Salvaging Kreb's Place
Cheyenne Gerdes
Issue date: 9/24/09 Section: Campus
The Central Mississippi Valley Archeological Society presented "Salvaging Kreb's Place," a lecture on the excavation of a 13th century village, at 7:00 p.m on Tuesday, Sept. 22 in room 182 of the ASU Museum.
The site of the excavation, which dates back to about 1200 AD, was a small village next to the Cache River near Egypt, Arkansas. Artifacts that were recovered from the site were on display. The presentation was an expanded version of the presentation the organization will be giving at the upcoming Arkansas Archeological Survey meeting in Eureka Springs that will be held this weekend.
Presenter Julie Morrow of the Arkansas Archaeological Survey explained what was found at the site, how it was found, and the significance of the discoveries. Two acres of land were excavated in a period of three days, an extremely short amount of time for excavation. "It's not the way you want to do archaeology, but it is the way we had to do it," Morrow said. Despite this setback, two burial sites, 115 pit features, and over 700 house post molds were found.
The excavators, many of whom were volunteers, "hauled a lot of soil, and took it to my house," Morrow said, which is where ASU students did the "lion's share of the sorting and labeling."
"I can't say enough about them. We probably could never have done this without the help of the students," Morrow said.
Many students attended the lecture as well. Some students were motivated with the promise of bonus points for class. Others, like Keisha Watson, a freshman nursing major from Little Rock, attended out of their own interest. "The pits and houses they found, I found that really interesting how they could date such old materials back from modern day." Watson plans to attend more archeological meetings.
"I've been attending these meetings for years," Jonesboro resident Patsy Terrell said. "Julie is such a joy, she's so intelligent, and she's a nice person too." Terrell has donated artifacts to the lab and occasionally does work there. She said she felt a connection to working with these artifacts because it relates to her heritage.
Richard Burns, Assistant Professor of Folklore and Anthropology, encouraged his students to attend the presentation. "I think they learned a lot," Burns said. The presentation "introduced them to some new terms and reinforced some others that I have discussed in class." Burns enjoyed the lecture himself, saying, "I always like seeing examples of carvings and artifacts."
Morrow said that she was "really interested in seeing the community patterning." The site had to be leveled, and while many archeologists would object to this method, as it changes the shape of the landscape permanently, Morrow spoke of its advantages. "One of its benefits is that you can see a lot at once, trash pits, houses, cemeteries." Due to the time constraints, "it really had to be done."
Students interested in volunteering can contact the archaeology office at 870-972-2011.
The site of the excavation, which dates back to about 1200 AD, was a small village next to the Cache River near Egypt, Arkansas. Artifacts that were recovered from the site were on display. The presentation was an expanded version of the presentation the organization will be giving at the upcoming Arkansas Archeological Survey meeting in Eureka Springs that will be held this weekend.
Presenter Julie Morrow of the Arkansas Archaeological Survey explained what was found at the site, how it was found, and the significance of the discoveries. Two acres of land were excavated in a period of three days, an extremely short amount of time for excavation. "It's not the way you want to do archaeology, but it is the way we had to do it," Morrow said. Despite this setback, two burial sites, 115 pit features, and over 700 house post molds were found.
The excavators, many of whom were volunteers, "hauled a lot of soil, and took it to my house," Morrow said, which is where ASU students did the "lion's share of the sorting and labeling."
"I can't say enough about them. We probably could never have done this without the help of the students," Morrow said.
Many students attended the lecture as well. Some students were motivated with the promise of bonus points for class. Others, like Keisha Watson, a freshman nursing major from Little Rock, attended out of their own interest. "The pits and houses they found, I found that really interesting how they could date such old materials back from modern day." Watson plans to attend more archeological meetings.
"I've been attending these meetings for years," Jonesboro resident Patsy Terrell said. "Julie is such a joy, she's so intelligent, and she's a nice person too." Terrell has donated artifacts to the lab and occasionally does work there. She said she felt a connection to working with these artifacts because it relates to her heritage.
Richard Burns, Assistant Professor of Folklore and Anthropology, encouraged his students to attend the presentation. "I think they learned a lot," Burns said. The presentation "introduced them to some new terms and reinforced some others that I have discussed in class." Burns enjoyed the lecture himself, saying, "I always like seeing examples of carvings and artifacts."
Morrow said that she was "really interested in seeing the community patterning." The site had to be leveled, and while many archeologists would object to this method, as it changes the shape of the landscape permanently, Morrow spoke of its advantages. "One of its benefits is that you can see a lot at once, trash pits, houses, cemeteries." Due to the time constraints, "it really had to be done."
Students interested in volunteering can contact the archaeology office at 870-972-2011.
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