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US - Wyoming - Historical Social Landscapes of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem PDF Print E-mail



Field School

Historical Social Landscapes of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Application Deadline: May 15, 2006
Field School Dates: May 22, 2006-June 28, 2006; July 3-July 12, 2006 (Optional)

 

University, College, Institution

Northwest College (Powell, Wyoming) and Indiana University (Bloomington, Indiana)

Location of Field School

Northwestern Wyoming
USA

Field School Overview

  • Field School Type: Survey, Mapping, Remote Sensing, Excavation
  • Time Period(s) Late Prehistoric/Protohistoric/Historic
    Northwestern High Plains, North America
  • Field School Conditions: 2 10-day sessions at campground in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area; 1 to 2 10-days of remote camping in Washakie Wilderness Area
  • Field School Access: Short hike during first two 10-day sessions; long intitial hike (ca. 5 miles) into wilderness area during thrid and fourth sessions
  • Number of years for field school: 7


    Project Directors

    Judson Finley, Director, Summertime Program in Wyoming Archaeology, Northwest College, Powell, Wyoming

    Laura Scheiber, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington

    Field School Description

    Northwest College (NWC) and Indiana University (IU) announce their second cooperative program in archaeological field methods scheduled from May 22, 2006 to June 28, 2006 with a supplemental 10-day session July 3-12, 2006. NWC and IU present a holistic, field-based program in the social history and human ecology of the northwestern High Plains and Middle Rocky Mountains with a special emphasis on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. This program examines the changing material culture of Crow and Shoshone Indians during the transition from Pre-Contact Period nomadic hunting and gathering societies to a contemporary Reservation-based ranching culture. Fieldwork includes a combined program of remote sensing, total station and global positioning system (GPS) mapping, artifact analysis, and limited test excavations at sites in northwestern Wyoming and southern Montana. Special topics covered include regional geological and paleoenvironmental history, human-animal interactions, and rock art

    Research will be conducted in four 10-day sessions with four days off between each session. Students can spend days off exploring Yellowstone National Park or hiking and camping in the nearby Bighorn, Beartooth, or Absaroka Mountains. Sessions 1 and 2 will be held at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area www.nps.gov/bica/
    . Base camp for this project is at the Ewing-Snell Ranch, a fully restored National Register of Historic Places landmark first established in 1896. Bighorn Canyon and the Ewing-Snell base camp offer easy walking access to field sites from paved or gravel roads. Sessions 3 and 4 will be held at a remote camp in the Shoshone National Forest Washakie Wilderness Area www.fs.fed.us/r2/shoshone/
    . The wilderness area base camp requires students to pack their personal gear approximately 5 miles over a 10,000-foot summit. A certified outfitter and pack string will deliver all field equipment and supplies to the camp. The wilderness component to this program affords few luxurie




    Field school web site: www.northwestcollege.edu/area/anthropology/2310wy.html
    Field School Size:
    1-15
    Minimum age: 16
    Is prior experience required?: No

    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
    GIS: Yes
    Remote Sensing: Yes
    Interpreting aerial photography: Yes
    Magnetometer: Yes
    Resistivity: Yes
    Digital Photography: Yes
    Excavation Survey Techniques: Yes
    Interpreting stratigraphy: Yes
    Soils: Yes
    Lab work: Yes
    Database: Yes
    Artifact analysis: Yes
    Fauna identification: Yes
    Evening Lectures: Evening lectures relate to specific topics of local cultural and natural history
    Lab work on rain days?: Yes

    Rain days free: Yes

    Is travel during free time restricted?: No

    Academic, Credit Room and Board, & Tuition

    Academic Credit: Yes
    Number of Credits: 2-8 credit hours (2 credit hours/10-day session)
    Variable (Wyoming resident, Wyoming non-resident and Indiana resident; please refer to web site details)
    Northwest College and Indiana University
    Room and Board Information: Room and board during 10-day sessions is covered under an $85.00/credit hour fieldschool fee

    Recommended readings

    Hughes, Susan (2000) The Sheepeater Myth of Northwestern Wyoming. Plains Anthropologist 45:63-83 ( www.nps.gov/yell/technical/conference1997/part1.pdf

    Francis, Julie, and Larry Loendorf (2002) Ancient Visions. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City

    Lowie, Robert (1935) The Crow Indians. Farrar & Rinehart, New York

    Frey, Rodney (1987) The World of the Crow Indians: As Driftwood Lodges. The Civilization of the American Indian series v. 185, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman

    Nabokov, Peter, and Larry Loendorf (2004) Restoring a Presence: American Indians and Yellowstone National Park. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman

    Archaeology field school contact

    Judson Finley
    hpdrifter00@yahoo.com
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