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US - California - Applied Archaeology Summer Field School PDF Print E-mail

Field School

Applied Archaeology Summer Field School



Application Deadline: 1 July 2006
Field School Dates: 24 July - 18 August 2006

University, Company, Institution

USDA Forest Service, San Bernardino National Forest, San Bernardino, California and the California State University, Dominguez Hills, California.

Location of Field School

On Highway 74 between Idyllwild and Palm Desert, California
USA

Field School Overview

  • Field School Type: Combined Excavation and Survey
  • Time Period(s) Primarily prehistoric period sites associated with the Cahuilla. Sites previously identified in the San Bernardino NF. Possibly some sites or features associated with historic period grazing allotments.
  • Field School Conditions: Field school participants will camp out at the Ribbonwood Campground, San Jacinto Ranger District, San Bernardino National Forest. Though rustic, the campground has showers and bathrooms. A field kitchen will be provided and serve three meals a day. Students must provide their own tents and sleeping bags. The temperatures may range into the high 90 s during August.
  • Field School Access: The field school is easily accessible by 2 wheel drive vehicles. The Ribbonwood Campground is approximately ½ mile from state highway 74. Parking places are provided in the campground. The closest interstates routes are I-15 and I-10.
  • Number of years for field school: This is the first year
  • Professional certification of this field school: We are in the process of seeking RPA certification

    Project Directors

    William D. Sapp, Ph.D.
    Forest Archaeologist, San Bernardino National Forest
    Research Associate, UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
    Adjunct Professor, CSUDH
    Daniel McCarthy, MA.
    District Archaeologist
    San Bernardino National Forest
    Jerry D.Moore, Ph.D.
    Professor of Anthropology
    California State University Dominguez Hills

    Field School Description

    Students at this year s field school will survey a portion of Palm Canyon, a traditional Cahuilla agave gathering area and travel corridor. Palm Canyon is located in the San Jacinto Mountains of the San Bernardino National Forest. Students will also conduct excavations at a prehistoric site in Olmstott Canyon, a tributary of Palm Canyon. Excavations will focus on data recovery and determination of the eligibility of the site for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

    Field School participants who successfully pass through this field school will be able to read topographical maps and orient themselves using a compass, survey and locate archaeological sites, excavate archaeological (cultural) deposits in stratigraphic levels, create site sketch maps and document newly found sites on standard site record forms, and work in a field lab identifying and cataloging cultural, faunal, and flora material. Students will earn 6 units of credit for successfully passing the course.



    Field school web site: www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/
    the field school will be listed under projects and plans
    Field School Size: 1-15
    Minimum age: 18 years or instructor's permission
    Is prior experience required?: No
    Recommended experience: No prior experience required. Course prerequisite is a lower division course in Introduction to Archaeology or instructor's permission.

    Specialized skills you will have the opportunity to learn

    Manual Mapping/drawing (plan views, profiles): Yes
    Total Station EDM mapping: Yes
    Compass mapping survey: Yes
    Traditional Photography: Yes
    Digital Photography: Yes
    Excavation Survey Techniques: Yes
    Interpreting stratigraphy: Yes
    Restoration and conservation of artifact: Yes
    Lab work: Yes
    Database: Yes
    Artifact analysis: Yes
    Fauna identification: Yes
    Flora identification: Yes
    Report writing: Yes
    Evening Lectures: Yes, there will be evening lectures, including tribal representatives and Forest Service specialists, such as botanists, wildlife biologists, geologists, and firefighters.
    Lab work on rain days?: Yes

    Is travel during free time restricted?: No

    Additional information for students: Students have Saturday and Sunday off. They are free to travel anywhere they desire in Southern California, from the beaches to the mountains.

    Academic, Credit Room and Board, & Tuition

    Academic Credit: Yes
    Number of Credits: 6 units of upper division credit, ANT 495: Special Topics from California State University Dominguez Hills. For registration information call (310) 243-3741 or email eereg@csudh.edu
    Room and Board Information: $1700 for enrollment, 6 units credit (ANT 495); camping fees and meals in the field included. Students are responsible for bringing basic dig kit, tent, sleeping bag, and other personal gear.

    Recommended readings

    Barrows, David Prescott
    1967 Ethno-Botany of the Cahuilla Indians [1900]. Banning: Malki Museum, Inc.

    Bean, Lowell J.
    1974 Mukat s People: Cahuilla Indians of Southern California. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Kroeber, Alfred, L. and Lucile Hooper
    1978 Studies in Cahuilla Culture: Ethnography of the Cahuilla Indians. Banning: Malki Museum, Inc.

    Strong, William Duncan
    1972 Aboriginal Society in Southern California [1929]. Banning: Malki Museum, Inc.

    Wilke, Philip J., Thomas F. King, and Stehphen Hammond
    1975 The Cahuilla Indians of the Colorado Desert: Ethnohistory and Prehistory. Ramona: Ballena Press.


    Archaeology field school contact

    Dr. Jerry Moore
    Department of Anthropology
    CSUDH
    jmoore@csudh.edu

    or

    Dr. Bill Sapp, Forest Archaeologist, SBNF, billsapp@fs.fed.us


    Summary

    All of the instructors are archaeologists with the USDA Forest Service, actively engaged in archaeology and cultural resource management on a daily basis. Learn from the inside what it is like to work for a governmental agency such as the Forest Service, National Park Service, Corps of Engineers, or Bureau of Land Management. Students will learn about the laws and processes that apply to archaeology and cultural resource management in the public and private sector such as Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the role of the Advisory Council on Historic Properties, consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer and Native Americans, and reporting and documentation. Local Cahuilla tribal members will join in the educational experience, as lecturers and participants.
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