2008 Wright State University Field School At Fort Ancient

The following information on the Wright State University Field school is listed on http://www.shovelbums.org/. For those of you who have not heard of the site I encourage you to check it out. The founder, R. Joe Brandon, lists a variety of cultural resource management archaeology jobs, Field Schools, gifts and many other things pertaining to archaeology.

Now on to the information for this years field school at Ft Ancient!

Application Deadline: June 2006
Start Date: 06/13/2006
End Date: 08/08/2006

Project Director
Robert V. Riordan, RPA
Professor and Chair, Sociology & Anthropology
Wright State University
Dayton, OH

Field School Description
The Wright State Field School includes an orientation session (3 days), a site location survey component lasting 5-6 days, and an excavation phase that will run from June 26-August 7. This year’s excavation will take place at Fort Ancient, the largest Hopewellian hilltop enclosure, located in Warren County, Ohio. Last summer remote sensing discovered a large (c. 70m+ diameter) circular feature inside the North Fort, and what may be house floors within and adjacent to it. Our work will test these features, in order to discover what they are and how they may functionally and chronologically relate to other parts of the enclosure. If enrollment and time permit, we may also do limited work at the Pollock Works hilltop enclosure in Greene County, OH, where this field school has been conducting investigations for many years. Elements of a burned timber stockade located beneath an embankment were being exposed at the end of the 2005 field school, and this may be completed this year.

Field school web site: http://www.wright.edu/

Field School Size: 1-15
Minimum age: 16
Is prior experience required?: No
Specialized skills you will have the opportunity to learn
Manual Mapping/drawing (plan views, profiles)
Manual Transit
Traditional Photography
Digital Photography
Excavation Survey Techniques
Interpreting stratigraphy
Lab work
Artifact analysis
Lab work on rain days
Is travel during free time restricted?: No

Academic, Credit Room and Board, & Tuition
Academic Credit: 12 hours (quarter system)
Tuition: Undergrad instate $2288 nonresident $4413; grad instate $3057
Institution offering credit: Wright State University
Room and Board Information:
Optional housing for students near the Fort Ancient site is being arranged by the Ohio Historical Society, which manages the site. Contact the Director for details. Students may also commute from their homes if they feel the commute is feasible for them.
Room and board cost: TBA

Recommended Readings:
Connolly, R.P. and Lepper, B.T. The Fort Ancient Earthworks 2004
Riordan, R.V. Boundaries, Resistance, and Control: Enclosing the Hilltiops in Middle Woodland Ohio Ancient Earthen Enclosures of the Eastern Woodlands pp. 68-84 1998
Additional readings: A reading list will be sent to applicants.

Archaeology field school contact
Dr. Robert V. Riordan
Dept. Sociology & Anthropology
Wright State University
Dayton, Ohio 45435
USA
Telephone: 937-775-2667
Fax: 937-775-4228
E-mail: [email protected]