Indiana Archaeology Month - September will find us celebrating archaeology in our state once again. The Archaeology Team has been working on preparations, and we have already received our first event listing for Archaeology Month. If your organization will be hosting an archaeology event in September, please complete and return the event host form to our office so that your event will be included in the official calendar.
SHAARD Tip - When searching for cemeteries in SHAARD, there might be cemeteries with “exact location unknown” in the address line (and therefore is not mapped on the IHBBC map), and yet we still have photographs of the stones. How can this be? How can someone make a visit to the cemetery but we not know where it is located? Oftentimes, volunteers and descendants of those buried in the cemeteries send us photographs. They may offer information about the cemetery and about their time visiting the graves, but they cannot provide us a location. Their directions are vague and therefore not able to direct someone to the site. In these cases, we place the cemetery in an “exact location unknown” category. When we give a cemetery location it is meant to help prevent damage to the graves and stones from construction, agriculture, and other human activities. By not stating “here is the cemetery” it forces individuals to search the area and be certain they are not damaging the graves. Then, hopefully when they find the stones, they send us more detailed locational information, and the DHPA can finally map the cemetery.
Archaeology Site of the Month - In honor of the 25th anniversary of a statewide celebration of Indiana archaeology, we are highlighting the 25th recorded archaeological site for each of the 92 counties! Archaeological sites are each given a unique, sequential identification number as they are recorded. This helps archaeologists keep track of the artifacts that come from the site, and differentiates it from other sites in the area. The numbering system tells archaeologists what state and county a site comes from, and what the specific number in that county belongs to the site. For example, Angel Mounds is archaeological site 12-Vg-1, meaning it is from Vanderburgh County (Vg), Indiana (12), and is the first documented site in that county (1). In this newsletter, we are continuing our alphabetical march through the counties and highlighting the 25th site from Spencer through Switzerland County.
Spencer County 12-Sp-25: Projectile points, lithic debris, and cores were reported as being discovered at this Spencer County site in 1951.
St. Joseph County 12-Sj-25: This site was reported to archaeologists in the 1970s. The small scatter of lithic artifacts included utilized flakes, endscrapers, point fragments, and a complete side-notched projectile point. University of Notre Dame archaeologists revisited the site in the 1990s and noted only scattered lithic flakes.
Starke County 12-St-25: This Starke County site is a possible village that produced several pieces of daub, cord-marked pottery, a stemmed projectile point, and lithic debris.
Steuben County 12-Sn-25: Now retired DHPA archaeologist William Mangold surveyed this site between 1970 and 1973. He collected lithic debitage and bifaces and fire cracked rock from the site, which is thought to date to the Archaic period.
Sullivan County 12-Su-25: This site, recorded in 1973, yielded a small amount of lithic material.
Switzerland County 12-Sw-25: A survey of this site in the 1970s produced a large amount of both historic and precontact material. The historic material consisted of glass, porcelain, brick, and a clay pipe fragment. In addition to a large amount of lithic debris, the precontact materials at the site included cord-marked pottery sherds, a lithic knife, and a number of projectile points, some of which were triangular.
Summer Intern - The Archaeology Team would like to welcome Maddy Hull as our summer intern. Maddy is from Indiana and will be joining us from Dickinson University in Pennsylvania. She is majoring in Archaeology and Spanish and will primarily be shadowing Research Archaeologist Rachel Sharkey and helping with GIS mapping, fieldwork, and other DHPA projects.
Henry, Professional Archaeologist - Supporting your local and county historical societies is important! Dr. Henry, Professional Archaeologist recently got to visit the Hancock County Historical Society in Greenfield, IN. He posed outside the Old Log Jail Museum and the Chapel in the Park Museum. Inside the Chapel, there are archaeological artifacts and many other items on display which illustrate the rich history of the county. Check out the 2007 archaeology report resulting from a Ball State University survey of Hancock County which was funded in part by Historic Preservation Fund monies administered by the DHPA. #drhenrydhpa
Outreach -
*HUD Training- On May 25, the DHPA’s Danielle Kauffmann, Ashley Thomas, and Rachel Sharkey participated in a virtual training session hosted by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The goal of the training was to help HUD clients better understand the Section 106 process and Indiana-specific procedures as they relate to HUD-funded projects.
This information is distributed via email by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA). This is meant to provide information on current archaeological topics and issues in which the DHPA is involved. An archive of past Archaeology News issues is available. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact our office at 317-232-1646.
Mission Statement: The Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology promotes the conservation of Indiana’s cultural resources through public education efforts, financial incentives including several grant and tax credit programs, and the administration of state and federally mandated legislation.
Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, 402 W. Washington St., Room W274, Indianapolis, IN 46204. www.IN.gov/dnr/historic, www.facebook.com/INdhpa
Indiana Archaeology Month (September) webpage - http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/3674.htm
#INArchaeoMonth
Find the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology on Facebook.
Compiled by Amy Johnson, State Archaeologist, Archaeology Outreach Coordinator, and Team Leader for Archaeology (June 2021). Text also provided by Rachel Sharkey, and Jeannie Regan-Dinius. #ArchaeoNewsIN
