem inconceivable, so we wanted to dive in and explore that this month. Obviously people did survive, but how? This idea of trying to keep our dwellings cool in a hot climate is not new, but prior to modern air conditioning, they had to rely on architectural tricks to keep cool.

A cross draft is one of the most effective methods to keep temperatures down without modern climate control. A cross draft can be created by opening two aligned doors or windows on either side of a building, thus creating an interior breeze. Modern home designs don’t necessarily take this into consideration because we can press a button and almost magically our homes are cooled. However, early houses did take this into consideration. Ideally, to get a strong cross draft a house would be one room deep, with aligned windows on either side. It is no surprise that when looking at historic Florida homes you find lots of doors and big windows.

The shotgun style, thought to originate in Louisiana, was common in southern states (popular from the 1860s to 1920s). It is a great example of a home designed for cross draft. Often a shotgun home is no more than about 12 feet wide and usually has a large gabled porch. The porch not only provided a shaded area for people to sit, but also shaded doors and windows, thus minimizing the sunlight entering the dwelling. These homes were also constructed above grade, meaning on piers. This helped keep the structure dry and also facilitated air flow below the building as well. 

Kentucky Archaeological Survey Archaeologists uncover wooden 
pier posts at the site of two homes in Davis Bottom. (photo 
courtesy of the Kentucky Archaeological Survey)

Shotgun houses, a style that used to be prevalent in the south, are disappearing. In Kentucky an architectural and archaeological survey was conducted to document the shotgun homes in Davis Bottom before they were demolished for a road extension project. During excavations archaeologists uncovered stains in the ground (archaeological features) that were evidence of where piers of shotgun homes once stood. Because these homes were usually small, the yards became critical work spaces, which is also evident in the archaeological remains found outside many shotgun homes.

Historic Photo of Smokey Hollow, Tallahassee.
Note the numerous shotgun houses. (photo courtesy
of the National Trust for Historic Preservation).

In Tallahassee, Cascades Park and the surrounding area was once home to an African American neighborhood called Smokey Hollow. It was a victim of urban renewal, and most of the homes, including many shotgun homes, have since been demolished. However, the community came up with a clever way to give people a taste of what it would have been like to live in a shotgun house. They created “spirit houses” as a memorial to the community. These frame structures resemble shot gun houses that once were prevalent in the community, but don't have the associated upkeep of a fully constructed building. Surrounding this memorial are fruit trees and a community garden filled with veggies and herbs that would have been in the yards of many homes in Smokey Hollow. 

"Spirit Houses" commemorating the Smokey Hollow Community
in Cascades Park, Tallahassee (photo courtesy of Tallahassee Arts Guide).

As we are in the middle of hurricane season (we are experiencing Tropical Storm Fred as I write this!), I often think perhaps next time I look at a house or apartment, it might be a good idea to consider the potential for cross drafts. When we lose electricity it might be nice to be able to open my windows and create a cool breeze in my house, proving that there is value in understanding historic architecture trends.

LGBTQ History and Heritage: An American Story

 We have discussed before how history is dominated by the stories of white, heterosexual men. Interestingly, although LGBTQ history is not as predominant, even its history is dominated by stories of white, urban, middle-class men. The National Park Service, America's storyteller, is dedicated to telling all our stories through research, interpretation, and collaboration. In recent years they have been able to increase the number of preserved sites that tell the story and history of underrepresented groups in America. In 2014, the National Park Service announced their LGBTQ Heritage Initiative, and in 2016, they published their LBGTQ Theme Study.

The histories of the LGBTQ community have often been erased through punishing laws and prejudice. There are bits and pieces of information scattered throughout court documents, medical reports, military hearing records, and immigration records. Many places that are significant to this community are not interpreted as such or have been demolished. Some have known associations to LGBTQ history, such as the Stonewall Inn, which was the first National Historic Landmark listed for its importance to LGBTQ history. Other places have hidden queer histories. Either way, these private residences, hotels, bars, government agencies, hospitals, parks and community centers are all assets that tell the story of the LGBTQ experience in America, and those stories are important for community building.

