KENNEWICK MAN ON TRIAL

Coming to SunWatch Indian Village in Dayton

25 April - 21 June 2009

Explore the important legal, ethical, and scientific issues raised by the discovery of the archaeological remains known as Kennewick Man -- unearthed in July 1996 ten feet from the shore of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington.

This exhibition, created by the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington, presents a variety of points-of-view on issues under debate, including federal law and Native American human remains, how people first came to the Americas, and changing ideas about race. Frequently asked questions are addressed and visitors are referred to sources for additional information.

For more information about Kennewick Man and the exhibition coming to SunWatch, check out the following links:

Burke Museum's "Kennewick Man on Trial" website:

http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/booknow/traveling_kman.php

NATIVE AMERICAN ASTRONOMY CONFERENCE

National Center for Great Lakes Native American Culture
2009 Academic Conference
Native American Astronomy

18 April 2009

John Jay Center for Learning
101 South Meridian Street
Portland, Indiana 47371

Presentations include:

Ray Hively "Astronomy and geometry associated with the Newark Earthworks"

Steffan Peterson, "Cosmic events and Mississippian placemaking – observations from the Ohio River Valley"

Matthew Coon, "Investigating astronomical alignments at Pretty Prairie Mounds, a Middle Woodland mound group in northwestern Indiana"

William Romain
"LIDAR assessment of the Ohio Hopwell Earthworks"

James Brown
"Heavenly bodies in eastern Woodland cosmologies"

Wade Allen
"Archaeoastronomy of SunWatch Indian Village in Ohio"

The conference is open to the public. Registration fee includes lunch.

For more information go to the NCGLNAC calendar of events at http://www.ncglnac.com/frameset.html

Archaeology of Prehistoric Native Americans in the Western Lake Erie Region

The Archaeology of Prehistoric Native Americans in the Western Lake Erie Region
Conference

Saturday March 28, 2009
9:00 am to 6:00 pm
University of Toledo
Field House, Room 2100

Sponsored by the University of Toledo Anthropological Society and the UT Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Purpose of the Conference:

This archaeological Conference is an opportunity for the public and amateur and professional archaeologists to become familiar with prehistoric and historic events in the Western Lake Erie Region. The six presentations of amateur and professional archaeologists from Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Ontario provide a broad range of topics that will educate anyone who is involved due to the breadth of geographical representation. The purpose is to bring more light to bear on the Native American cultures of the Western Lake Erie Region during the time period from 1000 B.C. to 1800 A.D.

Speakers:

Dr. Scott Martin, McMasters University
"The Initial Appearance of Maize in Southern Ontario"

Dr. Robert McCullough, IPFW University
"Late Prehistoric Enclosures and Western Basin Transformation in Northeastern Indiana"

Dr. Jarrod Burks, Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc.
"Geophysical Survey in Ohio Archaeology: Why Everybody Should Be Doing It"

Patrick Tucker, MA. Anthropology UT and Dr. David Stothers, Professor, University of Toledo
"Historical and Archaeological Investigations at the Stryesynski site (33WO50) During the British and Indian Invasion of Port Miami in 1812"

Donald Simons, Avocational Archaeologist, MAS
"Lithic Types at Late Archaic and Early Woodland Sites in the Saginaw Valley"

Dr. Brian Redmond, Curator of Archaeology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
"Prehistoric Fishers and Farmers on Sandusky Bay: the Archaeology of the Danbury Site"

Hotel Accommodations:

For Friday night March 27th, Price $59.00 plus 16 % tax for double with Queen beds. Top of the line Hotel. Must register by March 14th.
Mention University of Toledo Archaeology Conference.
Phone 419 535-7070 or clariontoledo.com

THE POWER OF THE PAST

The power of the past to inspire and enlighten is evident in the extreme efforts the Iraqi government has made to reopen their National Museum this week. Many parts of Baghdad still are without reliable electricity or even a working sewer, yet tremendous efforts have been made to reopen the museum so that Iraq's national treasures (those that have not been looted) can be shared with the people of Iraq and with the world. Check out this article from the New York Times for more details:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/world/middleeast/24museum.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

This should put into perspective the Ohio Historic Preservation Office's efforts to have historic preservation projects considered for the federal stimulus funding that is coming to Ohio: http://www.ohiohistory.org/about/pr/021709a.html

Some people might regard using a little of the stimulus money for restoring historic buildings and monuments or for conducting a geophysical survey of the Newark Earthworks as frivolous, but investing in our heritage is vital to our sense of identity and our understanding of who we are and where we've come from. History teaches us that our ancestors survived a Civil War and a Great Depression. Archaeology teaches us that ancient Ohioans survived episodes of global climate change and catastrophic droughts. Each generation has faced and overcome formidable challenges. If they could do it, then there is hope that we can overcome the great challenges we now face.

