Today we’d like to introduce to you to two new members of the Collection Management department, Stephen Biehl and Stephanie Kline. They will be documenting Ohio History Connection archaeology collections from Hopewell culture cermemonial sites which are on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage consideration; Newark Earthworks, Fort Ancient and five other sites within the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park system. We’re thrilled to have them as join us as Ohio History Connection team members!
Stephen Biehl was born and raised in Central Ohio and attended The Ohio State University where he earned his BA in Anthropology in 1995. He has worked as a professional archaeologist since graduation, including nearly 20 years in Cultural Resource Management (CRM). Prior to coming to the Ohio History Connection (OHC), he served as a senior project archaeologist, laboratory supervisor, artifact analyst (prehistoric and historic-era), and curation manager for Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc. in Columbus, Ohio.
He has authored or co-authored over 500 cultural resource reports, where he has acted either as the project manager and/or field director/supervisor. This work includes small scale (<1 acres) to large scale (>1,700 acres) Phase I, II, and III projects throughout Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. He developed and refined a categorical analysis system for both prehistoric and historic-era artifacts, with a refined expertise for nineteenth and early twentieth century ceramics and glass bottles, including the manufacturing techniques and production dates. Stephen also worked very closely with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) personnel doing Online Portal beta testing and has completed over 1,000 Ohio Archaeological Inventory and Ohio Historic Inventory site forms. In 2016, he was part of the co-recipient team (Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc.) that was awarded the Public Education and Awareness Award by the State Historic Preservation Office for work done at the Highland County Gist Settlement site.
Stephen’s archaeological interests include the study of land-use patterns during the Late Archaic and Early Woodland periods in Ohio, including Early Woodland mortuary practices along the Big Darby Creek, and the evolution of early nineteenth through mid-twentieth century farmsteads across Ohio’s landscape. He has contributed hundreds of volunteer hours with local school groups and routinely gives presentations on archaeology to local school districts, with a hands-on-approach that allows students to view and handle actual artifacts from archaeological sites. Stephen works with local amateur archaeologists to document archaeological sites that are found in the Union County area. He is also an active member of the Ohio Archaeological Council (OAC) and the Midwest Archaeological Conference (MAC).
Stephanie Kline graduated from the Ohio State University in 2011 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology. At the time, her studies focused on cultural Anthropology and language. After spending some time working in and around archaeological sites in the Sonoran desert while volunteering for AmeriCorps, she was inspired to continue her education in archaeology. She took archaeology lab courses at Hocking College and attended the Holder-Wright field school in Dublin, Ohio through Ohio State. She has spent time as a volunteer with the State Historic Preservation Office, Hocking College, Ohio State, and as an intern with the Archaeology Department at the Ohio History Connection. The majority of her volunteer experience was in the lab with a primary focus on faunal analysis, though she also worked on lithic assemblages and artifact cataloging and preservation.
Since completing her field school, Stephanie has been working in Cultural Resource Management in and around Ohio as a field technician and more recently as the lab manager for ASC Group, Inc. While managing the lab she has completed artifact analysis on a variety of projects ranging from small lithic scatters to large multicomponent prehistoric sites, historic farmsteads, and urban sites. She has presented two posters on Frontier-era forts and a paper on faunal analysis at Civil War camps and prisons at the annual Ohio Valley Urban and Historic Archaeology Symposium.
Look for future blogs posts from them as they find interesting items during their cataloging journey!
You can help too!
The Ohio History Connection is “working to list Ohio’s ancient eartworks alongside other World Heritage sites like the Acropolis, the Great Pyramids, Stonehenge and the Statue of Liberty”. If you would like to be part of the journey, donate here.