The Stonewall Inn, the first National Heritage 
Landmark listed for its significance in LGBTQ 
history (photo courtesy of nps.org)

The LGBTQ experience reveals the complexities of our society, highlighting how personal lives are impacted by politics, economics, laws, and other social influences. Personal identity and gender are important aspects of the American experience. The LGBTQ Theme Study is an interesting read because it incorporates diverse stories within the queer community. It also expands its reach to areas of the country not often discussed or thought about when discussing LGBTQ history, such as rural America, which often have quite a distinctive experience from other parts of the country. Something else we, as archaeologists, like about this study is that it includes a discussion on how archaeology has the ability to reveal important contextual information that may remain intact even after physical structures have been destroyed. The Theme Study also provides a section with resources for interpreters and teachers, but really we feel that anybody, including parents, can benefit from this section. 

What is Queer Archaeology?

 As we mentioned in previous posts, archaeology is a way to get at the real story and tell the stories of those not written about in the history books. Archaeology helps round out our views of the past by studying the marginalized, the underrepresented. However, there is a problem. Archaeology, as a profession, lacks diversity in some regards. The majority of archaeologists are heterosexual cisgender white people. And while the majority of archaeologists are now women, true diversity still has yet to be achieved within the profession. Now, what does this have to do with studying marginalized people from the past? Why does this matter? Well, our current normative views help shape our notions of the past. As hard as we may try to remain unbiased, having diversity in the profession can only help us broaden our perspective on the past. 

Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, ancient Egyptians,
traditionally interpreted as "brothers" or "good friends" 
despite the fact that they are depicted in a pose often
used to depict husbands and wives. (photo courtesy of 
Binghampton University).

Queer archaeology is a way for us to question the approach and biases of archaeology as a discipline. It gives us the ability to challenge  normative assumptions and broaden our perspective on the past. The term queer means different things to different people. Queer, simply put, can be defined as anything that is at odds with what is considered to be the norm. Queer archaeology is not just about gender or sexuality, but seeks to study all of those that fall outside of what is considered to be the norm. This is why it is important to have more diversity in the field. Queer archaeology is not about designing projects that specifically look for these differences, but rather it is about being open to them by viewing the past through a diverse and queer lens. Queer archaeology is not a restrictive set of rules but is more of a critique and a conceptual framework from which to work off of in order to broaden our perspective. 

So why does a broader perspective matter? For one, many societies have had more fluid ideas about gender and sexuality than we do today. Without diversity in the profession we start to believe that heterosexual and cigendered people have always been the norm. We start to believe that men have always had political authority. We start to believe that women have always been relegated to  domestic duties. Archaeology is well positioned to challenge these assumptions because we study the marginalized and otherwise forgotten. We have the ability to prove that what we consider to be the norm hasn't always been so, thus lending legitimacy to those that are currently discriminated against and marginalized in our society. Queer archaeology can help us dispel assumptions of the past that have been used to enact legislation under the guise of "traditional societal values" which disenfranchise those that fall outside of today's norm. Archaeologists are not only well positioned to study this, but it is their ethical duty to do so and to make this information publicly available. After all, the past often informs the present, so we need to make sure that we are accurately interpreting the past. 

Archaeology of Japanese Internment Camps

From 1942 to 1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt established Japanese internment camps with Executive Order 9066. This policy stated that people of Japanese descent, including those who were U.S. citizens, would be held in isolated camps. This act was a result of the government's reaction to the Pearl Harbor attacks and World War II. To this day, this incarceration of Japanese Americans and immigrants is considered one of the worst violations of American civil rights in the 20th century. Although there are a significant number of primary sources and documents pertaining to these internment camps, archaeology still can provide a unique, nonbiased, evidence-based look into how those forced to reside at these camps lived and survived. 

The Granada Relocation Center, otherwise known as Camp Amache, has extensive documented archival sources, but archaeology has still provided a unique look at how Japanese families worked to maintain their traditional values. Over 7,000 individuals were forcibly relocated to Camp Amache, and over two thirds of them were legal U.S. citizens. The families lived in their own quarters but typically ate in a cafeteria setting. Children, who would usually eat with family, started to form relationships and eat with each other rather than their family, thus challenging traditional Japanese culture. Archaeologists recovered tableware in residential areas, thus suggesting that parents were serving food in their quarters to try to maintain traditional Japanese cultural values. 

