June 26, 2007
A Field with no farming for several years, begins to look like years ago.
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Streaming Video of Entrance to Secret
ExcavationSweat, Science, and Field Work With Some of the Tops in the Field.
by Ed Vincent
This summer a few select students willing to work, explore, and learn new skills will be investigating some areas of Illinois with
a history of having some Clovis-aged sites explored and worked for college credit. Some of the students have been on other digs around the world, investigating early hominid remnants in Africa, and some exciting areas here in North America. On the
day we visited their field work in Northern Illinois, there were
no clouds and plenty of heat to keep things interesting.
The Class divided into several groups meticulously investigates the field's soil and down to the glacial debris.
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Clovis toolmakers left their products all over North America
and their technology goes back at least 12,000 years ago.
A Clovis Style Hunting Tip
These hunting instruments came into existence after the end
of an ice age and a time when humans are believed to have
arrived in this new land. The sites having clovis era tools
are found all over the U.S. but at the same time are very rare.
A clovis style hunting tip thrown with a well made atlatl could generate a good distance and velocity, and help to cut down
the numbers of mammoth and mastodons in their time. Some believe that the clovis style only lasted as a design for a mere 300 or so years and this too would make them rare in the
field.
Dr. Thomas Loebel, Department of Anthropology
University of Illinois at Chicago
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Video of Dr. Loebel examining a
quadrant of his exploratorydig where an arrow head flake or partial tool is being studied,
while more items are being sought.
Dr. Thomas Loebel, an expert in this regions arrowheads
has found a portion of an older flint weapon and is painstakingly searching for more finds of importance.
This region of Illinois has already had a number of
mammoths found in the soil. Clovis and mammoths
have a history and perhaps some of that history will
become more visible by the end of the week.
Dr. Robert Hasenstab, Department of Anthropology
University of Illinois at Chicago
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Dr. Robert Hasenstab, an expert in GIS (Graphical Information Systems) systems is also pretty good with the mud. This mud
has already been sifted and cleaned and perhaps could be used as a fancy facial, but not today.
A wonderful group of young people with high expectations and good hard work day after day.
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Measuring location, slope, altitude, and host of other
dimensions with a few mm of accuracy, increases the
science in this field endeavor.
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After lunch and a hot day in the bright light, a bit of shade and some
running water is pleasant change or perhaps even a respite from the
earlier work.
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© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo
Video of students washing and sorting
through grated sieves earthmaterial which might contain artifacts. When this is done the extracted
matter will return with them to t he laboratory for further review and
examination.
You are not guaranteed significant finds on each dig, but you
are taken to areas of great potential and taught the things you will need to know and experience as a field researcher. The
work that we observed was well thought out and executed with
vigor, discipline, and interest. Two thumbs ups for the University of Illinois Field School in Archaeology.
Back the way we came.....
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A link to the University
of Illinois Field School
page below.
http://www.uic.edu/depts/anth/fieldschool.html
page below.
http://www.uic.edu/depts/anth/fieldschool.html
CAGIS Archaeological
Consulting Services
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published by Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.
