"Cu" at the Library

Troweling in my unit. 

Hello, my name is Melanie, and I am a Western student participating in this summer’s Fort St. Joseph archaeological program. The first lecture of this year’s field school hosted Dr. Kathryn Ehrhardt as our guest speaker. Dr. Ehrhardt has worked at various 17th and 18th century sites across the northeastern United States. She specializes in studying copper and copper alloys, and in her lecture, that is what she focused on. She discussed the differences between Native American and European copper, explained some of the best tools and techniques used to analyze a copper artifact, and what archaeologists, as well as the community, can learn from this information. Her lecture tied in perfectly with this field season’s theme of technology.

There is a vast difference in quality comparing Native American copper to European copper. The Natives of the 17th and 18th centuries worked copper that was 99% pure, while the Europeans smelted their copper and added in various metals such as tin, zinc, and brass. This mixture of metals is called copper alloy, and during the colonial era, it was used to make a multitude of products of every-day quality. Native Americans of the northeastern section of the United States had a plethora of mines around Lake Superior from which they could extract copper. In fact, this area has the largest deposit of pure copper in the world! It is unclear whether or not the Natives hot-worked their copper, but it is certain that they did not add in other metals at all.

Around the 17th and 18th centuries, groups of Native Americans began trading with Europeans, especially the French. The Europeans desired furs, while the Natives received items such as guns and kettles made of brass or copper alloy. While they did occasionally use these tools as they were intended, it was more common for the Natives to reinvent these items and incorporate them into their own culture. They stripped the metal plating from the guns and dismantled the kettles to use the sheet metal for their own purposes. These reimagined items were often jewelry or other types of clothing ornamentation. As Dr. Ehrhardt explained, the Natives likely viewed copper as a precious metal, thus they were willing to trade many furs for copper items.

Despite being almost completely pure, there were very few scholars who were interested in the study of Native American copper before Dr. Ehrhardt began her research. This was in part because of lack of interest in the subject, as well as lack of proper equipment to analyze copper artifacts. Dr. Ehrhardt helped usher in new techniques for archaeologists, and with that, a booming interest in the study of copper and copper alloys.

After consulting with several scientists and convincing them of the importance of researching 17th and 18th century copper, Dr. Ehrhardt and several other scholars were able to find pre-existing scientific technology able to analyze copper artifacts. The main technologies and methods that are still used today include: Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), Particle-Induced-X-Ray Emission (PIXE), Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (PXRF), metallography (the study of the structure and properties of metal), and microscopy (the use of a microscope). Each process has its own pros and cons, and their use should be evaluated based upon the artifact in question as well as the situation of the archaeological excavation.

Kathy explaining the methods and techniques of analyzing copper. 

From the analysis of various copper artifacts, it is possible to track the source mine that the copper was pulled from, as long as there is a sample of that mine’s copper on file. This is a very important piece of information for archaeologists, because from this it is possible to determine who was trading with whom at what time. As we can determine from the fur trade, the exchanging of goods can impact a culture drastically. Archaeologists are now able to acquire this information regularly thanks to new technologies and scientific methods.

The things we can all learn by working together to analyze the past are incredible. Communicating with various scientists, communities, and organizations gives archaeologists a larger perspective. It is likely that if archaeologists do not have the solution to a problem, there is someone out there that has the answer. When we communicate and focus on our shared interest of the past, learning from each other and incorporating new methods and technologies into our research, there is very little that we cannot overcome.

An Open Letter From a Niles Native

Dear reader,

The Fort Saint Joseph Archaeological Project is very special to me.  It is possible that it is so important to me for one of the same reasons that you have found yourself on this blog post.  The City of Niles has been my hometown for all twenty-one years of my life.  It was while I was a student at Ring Lardner Middle School that I decided I loved history, and while I was a student at Niles Senior High School that I decided I loved archaeology.  What better way to appreciate history than to study the physicality of it, the proof of days and people past?

I left Niles, then, for four years to pursue an undergraduate degree in anthropology/archaeology in Erie, Pennsylvania.  This past spring, I graduated and returned to Niles with a degree in… hospitality management?  It’s funny to me, looking back over the past four years, that I found my passion and had everything I needed to pursue it.  I, in no way, am implying that I fear I have made the wrong choices, and I would argue that my decision to complete a degree for event planning with a minor in anthropology and archaeology resulted in my direct involvement in the Project today. 

It's easy to overlook the incredulity of something in your own backyard.  Its normalcy has clouded its value.  I wonder if the lucky people who live in far-away destinations look outside and sigh and fantasize about great pines and two-story houses as the pyramids crumble on their doorstep…  It seems trivial, maybe.  The world is so vast for the simplicity that comes with being human.  And yet, simple as we may be, there is much to be said for the refreshing new views that accompany a homecoming.  It was with fresh eyes that I returned to the city that has always been my home – the boring, quiet, redundant city on the state line.  Niles hadn’t changed at all, but I had, for my greatest worries of what would become of “home” had never come to fruition. 

