Newark Earthworks Center's Blog: The Smith Creek Archaeological Project, Penn Museum

Tom Stanly and Alexandria Mitchem, of the Penn Museum Blog, have written a series of interesting posts about the Penn Museum's 2015 archaeological excavations at the Smith Creek Site

along the eastern banks of the Mississippi River.

The Smith Creek Site, including three earthen mounds, flourished from 700 to 1200 CE, and the continuing excavations hope to knowledge of site use patterns (what kinds of activities were done at the site and where in the site these activities were primarily located).

The site is now on private property, and as such has not been examined in detail; unlike Cahokia, another Mississippian mound site which is a state historic site and under UNESCO World Heritage protection.

Into the Field: The Smith Creek Archaeological Project

May, 13, 2015.

" The main goals of the project will be to survey the landscape to gain a broad view of the site overall and determine just how much of the site was modified by its ancient designers; and to excavate at various points across the site with the intention of uncovering artifacts like ceramics, lithics, and plant and animal remains that may represent evidence of ancient food consumption, and unique features that can speak to a very big, underlying question: why was this mound center created in the first place?"

-Tom Stanly, Penn Museum Blog.

To read the full post, click here.

Why Would We Dig Here?

May, 20, 2015.

" The pattern that these sites follow, called the Coles Creek pattern, stands in contrast to some other, later and better-known mound sites in the Americas, such as Cahokia where a chief lived on top of the biggest mound and looked down on the people over whom he held power. At Coles Creek sites, there is little evidence that any one person held political rule over any other portion of the population."

-Tom Stanly, Penn Museum Blog.

To read the full post, click here.

The Unusual Legacy of J. Ashley Sibley

May, 28, 2015.

"When speaking to tribes about conducting archaeological work on prehistoric Native sites, Meg says that the main concern is often over ancient burials. Tribes don’t want Native remains dug out of the ground, especially when there’s no pressing research question that will be answered by doing so. So this year’s excavations are being conducted in areas of the site where there is no evidence for the presence of human remains."

-Tom Stanly, Penn Museum Blog.

To read the full post, click here.

Let's Meet the Team

June, 4, 2015.

"Excavation is underway at Smith Creek, and we have a stellar team of students, both graduate and undergraduate, working hard in the field to make this year’s field season a successful one. They each bring their own interests, strengths, and levels of expertise to the project. Here’s a brief introduction for each of our intrepid excavators."

-Tom Stanly, Penn Museum Blog.

To read the full post, click here.

Digging In

June, 5, 2015.

"Besides taking color measurements, the team also measured the lay of the land and mapped in important cultural features using a total station – the same kind you see being used in construction projects. These highly accurate measurements indicate exactly where a point is in space (both east-west and north-south, as well as elevation above sea level) and will allow Meg to enter her data into various software programs and create detailed maps of the excavation features and site topography."

-Tom Stanly, Penn Museum Blog.

To read the full post, click here.

Notes from Mississippi- Alexandria Mitchem

June, 9, 2015.

"So now I, and some of my fellow classmates, get to carry on that work. Let me tell you, it is not easy. It’s pretty much impossible to look cool while being an archaeologist. Basically the only thing Indiana Jones got right was that hat, because believe me, the only thing worse than digging in the sweltering Mississippi heat would be digging here with a sunburn."

-Alexandria Mitchem, Penn Museum Blog.

To read the full post, click here.

What are we finding?

June, 11, 2015.

"The layers are identified sequentially as our excavators dig deeper into the ground, and the soil from each layer is run through screens of various measurements, depending on the layer. The idea is that you push the dirt through the screen, causing all the soil to loosen up and fall through; anything harder than soil and larger than the holes in the screen stays on top, leaving us with a collection of small objects like pottery sherds, animal bones, and rocks. At Smith Creek, even the rocks are significant, because the site lies on a bluff made completely of windblown silt—meaning that even small pebbles had to have been purposefully carried there at some point."

-Tom Stanly, Penn Museum Blog.

To read the full post, click here.

Shades of the Soil: Searching for Archaeological Features

June, 17, 2015.

"Typically, features are elements that are not easily removed from their context (as opposed to a potsherd or animal bone that can be dug out and picked up by hand). More specifically, they appear to us as differences in soil, identifiable largely due to their contrast with the color or texture of the soil surrounding them."

-Tom Stanly, Penn Museum Blog.

To read the full post, click here.

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