There are other reasons for supporting the plan to invest in Ohio's past.

The Newark Earthworks, along with Fort Ancient, Serpent Mound, and Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, soon are to be nominated to UNESCO's World Heritage List: http://www.ohiohistory.org/sn/103107.html. Within the next few years, Ohio is likely to become a tourist destination for the world! Supporting projects that will enhance the experience of visitors to these places makes good economic sense. People coming from the other side of the planet to visit the earthworks might well be interested in seeing other points of interest while they're here. (I know from long experience, for example, that many of the folks that come to the Newark Earthworks also want to go see the Longaberger Company's home office: http://www.longaberger.com/homeOffice.aspx.) If visitors stay in local hotels for a week instead of a couple of days, that translates into a significant boost for local economies.

Support the investment in Ohio's heritage!

"WONDERFUL THINGS!"

Most archaeologists, no matter where in the world they work, secretly envy our colleagues who get to work in Egypt. Howard Carter's discovery of the unplundered tomb of Tutankhamun is the ultimate 'Wow!' moment in archaeology and Carter's breathless reply to Lord Carnarvon's frantic question "What do you see?!" echoes in the dreams of anyone who has ever participated in an archaeological dig.

Personally, I've never had the opportunity to visit Egypt, let alone get to work there. So it's exciting to see ancient Egypt coming to Columbus!

"To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum" is at the Columbus Museum of Art until June 7th, while "Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science" is going to be at COSI from May 30th to September 7th.

For more details about the wonderful things you will get to see at these exhibitions, check out the Egypt in Columbus website: http://www.egyptincolumbus.com/

Nautical Archaeology Workshop April 2009

The Great Lakes Historical Society's Peachman Lake Erie Shipwreck Research Center (GLHS/PLESRC) and the Maritime Archaeological Survey Team (MAST) will be conducting their annual Nautical Archaeology Workshop April 18-19, 2009 with skills practice dives scheduled for May 16 or 17, 2009.

The workshop teaches divers why underwater archaeology is important, how they can impact and protect Ohio's wrecks, techniques they will use during shipwreck surveys and much, much more. For a good idea of what the weekend will be like you can visit http://ohio-archaeology.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html .

In conjunction with the workshop, MAST will hold their annual dinner on the evening of April 18 at the Vermilion on the Lake Historic Community Center. This years Keynote Speaker is
Ben Ford, Ph.D.Candidate at the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University. His topic will be Down By the Water’s Edge: The Maritime Archaeology and History of Lake Ontario’s Shore.

"Sailors are seldom born on the water and even ships begin their lives on land. Neither grain, coal, lumber, nor ore are produced on the Lakes. Yet all of these things spend at least part of their existence traveling the inland seas, and occasionally end their lives beneath these waters. Archaeology and history have done well in recent years to discuss shipwreck findings and to explore the land-based commercial systems that drove trade; however, the question remains, how did these people, goods, and ships transition from land to water and back again? Based on three years of research along the eastern shores of Lake Ontario, this talk will attempt to answer this question. In the process, we will explore the social history of Lake Ontario from the Iroquois to Rum Runners. "

Both events are open to the diving and non-diving public. For more information on the workshop and dinner you can go to http://www.ohiomast.org/Webpages/PDF_Flyers/2009NAW.pdf

The Ft Meigs Military Rountable reconvenes for 2009

The Ft. Meigs Military Roundtable will reconvene again this winter with a mostly new slate of presenters and topics that include everything from the French and Indian War to the life of William Henry Harrison to General Robert E. Lee’s surprising views on the enlistment of slaves to fight on behalf of the Confederacy (see list below). The Ft Meigs Military Roundtable is held at the Ft Meigs Visitors Center, 29100 W. River Rd. Perrysburg, OH 43552. For further information contact the visitor’s center at (419) 874-4121 or (800) 283-8916. The Lecture Series is free and open to the public. Programs begin at 7:30.