This is where you, dear reader, along with the Fort Saint Joseph Archaeological Project, come in.  I said that the Project was special to me, which may be an understatement.  In my foolish younger years, I had mistaken my own familiarity of the site with growing public disinterest for a truly amazing project.  The way that other publics from other places saw history was disheartening.  The archaeology sites in my textbooks were riddled with problematic politics; so much so that when my professor in Erie recommended that I apply to work at the site in my hometown, I had many, many fears.

Fort St. Joseph is right along the St. Joseph River.
We have many idyllic views!

Imagine, if you will, leaving your hometown for four years and experiencing the lack of awareness, and sometimes care, for an area’s history by its own residents.  Imagine changing your major so that your studies can be more relevant and being told how silly it is to maintain a minor in the field you love.  Imagine being told “the past is in the past, so keep it that way”, when you know well that those who do not know history are condemned to repeat it.

Now, imagine coming home to see that not only is the public archaeology project that you remember still in effect, but that the community continues to support it!  Imagine going to an event a half an hour north of the City of Niles to promote this same project and seeing how excited everyone (children and adults alike) is about the site!  Imagine meeting the newest class of students attending the field school – students who have never been to Niles – and hearing them say how excited they are to learn about the community!

I see in this project the potential to bring a community together in the form of public lectures, open houses, and social media – just as you are here! – and to also promote the study of archaeology and public (our) history.  Such is the nature of public archaeology: not to find treasures, but to treasure the stories the finds tell.  That is why I could not turn down the opportunity to work for this Project, to promote it to the public, to preserve the very practice that is preserving the past.  That is why I came home.

Thank you all for your continued support,

Eleanor Hein

Day One in the Sun

Working on my pit. 

Yo, my names Taylor Woods, I am an anthropology major and going to be a senior student at WMU and I am working on the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project this year.

Our first full day was on Monday July 9, 2018 and it was a learning experience to say the least. Once we all re-assembled from the weekend at our residence in Niles half of us were off to the Fort St. Joseph site, while the other half returned to a local Niles couple’s back yard to finish their shovel test pits (STPs for short). Once we got to the Fort St. Joseph site and unloaded all the gear we needed from the trailer we split up into two teams. One team was tasked with finding and digging up the old trench for wet screening, and the other team was tasked with finding and clearing spots of interest. I was a part of the team tasked with finding spots of interest and we used techniques of varying degrees of complexity. For example, the total station, an electronic surveying instrument, or rakes used for raking. After Erika, our extremely helpful vice leader, showed us the general areas to work we used rakes to clear the previously cut long grass from the area. If the rakes alone weren’t enough to expose the bright yellow stakes we were searching for then it was out with the shovels. We used the shovels to dig, very shallowly, in search of the hidden yellow stakes until all the stakes were found. My team finished our task before the other teams we joined a group in making the trench. Digging that trench was the closest I have ever got to living the movie Holes, but it was essential for the wet screening process.

Fort St. Joseph getting set up. 

Once all necessary set up was complete and the other half of the group joined us at the Fort St. Joseph site we were assigned our pits and pit partners. My pit partners name is Sami and we were assigned the future pit located at the site coordinates North 9 and East 2. Once we established where our pit was we used Pythagorean theorem to precisely create the perimeter of what would become our pit. After we checked and double checked that the length and width of our rectangular pit it was back to the shovels. This time we used a technique called “shovel skimming” which is for removing the very top layer of the soil off our pit with a more horizontal stroke of the shovel to ensure we would not damage any artifacts that could be lying beneath. That was all the work we could complete in our time frame so we packed up what was necessary from the site, and it was time for dinner.

            Monday night’s dinner I think will be one of the most memorable dinners we will have over the course of these six weeks, maybe even the most memorable. The reason for this was because the lovely family that is allowing us to stay with them decided to invite us to dinner along with some of their family and friends. Let me tell you it was fun for many reasons. We started off the dinner with an ice breaker designed by the head of the household to get everybody’s social juices flowing. Once that was over it was time to eat and there was a plethora of quality food. There was pasta salad, sloppy joes, cheesy potatoes, fried chicken, and various other dishes ready for eating. The dinner was good fun but it’s true importance is that it is the perfect example of how the community in Niles has been and still is so supportive of the work we are doing. If it wasn't for the support of Niles community I don't know if this field school would be possible.