Granada Relocation Center, or Camp Amache, circa 1942. (Photo
courtesy of National Park Service)

In American neighborhoods children usually played outside in the street or other communal areas. Archaeologists discovered a variety of children's toys in pathways and other common areas in Japanese internment camps such as Amanche. Marbles were the most common, and although the parents were under financial hardship, they made a point of ordering toys for their children from American mail order catalogs as a way to assimilate into American culture. Parents played a balancing act between maintaining traditional Japanese family values, while ensuring their children assimilated into American culture. The archaeology at Camp Amanche shows tangible evidence of how parents managed that intricate balancing act while under hardship.

Many World War II Japanese relocation centers are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including Manzanar, Ninidoka and Amanche. However, overall there are not many other U.S. Asian sites listed except  a few mining sites, cemeteries and a few Chinatown and Japanese military administrative centers. This discrepancy fails to capture the wide range of Asian heritage in the United States. Furthermore, there is a discrepancy in the number of archaeological sites that have been studied on the west coast compared to that of the eastern seaboard, and there are fewer studies of Japantowns compared to Chinatowns. Hopefully, as community archaeology and other research continues to increase in the study of Asian American communities these discrepancies can be fixed and we can better understand Asian heritage in the United States.

 

Porcelain: Beauty and Strength that has Withstood the Test of Time

To celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month, this week we are going to talk about one of our favorite ceramics, porcelain! Porcelain is a white bodied, fine-grained ceramic that originates from China. It is fired at an extremely high temperature, which makes it almost glass-like, or vitrified. In China it is defined as pottery that is resonant when struck, while in the west it is defined as pottery that is translucent when held up to light. However, there are so many different types of porcelain, especially these days, that neither of these definitions work all of the time when describing it. 

Portrait of Italian Explorer, Marco Pollo 
(Courtesy of Britannica)

Early forms of porcelain appeared in China during the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907), but the form similar to what we see today was first made during the Yuan Dynasty (1279 to 1368). It got its name from Marco Pollo, an Italian explorer, who referred to it as porcellana, which is the Italian word for cowrie shell. He called it this because it appeared to have a similar color and texture. Chinese porcelain is made from petuntse, otherwise called China stone, which is feldpathic rock, which is ground into a powder and mixed with kaolin. It is fired at extreme temperatures, reaching 2,650 degrees Fahrenheit!  The petuntse and the high temperature is what makes the ceramic glass-like, and the kaolin helps to retain the vessels shape. 

True porcelain cannot be cut with a file and dirt can be easily washed off the vessel even if it is unglazed. Ceramic glaze is a substance that is applied to the vessel and when fired, becomes hard and glass-like. Many porcelain vessels are glazed, but this is purely for decorative purposes, as hard porcelain is already vitrified. Other types of pottery require a glaze in order to be impermeable to water and to resist staining. 

As far as porcelain we find at archaeological sites in the U.S., we can divide it up into two broad

Celadon porcelain bowl, with gold lacquer repair,
Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) (courtesy of
The Metropolitan Museum of Art).

categories, export and domestic porcelain. Export porcelain was made specifically for export out of China. A large portion of it was blue and white, but it can also be found with more colorful patterns, and much of it was made in more European forms (think gravy boats, English-style tea pots and tea cups). Domestic porcelain was made for Chinese use, but it can be found outside China in places like U.S. railroad camps out west (which heavily relied on Chinese labor), or in Chinatowns across the country. Popular patterns and decoration for domestic porcelain include Bamboo, Double Happiness, and Celadon. 

Chinese porcelain, as well as porcelains made in 

Europe and other parts of Asia, continue to be a popular collectors item today. This ceramic has stood the test of time and seems to have won some popularity contest. From fine antique china to china dolls, porcelain remains one of the most collected ceramics. And here is a fun fact for you, porcelain is the only ceramic that won't stick to your tongue! Yes, archaeologists have been known to press a ceramic sherd to their tongue to determine if it is porcelain or not. Because it is so vitreous, it is non porous and therefore won't absorb moisture and stick to your tongue! And now you know!