FORT MEIGS MILITARY HISTORY ROUNDTABLE
2009 BENTLEY LECTURE SERIES

January 15 - Dr. Eugene Watkins, Site Manager, Old Fort Madison:
War of 1812 - Fort Madison in the War of 1812.

February 12 - Dr. Larry Nelson, Professor, Bowling Green State University:
War of 1812- The Building of Fort Meigs

NOTE: THE FEBRUARY MEETING IS ONE
WEEK EARLIER THAN OUR NORMAL MEETING DATE

March 19 - D. Frank Melhorn:
War of 1812 - The War of 1812: The War We Almost Lost

April 16 - Matt Wulff:
French and Indian War - Ranger: North American Frontier Soldier

May 21 - Dr. David Skaggs, Prof. Em., Bowling Green State University:
War of 1812 - General William Henry Harrison

June, July, August - SUMMER VACATION - No meeting these months.

September 17 - Dr. Leonne M. Hudson, Professor, Kent State University:
Civil War - Robert E. Lee's Support of Slave Enlistments in the Confederate Army

October 15 - Mark Holbrook, Historian and author:
Civil War - The Buckeye Vanguard: The 49th Ohio Volunteer Infantry

November 19 - To Be Determined

December - No meeting this month. Happy Holidays!

NATIONAL PARKS SECOND CENTURY COMMISSION

The National Parks Conservation Association has convened a National Parks Second Century Commission to examine the role of the national parks today and articulate a bold vision of a future where national parks continue to enrich and ennoble this nation and its citizens.

I urge you to visit the Commission's website, www.visionfortheparks.org where you will find more information. If you have concerns about the National Park Service's role in education, science, cultural resource management and historic preservation and would like to contribute to the process of shaping the future of America's National Parks, then send your comments to the Commission. You might even think about attending one of the public meetings. Also, be sure to pass the word along to friends that might be interested in contributing their ideas.

HAPPY DARWIN DAY!

Charles Darwin's contributions to our understanding of where we've come from stand unmatched for their precocious insight and explanatory power. Yet he was not overly sanguine about the ability of archaeology to shed light on the human past – at least not in February of 1862, when he responded to a letter from Charles Kingsley with the following statement:

"It is indeed, as you say absurd to expect a history of the early stages of man in prehistoric times."

In fact, Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes in France, Ephraim Squier in the United States, Daniel Wilson in Canada, John Lubbock in England, and many others already were cobbling together the science of archeology, which has allowed us to write a remarkable "history of prehistoric times" admirably summarized in recent books such as World Prehistory: a brief introduction by Brian Fagan and The Human Past: World Prehistory and the development of human societies, (a not-so-brief introduction) edited by Christopher Scarre. But in 1862, who knew what a powerful tool archaeology was to become for uncovering the secrets of our past?

In fairness to Darwin, when Lubbock's book on Prehistoric Times, was published in 1865, he read it with much enjoyment and wrote to Lubbock that it was "an admirable and profound discussion." Actually, that's another wonderfully charming characteristic of Darwin. He could admit his mistakes cheerfully. In a letter to Charles Lyell, he referred to his ideas on the formation of the terraces of Glen Roy in Scotland. (Darwin had thought they were marine terraces formed by the rising and falling of sea levels, but was persuaded by the work of the young geologist Thomas Jamieson that the terraces were formed by glacial action.) Darwin wrote that Jamieson "has removed all my difficulties & that now & for ever more I give up & abominate Glen Roy & all its belongings… I entirely yield. I believe every word in my Glen Roy paper is false." What a wonderful model of grace and humility for every scientist to follow! This is how science is supposed to work. In practice, however, it seems that few of us have the strength of character to admit when we're wrong. Still, it's more common among men and women of science than in almost any other field of human endeavor.

There's no better way to celebrate Darwin Day than by perusing the correspondence of Darwin. There are many delightful gems like the ones I've quoted in this brief note. Thanks to the Darwin Correspondence Project [http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/], you can do a lot of perusing from your computer.