March is Arkansas Archeology Month!
Volume 7, Issue 2 March, 2012
March 13th: Excavations at Dooley’s Ferry— An Important Crossing on the Red River
The March meeting will be the second Tuesday in March (which is Arkansas Archeology Month…see article on Page 2) and our program will be given by our own AAS‐SAU Research Assistant Carl Carlson‐Drexler. Carl will talk to us about work at Dooley’s Ferry—a multicomponent site (Caddo and historic, 1820s to 1930s) in southern Hempstead County.
During SAU’s Spring Break (March 17‐23, 2012), the Kadohadacho Chapter of the AAS will be returning to the site of Dooley’s Ferry (3HE14) on the Red River south of Historic Washington State Park to conduct a “spring break dig”. This ferry was an important crossing on the Red River from the 1820s through the 1930s and was an important feature of the militarized landscape of the Trans‐Mississippi Theater of the Civil War. Archeological excavations here offer a unique opportunity to study the flow of goods and people engaged in local, regional, and global markets into and out of what was a remote corner of the South in a time of great disruption to the patterns of everyday antebellum life.
Carl Carlson‐Drexler, will be leading excavations (along with Dr. Brandon). Carl has conducted fieldwork at the site on and off since 2008—including a couple weeks of work during the 2010 University of Arkansas
Archeological Field School.
Volunteers are welcome, but contact Carl Carlson‐Drexler in advance at 870‐235‐4230 or [email protected].
Carl is completing his Ph.D. at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, earned his MA at the University of Nebraska, and his BA from Grinnell College. He has been working in Arkansas since 2001 on domestic and military
sites, including the battlefield of Pea Ridge. He has worked as an archaeologist for the National Park Service, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and the United States Army. He has field experience in six states and two foreign countries. Major
research interests include conflict archaeology, spatial analysis, historical archaeology of the U.S. South and Midwest, Cuban archaeology, and terrestrial and aerial laser scanning (LiDAR), and the history and ethnography of sports in the United States, primarily baseball and hockey. His publications include articles in
the SAA Archaeological Record and Arkansas Historical Quarterly, and a book chapter on spatial analysis in conflict archaeology, in addition to a number of reports.
Come hear about these excavations at Dooley’s Ferry and how you can get involved in the Spring Break Dig—Tuesday, March 13th, 7:00pm in the Magnolia Room on the second floor of the Reynolds Center on the campus of Southern Arkansas University.
Kadohadacho Speakers, Spring 2012 April 10—Dr. Elizabeth Horton, AAS Toltec Station Archeologist will give a talk about how women used plants in Arkansas’ prehistoric past.
May 8—Dr. Jamie C. Brandon, AAS SAU Station Archeologist will give a talk about the upcoming dig at the 2012 AAS Summer Training excavation at Historic Washington State Park.
Our March speaker, Carl Carlson‐Drexler, setting up the TotalStation at Dooley’s Ferry (note Red Lake Mound in the background).
The cut ramp down to the old ferry crossing at Dooley’s Ferry. It is high and dry now as the Red River has moved farther south and west.
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March is Arkansas Archeology Month! Arkansas Archeology Month is an annual celebration
commemorating Arkansas’s cultural heritage as revealed through the archeology of both prehistoric and historic eras. Exhibits, lectures, demonstrations, tours, open houses, workshops, and other activities are scheduled throughout the state at museums, historic sites, state parks, libraries, and colleges. The event began as “Arkansas Archeology Week” in 1991 and was expanded to cover a month in 2002. It has been held in both the spring and the fall, but since 2003 Arkansas Archeology Month is held in March.
Arkansas Archeology Month will be celebrated in March 2012 with a variety of programs, exhibits, hands‐on activities, and tours at parks, museums, universities, libraries and elsewhere. This year's theme is "Archeology of Communities.” For more information and event listings go to: http://www.uark.edu/campus‐resources/archinfo/archmonth.html
Arkansas Archeology Month Events in Southwest Arkansas or Involving AAS‐SAU Staff 1) Dooley’s Ferry On site, SW Hempstead County; 870‐235‐4230 • Excavation: Archeology Excavations at Dooley’s Ferry March 17‐23; 9:00a‐4:00p. Archeologist Carl Carlson‐Drexler will be leading excavations at the site of Dooley’s Ferry, an important crossing on the Red River from the 1820s‐1930s. Volunteers welcome, but call 870‐235‐4230 in advance for details. 2) Historic Washington State Park Washington, AR; 870‐983‐2684 • Dinner & Presentation: Communities of the SW Region & Their Stories March 23, 6:00‐8:00p at 1914 Schoolhouse. Before dinner, Dr. Jamie Brandon, AAS‐SAU Archeologist, will lead a tour of the old business district of Washington. Later he will speak on the recent discoveries found there during the AASociety Summer Dig. Carl‐Carlson‐Drexler, AAS‐SAU Research Asst., will speak on the discoveries at Dooley’s Ferry
on the Red River in SW Hempstead County. Call for reservations. 3) Hobbs State Park 20201 HWY 12 E., Rogers, AR; 479‐789‐5006 • Tour: Archeology of Van Winkle’s Mill March 17, 2:00p Tour location at Van Winkle Hollow, 12 m east of Rogers on Hwy
12. Dr. Jamie Brandon, AAS‐SAU Archeologist, will discuss this Ozark sawmill community,
African‐American heritage in the Ozarks and regional sterotypes. 4) Southern Arkansas University Reynolds Center, Magnolia Rm., Magnolia, AR; 870‐235‐4229 • Slide‐Talk: The Archeology of Dooley’s Ferry Reynolds Center, Magnolia Room March 13, 7:00p Archeologist Carl Carlson‐Drexler will
talk about ongoing and upcoming archeological work at Dooley’s Ferry, an important historic crossing on the Red River in Hempstead County. Sponsored by the AAS Kadohadacho Chapter.