San Jose Chinatown and the Market Street Chinatown Archaeological Project

 May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month, a month dedicated to celebrating people and cultures from Asia and the Pacific Islands. To kick things off we wanted to talk about an amazing site all the way across the country, in San Jose, California. First, as Asian Pacific is a very broad term, that encompasses many cultures, let us define it a bit. Asian Pacific refers to those from the Asian continent and the Pacific Islands. The Pacific Islands are numerous, and include Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Market Street Chinatown circa 1880, photograph by 
Andrew P. Hill (Courtesy of the Market Street Chinatown
Archaeological Project)

Today we will be focusing on Chinese immigrants that moved to San Jose in the 1860s and settled in  Market Street Chinatown. Today you would never know that once one of the largest thriving Chinatowns in California existed in this area, but in the 1880s over 1,000 Chinese immigrants called this place home. There were about 20 apartment buildings, numerous stores, restaurants, barbers, butchers, pharmacies, gambling establishments, workshops, and even a Chinese opera house. 

However, in the 1880s there was a strong anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States and in fact, in 1886, the first California Anti-Chinese Convention was held in San Jose. The following year city officials declared the community a public nuisance and shortly there after it burned to the ground. The cause was suspected arson. It remained buried under the city of San Jose for nearly 100 years until archaeologists discovered a trash pit during construction of a hotel and financial center. Archaeological Resource Services (a contract archaeological firm) was contacted by the city to monitor construction. This is a wonderful example of how Cultural Resource Management plays a vital role in ensuring archaeological sites are documented during development projects.

A Chinese medicine bottle recovered from the Market Street Chinatown archaeological project. Chemical analysis shows it contained cinnabar, known in Chinese as Zhu Sha. In Chinese medicine it was used to treat numerous ailments, from anxiety to snakebites. We now know that cinnabar contains mercury, which is toxic in large amounts or extended exposure. (photograph courtesy of the "There Was a Chinatown Here" digital exhibit)

This significant archaeological discovery blossomed into Sanford's Market Street Chinatown Archaeological Project, which is a community archaeology partnership between Stanford's Department of Anthropology, History San Jose, and the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project. After the initial excavation in the 1980s, the numerous artifacts recovered from the site were boxed and put in storage. The Market Street Chinatown Archaeological Project has been working to catalog these objects so that they can be used for research and educational purposes. This project has resulted in numerous publications, art installations, and exhibits. One such exhibit is the digital exhibit, There Was a Chinatown Here. Be sure to check it out to learn more about this fascinating site and the people that called it home!

Windover Archaeological Site: Preservation in a Florida Peat Pond

 

Steve Vanderjagt, the backhoe
operator that first discovered
Windover. (photo courtesy of 
FSU Digital Archives)

We can't wrap up our month on plants and archaeology without talking about Windover! We are of the opinion that it is one of the most fascinating sites in Florida and that is partially because of the plant remains found there. Windover was discovered in 1982 at a construction site in Brevard County, Florida. A backhoe operator unintentionally discovered human remains, which were later identified as part of a prehistoric cemetery dating to over 7,000 years ago. The preservation  was unprecedented due to the environmental conditions at the site. The deceased had been buried in a  mucky pond, using handwoven fabric and wooden stakes to keep them in place. This mucky pond created an anaerobic environment, with very little bacteria to degrade the fragile remains-both human and plant.

If you are familiar with Windover, then you are familiar with the fact that human brain matter and other very unique finds were discovered. And while we agree that those finds are amazing, we are going to concentrate on the plant remains today. The same environmental conditions that lead to excellent human remain preservation also allowed for great preservation of plant remains. 

The wooden stakes and the fabric used to secure the deceased at the bottom of the pond are both plant material. In fact, the handwoven fabric was made of palm fiber and are the oldest surviving textiles in the New World. Eighty-seven fragments were recovered from the site. They were extremely fragile and required special care while being transported to the lab for very specialized and delicate processing and analysis. 