            I learned a lot on Monday. I learned various field techniques that I will potentially be able to use in my future career as an anthropologist. I also learned about people, the people I am working with directly, my peers, and the people that I’m working with more indirectly; in other words the Niles community. One of the coolest things about this experience is that its bringing people together who otherwise maybe would never have meet. All these people gathering together for their own personal reasons, and the one reason we all have in common is our love for the past. History can connect people be it two college kids at field school, a community member and a worker at dinner, or even a modern person to a Native American or French voyageur through excavation. History and archaeology as an extension of that is about making connections and I have already made more than I expected after my first full day of field school.

           

Down by the River

A picture of me using an American scythe.

Hi everyone, my name is Cameron and I am a WMU student working at the Fort St. Joseph    Archaeological Project. I am majoring in anthropology, and this is my senior year at WMU. I am excited to begin working at the Fort St. Joseph site, learning to work in the field, and about the history of the fur trade in southwestern Michigan. I have been living in Michigan my entire life, so I am enthusiastic to learn about my state’s history. This past Thursday was my first time seeing the site, where I would be learning to excavate. I was ecstatic, because the site is located right along the river. However, in order for the excavating to commence the tall buffalo grass had to be cut, and the site’s ground water needed to be lowered.

The site before we cleared it of the tall grass. 

 Over half of the students cleared a section of the grass using grass whips and a weed cutter, but there was still a lot of work left before we could even consider digging. Fortunately, there are two volunteers, Neil and Lynne, who actively assist in making the Fort St. Joseph Site possible to excavate. I had the opportunity to work with them all day on Saturday, and it not only gave me a chance to meet two interesting people, but also a chance for Neil to teach me about the dewatering system.

Our theme for the project this year is Technology Then and Now. Everything we accomplished last weekend could not have been possible without the use of technology. From the dewatering system’s pumps and pipes, to the weed cutter, scythes, weed whips, rakes, even the waders. I started my work that morning by learning how to use a scythe. Lynne was an expert on using a scythe, and he brought two different types, an American and a European scythe. The American scythe is the heavier of the two, while the European is on the lighter side. Lynne taught me that the key to using a scythe was to keep the blades low and parallel with the ground, and to swing the scythe in a 180 degree arch using the tool’s weight. This may sound simple enough, but my technique still needs refining. Lynne on the other hand was an expert! He also demonstrated how to sharpen the scythe using a wet stone. The two scythes cut the rest of the grass at the site within a short two to three hours. On Thursday I used a weed cutter and a weed whip, which were both efficient for cutting grass, but I think the scythe was the superior tool. For me it outcompeted the weed whip and the weed cutter as far as being more efficient, and its simplistic design makes it low maintenance in comparison with the mechanical nature of the weed cutter. The scythe also does not require fuel, but rather a little bit of strength and energy for the work needed to be accomplished.

The site after a long day of cutting grass and setting up the dewatering system. 

Our next step was to lower the sites ground water level, using water pumps and PVC pipes to pull the water from the ground. Neil is the expert on the dewatering system, he came up with the concept, and we wouldn’t be able to dig without his contributions. The system he developed draws water from the ground by using vacuum pressure from two water pumps that connect to a long pipe extending below the ground. This pipe pulls the water out using the suction from the pumps, which pull the water through a connected pipe network and into a long fire house that dumps the water into the sewer. The water is pumped from the ground at a rate of 120 gallons per minute. Afterwards, we worked together to install another pump that draws water from the river for our screening hose, which allows us to wash off the artifacts. I put on some waders and pulled the connecting pipes about fifty feet from the river bank. Between cutting the grass and installing the pumps, it took us a full eight hours. But, after a full day of work I learned some new skills, and I got to know two great people who are actively involved with the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project.

Here I am wading through the river

 After working with Neil and Lynne I realized how much Fort St. Joseph means to the community, and I am thankful to be a part of its research. I look forward to excavating at the site, and to meeting new community members and volunteers. I am realizing that the research we are doing is not just teaching the community about their city’s history, but we are also learning from the community through their contributions and knowledge. I am thankful to be a part of this research here in Niles, Michigan, and I hope to learn more from the community.

Lynne holding an American scythe, while I hold the weed cutter. 

History in Your Own Backyard

Miro dry screening for artifacts. 