March 16‐17: Caddo Conference
The 2012 Caddo Conference is to be held at Northwestern State University of Louisiana in Natchitoches, LA on March 16‐17, 2012.
The pre‐registration fee for the conference is $20. Please pre‐register by February 1, 2012. A book/display area will be set up in an adjoining room. There is no table fee, but since space is limited, let us know if you would like table space. During the conference there will be a silent auction to support the Caddo Conference and Caddo Nation participation in the conference. Please consider bringing an item to donate for the silent auction.
Questions can be directed to Jeff Girard or Pete Gregory, (318) 357‐5471 or 4364; [email protected] or [email protected]. The registration form can be downloaded here. Visit http://www.caddoconference.org/ for more information.
The 2012 Arkansas Archeology Month poster featuring AAS member David Mark Alvírez drawing profiles for the 1850s cistern that we uncovered during the 2011 AAS Summer Dig at Historic Washington State Park. It was taken by AAS member Dawn Novak. Get your own poster, and a brochure of events around the state, from the Jamie or Carl at the AAS‐SAU Research Station!
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March 5: Don Bragg to Give Talk to SAHF Dr. Don Bragg, member of the Tunica Chapter of the
Arkansas Archeological Society and often a volunteer on our projects over here in southwest Arkansas, will be giving a talk to the South Arkansas Historical Foundation next month…below are the details from the SAHF website:
http://soarkhistory.com/ March 5, 2012; 5:15pm at the Newton House Museum in El
Dorado, Arkansas. The speaker will be Don Bragg of the USDA Forest Service. Mr. Bragg will make a presentation about professional foresters and hostility to their profession in 1920's Arkansas. This lecture will be based on "Percy George and the Pine Tree Menace", an article he wrote for the winter 2010 edition of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly. Percy George was a newspaper editor and attorney from Hamburg, Arkansas. In 1928 Mr. George published and distributed a booklet entitled "The Pine Tree Menace". In this booklet he described his concerns about the possible usurpation of property rights by legislation championed by the timber industry.
SAHF hopes that you will join them for the free and open educational program. A brief question and answer period will follow the presentation.
Upcoming Conferences & Events • • March 2‐4, 2012—Arkansas Living History Association
Conference, Fayetteville, AR: http://www.arkansaslivinghistory.com
• April 12‐14, 2012—Arkansas Historical Association, Fayetteville, AR: http://www.arkansashistoricalassociation.org
• April 18‐22, 2012—Society for American Archaeology, Memphis, TN: http://www.saa.org
Contact Us: Dr. Jamie C. Brandon Research Station Archeologist Southern Arkansas University Research Station PO Box 9381 Magnolia, AR 71754 870‐235‐4229 [email protected] Carl G. Carlson‐Drexler, MA, ABD Research Assistant Southern Arkansas University Research Station PO Box 9381 Magnolia, AR 71754
870‐235‐4230 [email protected]
Board of Advisors: Mia Brewer, Ashdown, AR (2012) Peggy Lloyd, Washington, AR (2013) Bob Campbell, DeQueen, AR (2014)
http://www.saumag.edu/archeology
Pic of the Month: From the Archives! March 7, 1989, Kadohadacho Chapter of the Arkansas Archeological Society: (L to R, back row): John Wagemann (Camden), Sam D. Dickinson (Prescott), Jim Wingfield (Prescott), Ronnie Vandriver (Prescott), Vernon Perry (Magnolia), Donald Duncan (Shreveport), C. D. Scarbrough (Lewisville), Joe Abney (Shreveport, LA), Don Ross Smith (Magnolia), Louis Baker (Shreveport, LA), LA, Armin Dressel (Camden), Herschel Kitchens (Lewisville), (second row): Frank Schambach (Magnolia), Jeanne Abney (Shreveport, LA), Kenna Marie Poindexter (Stephens), Dot Kitchens (Lewisville), Wonda Scarbrough (Lewisville), (first row): Gail Reeder (Haynesville, LA), Marvin Jeter (Monticello), Beverly Smith (Homer, LA)
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