Palm fiber handwoven fabric from Windover. 
(Photo courtesy of FSU Digital Archives)

When we think of early agriculture, we assume that early people were growing plants mainly for food,but Windover provided evidence that products of agriculture also served other purposes. A bottle gourd container was recovered from the site. This would have been a light and durable container for food and liquid. This particular example is the earliest known example of a bottle gourd north of Mexico! Plants that were both gathered and cultuivated could also be used for medicinal purposes.

 Life was hard for these prehistoric people and many of those buried in this ancient cemetery died young. Almost half of the deceased were under 18, and most don't appear to have lived past 40. Their teeth show sign of wear from both grit in their diet and the use of their teeth as tools. There was evidence of broken bones, abscesses, and illness. The large number of seeds found in the stomach region of several of the burials may represent one of the earliest known examples of medicinal plant use. 

Imagine, all of this found at one site in Florida and completely by accident! Not only is this absolutely phenomenal from a scientific perspective (not to mention some cool conversation starters at cocktail parties!), but it also is a prime example of why there are laws in place that protect archaeological sites. Florida is constantly under development and that is why there are permits and processes to ensure sites like Windover have a chance to be both documented and preserved when appropriate. This is also why there are laws in place that protect human remains. Archaeologists that work in Cultural Resource Management play a vital role in ensuring that Florida's archaeological heritage is properly documented.

The Trowel Tribune - April 15, 2021

 Plain text version: https://fpannorthcentral.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-trowel-tribune-april-15-2021-plain.html

The Trowel Tribune - April 15, 2021 (Plain Text)

 Boomerangs More Versatile Than Previously Thought

Australian archaeologists have found that boomerangs were more than hunting tools.

We typically think of boomerangs as little more than toys. This is exactly what the returning kind of boomerang we are most familiar with is supposed to be. Actually though, the boomerangs used as hunting or fighting weapons did not return and were extremely effective for their purpose.

Archaeologists have recently found evidence that these tools were also used in another way.

Like we might sharpen a metal knife, stone tools also lose their edge with use and need reworking (or retouching) to make them sharp. We have known for some time that other cultures often used bone or antler for this purpose and we can see that by analyzing marks left on the reworking tool. Now, however, archaeologists have found signs that Australia’s indigenous people used hardwood boomerangs as tools for retouching these stone edges as well.

After analyzing 100 ancient boomerangs, archaeologists found that 26 of them had been used for retouching stone tools.

This, along with much of archaeology speaks to the remarkable adaptability and creativity of people throughout history.

http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/australian-boomerang-retouchers-09551.html

Garden Archaeology: The Secrets Ancient Gardens Keep

Wilhemina Jashenski working at 
Pompeii (photo courtesy of of the 
Archaeological Institute of 
America).

It has been brought to our attention that April is National Garden Month. Not only that, but our North Central office is located at beautiful Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park. So we thought it was an appropriate time to discuss garden archaeology. Yes, that is indeed a thing (and the green thumbed archaeologists are quite excited about this)! Wilhemina Jashenski pioneered the archaeological study of past gardens in the 1950s during her excavations at Pompeii. She was the first non-Italian to work at Pompeii. It was a unique opportunity because frescos were preserved in some of the buildings that depicted  the ornate gardens of the time. Jashenski made castings of ancient plant roots at the site using a method usually used to cast human remains. These casts help her to identify the plants that were being grown at Pompeii.

Gardens have long been a part of culture and daily life for many different societies. So much so that they are often the setting of  significant stories or the stuff of legend, such as the Garden of Eden or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the Seven Wonders of the World). Throughout human history gardens have served numerous purposes. Some were simply ornamental and used by the elite as a show of status and a place to enjoy the simple pleasures that nature had to offer. Other gardens were culinary or medicinal, or used to grow plants for commerce or trade. Some may contain exotic plants not naturally found in an area, giving archaeologists and historians a glimpse into possible trade routes and

Joya de Cerén, located in El Salvador, known as
the Pompeii of the Americas (photo courtesy
of UNESCO).

patterns. As technology has improved, archaeologists have been able to not only tell the location of past gardens, but also what plants they contained and what those plants were used for. Again, plants provide archaeologists with a unique insight into the past. And when you consider all the uses for plants, this insight is very valuable. 