My name is Miro Dunham, and I am the only person in the 2018 Western Michigan University Archaeological Field School who is not from Western. My home school is Albion College. (Go Brits!)
The thought that archaeology could happen in your own backyard is a very exciting concept. For one family in Niles, that exciting concept became a very exciting truth. The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project wanted to explore the lives of 18th century habitants of surrounding areas across the Saint Joseph River, and was offered to survey the backyard of a Niles family that likely had archaeological significance. Instead of helping our colleagues at the Fort site initially, we headed to the backyard site. It was a hot, sunny day, with really high humidity. Once at the site, we unpacked, and began to survey and create transects, which are series of points along a basis line. These points will soon all become shovel test pits, or STPs, which are designed for archaeologists to have a small testing area to see if the site has artifacts and integrity. (In this case, integrity refers to the site being untouched, as opposed to the soil having been disturbed.) Unfortunately for our first test site, we found some evidence that the site had been tampered with, which was some pieces of plastic that were buried relatively deep in the soil. As plastic has not been around very long, the appearance of plastic in soil with other artifacts from the 19th century means that the soil is only as old as the plastic. To determine the points, we measured to thirteen meters running north/south, and then created perpendicular lines with measuring tapes to determine the locations of the test sites. These test sites are located every 4 meters down the transects, and 4 meters away from one another, paralleling each other. This might not seem very interesting, and honestly, it wasn’t, but it’s very important to have consistency and accuracy in all archaeological excavations. Once we had marked all of our test pit sites, we began to dig the area around one of the points, and also screened our dirt for artifacts. Through our screening, we found a few nails, shards of glass, some small metal hoops, tinfoil, fool’s gold, and lots and lots of rocks. The most difficult part of archaeological work so far is finding really cool rocks that look like they might be artifacts, but are just rocks that get thrown back into the pile. Our team eventually dug down to over 70 centimeters deep; however, we hit undisturbed soil, and our discovery of artifacts ceased. We happily accepted this as our ending spot, as we were very dirty and sweaty, and began to assess our artifacts and pack up our equipment.

A screen next to a shovel test pit (STP). 

This new project site is very important to the Fort Saint Joseph Project. It gives us insight into the lives of people who were not living in the Fort, but also allows the members of the Project to branch out by reaching out to the community and inviting them to play a part in unearthing their history by sharing their lands and their experiences with us. The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project is heavily focused on community outreach, and by involving community members in our search for the past and the stories behind the artifacts, we create a feeling of involvement and trust. I’m excited to see both what else we can find from these shovel test pits, but also see what other community sites there may be in the future.

Clearing the Floodplain

Thursday July 5, 2018,
My name is Shelby and I am a student at Western Michigan University. I am majoring in Psychology and minoring in Anthropology. I am a member of the 2018 field school and I will be a senior at the end of the season. This is my first time in the field, but I did help with the 2017 artifact inventory process.

Working hard clearing the flood plain for the 2018 FSJAP.

Today was the kickoff to field work for the 2018 Field season. I am super excited about what is in store for the season! It is quite the adjustment going from living at home versus dorm versus our Niles home. I honestly thought today would be primarily moving our stuff in, going to the museum, and taking things to the field. However, I was surprised when they divided us up into two separate teams and tasked us with either clearing the Fort St. Joseph site (20BE23) or doing shovel test pits in a potential new site. It was really exciting to get to be in the field on our first day here; like I said, it wasn’t expected.

I was on the team tasked with clearing the brush from the fort site. I am not a stranger to working outside; however, I was not ready for the physical aspect of clearing brush nor was I ready for the heat. It was about 85 degrees outside and it was decently sunny even in the shade. I am very glad that I remembered the sunscreen and bug spray. It was a lot of hard work and I am fairly certain that my abs are going to hurt in the morning. Mosquitoes weren’t terrible today, despite reports of high concentrations of the pests. However, biting flies were everywhere. I got bit by those more than mosquitoes. I don’t think they liked us cutting down their homes.

Five minutes into clearing the brush, three of us had already put blood and sweat into the project. I scratched myself with the blade I was using to clear the grass; it didn’t look like much, but man was that blade sharp. It was an adjustment in the sense that work done in the field is approached

Hard work now, good sleep to come!

differently from work at home, even if it is the same type of project; usually when I am clearing tall weeds and grass at home, we use the lawnmower, so this was the first time I have ever used a weed whip.

The ground is still very wet from all the rain we have had, so as soon as I stepped off the path, I sank in two inches of muck. It wasn’t even mud at this point. It was straight swamp muck. Several of us slipped and almost fell as soon as we arrived and no one left with clean shoes. Some of us who had been wearing shorts, left the field tonight looking like we were wearing leggings. We called this look “Mud Leggings”.

We divided our efforts by doing different tasks. Some of us were using the weed whips and others were raking or picking up the clippings. One individual was tasked with using a weed whacker and the weeds were so thick that it jammed several times.

Overall, this was a decent taste of how this summer will go as far as how labor intensive it will be. Luckily, today wasn’t all manual labor. After a few hours of clearing weeds, we got to join the others at the potential site and we started our own shovel test pits. Today held a lot of surprises; both in the ground and in our schedule.