One very interesting instance of garden archaeology is  at the Mayan site, Joya de Cerén, often referred to as the Pompeii of the Americas because it was preserved under a layer of volcanic ash. Here archaeologists uncovered a 70 acre garden that included the preserved remains of agave that was used to make rope and twine, and cane that was used for wattle and daub construction. Also discovered was the earliest instance of manioc cultivation in the New World! This site is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is a major tourist attraction in El Salvador. Without these well preserved plant remains we would not have as detailed an understanding of Mayan agriculture. Plaster casts were also used at this site, similar to the way Jashenski used them at Pompeii. The site also contained preserved gardening tools, sleeping mats made from plant matter, and pots filled with beans!

Funerary Garden in Egypt, note the tamarisk 
shrub remains in the upper left corner (photo
courtesy of Smithsonian Magazine).

Another fascinating garden archaeology find were the Egyptian funeral gardens found in Luxor. They were presumed to have existed based on Egyptian literature and art, but it wasn't until recently that archaeological evidence was discovered. The remains of these gardens were buried under more than 15 feet of debris and are about 4,000 years old! The 10 by 6.5 feet raised garden bed was divided into squares.  Archaeological evidence, along with ancient writings and art, show that it would have contained fruit and vegetable plants, as well as flowering plants. It was intended as an offering to the dead.  Dates and other fruits were found in containers at the site and are presumed to be  offerings as well. This garden was located at the entrance of a burial tomb and the plants in the garden would have played a role in funeral rites and ceremonies. In one corner of the garden, archaeologists found a tamarisk shrub that stood upright, its roots and trunk still attached. Not only do sites such as this provide us with a very interesting peek at Egyptian funerary traditions, but they also provide scientists with information about the environmental conditions of the time.

The Trowel Tribune - April 7, 2021

 Plain text version: https://fpannorthcentral.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-trowel-tribune-april-7-2021-plain.html

The Trowel Tribune - April 7, 2021 (Plain Text)

 Hal 9000 Analyzes 28,000 Year Old Rock Art

Archaeologists in Australia use machine learning to study ancient petroglyphs.

A new study tests the ability of AI machine learning to help analyze cave art in Australia. In particular, archaeologists are looking for new insights into how artistic styles changed with time.

By showing a computer program 1,000 images, researchers were able to teach it to recognize different images and, importantly, tell how similar they were to each other. This provides us with a mathematical model that shows the precise relationship between two images in a measurable way that removes at least some human biases.

Essentially, the model found that two types of figures we know are closely related in time are also closely related in style. The important thing here though is that this similarity is no longer, “These look similar to me” it is “The graph shows how similar they are.”

This does not mean that no bias is present in the results. Racial bias in facial recognition software has shown us that our own biases still find a way in. However, this is still a huge step forward for archaeological research.

Continued on page 23

Whatever Floats Your...Ancient Plant Remains: How Archaeologists Use Water to Help Sort Delicate Plant Remains

 This week we will look at how smaller plant material is recovered from an archaeological site, but first, it is important to understand that plant material is delicate and requires a specific set of environmental conditions for it to last in the soil. In most instances, an anaerobic environment will provide the best preservation. This is an environment that is lacking oxygen, and therefore lacks bacteria. Just like you and I, microscopic bacteria require oxygen, so there are less of them in an anaerobic environment. Without these little critters present, delicate plant matter isn't eaten away over time.

One of the most common plant remains found at sites is wood charcoal. Early people relied heavily on fire, and charcoal can be an important source of information. In fact, it is commonly thought that the lack of charcoal at a site is indicative of poor preservation, not the lack of fire during the site's occupation. Often larger pieces of charcoal are recovered during dry screening, which is the most common way to separate artifacts from soil. But how do archaeologists recover those little delicate bits that would slip through a dry screen? This depends on a variety of factors, from the type of plant remains found at the site, the research question, time constraints, budget constraints, and more.  But one of the most common ways to recover small bits of charcoal and other plant material (like seeds, or fruit pits) is using a process called floatation.

                                              Video of how floatation works (courtesy of 

                                                                  Science Friday) 

Floatation is using water to separate lightweight plant material from the soil through agitation, which allows the lightweight plant material to float to the surface. It is an efficient process that allows for rapid processing of a large quantity of material. There are a variety of types of floatation set ups, from DIY to commercially made machines. Again, the type used depends on a variety of factors and constraints. Floatation was first used in 1905 by German botanist , Ludwig Wittmack, to recover plant remains from adobe brick. But it was popularized in the 1960s after appearing in an archaeological publication written by Stuart Struever. Since then, floatation has become a staple for recovering delicate plant remains. It isn't perfect however, samples from very dry and arid climates sometime dissolve, but overall, it has helped archaeologists recover material that would otherwise remain a mystery, and thus has helped archaeologists piece together a more holistic view of the past.

Spring Has Sprung! What Plants Can Tell Us About the Past

 When you think of archaeology, plants may not be the most immediate thing that comes to mind, but occasionally, under the right conditions, plant remains are found at archaeological sites. Archaeology is full of sub-disciplines, which makes sense when you think about it. There is so much to learn about the past that no one archaeologist can possibly learn about or know it all. One of those sub-disciplines is archaeobotany.

 Archaeologists that study archaeobotany are interested in learning more about how people of the past interacted with plants. Think about what a huge role plants have in our modern life. The same, or similar, was true in the past as well. People ate plants, grew plants, use plant material to construct shelters and tools, and lived among various plants growing wild. Plant remains can also tell us about past environments, thus providing clues to what life was like for people in the past. 

Plant remains from the Lake Monroe Outlet Midden
(photo courtesy of the Florida Museum of  Natural 
History, University of Florida)

Plant remains are organic, fragile, and usually (but not always) small. They don't always preserve well at archaeological sites. It takes special environmental conditions for them to preserve and archaeologists have to take special care to recover these fragile remains on the occasions they are found at an archaeological site. Most of the time archaeologists only find a small sampling of the remains of the past. They only find the things that preserve well, such as stone and ceramics. But as we know, people are much more complex, and finding plant remains is a treat for archaeologists and a chance to gain a more thorough understanding of our past! Sometimes plant remains are small, like pollen (can you imagine!?), and other times they are large, like a dugout canoe. No matter their size, plant remains provide unique opportunities for archaeologists. 

Take a moment to look around you and make note of all the objects made from plants. Then think about how many of those objects would still be around 500 to 1,000 years from now. Probably not many. Now imagine someone in the future trying to piece together your daily life without having all those plant-based objects available to study. They probably would only be able to learn a fraction of what your daily life was like. That is why archaeobotany is so valuable to the study of the past. So this month, as plants are blooming and it is starting to feel like spring, we want to take a moment to talk about plants in an archaeological context. We hope you will join us on this journey. From learning how archaeologists recover plant remains to what they can tell us, it is sure to be enlightening!

The Trowel Tribune - April 1, 2021

Plain text version: https://fpannorthcentral.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-trowel-tribune-april-1-2021-plain.html

The Trowel Tribune - April 1, 2021 (Plain Text)

Melting Glaciers Present Opportunity and Devastation

Artifacts melting from mountain snow tell new stories, but do not last long.

In the high-altitude places of Alaskan mountains and around the world, archaeologists are scrambling to recover and learn what they can from artifacts revealed in melting snow.

These remains have been trapped in glaciers for thousands of years and are very exciting because the preservation in such conditions can be fantastic. Artifacts made from materials that rarely last long enough for archaeologists to see them, such as an antler point (right), wood, and animal and human remains are being revealed for the first time.

Unfortunately, these materials are in equilibrium in the ice and once removed by rising temperatures break down at an alarming pace. Combined with the remote location, difficult access, and a very limited number of archaeologists many of these clues to the ancient past will disappear before they can be studied.

Still though, what we learn from what we can recover is exciting. For example, we rarely get to see tools people used for hafting points into spear or arrow shafts.

Continued on page 17

The Trowel Tribune - March 25, 2021

Plain text version: https://fpannorthcentral.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-trowel-tribune-march-25-2021-plain.html

The Trowel Tribune - March 25, 2021 (Plain Text)

 The Trowel Tribune

Archaeology never stops happening!