|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(1):1-3 |
| The Virtual Curation Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth
University (VCU) was established in August 2011 with funding from
the Department of Defense's (DoD) Legacy Program as Project #11-334
and in cooperation with Marine Corps Base Quantico (MCBQ) (Means et
al. 2013). The overall project was initially proposed by then MCBQ
archaeologist John Haynes and was implemented under my direction at
VCU. The initial task for the Virtual Curation Laboratory was to
examine the effectiveness and usefulness of the NextEngine Desktop
3D scanner for enhancing DoD compliance with historic preservation
legislation. The basic problem to be addressed was ready access to
collections by archaeologists so that they could make accurate
classifications and comparisons to evaluate the research potential,
and therefore the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)
eligibility, of sites. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(1):4-8 |
| With the increased use and accessibility to 3D images and data,
one question can be posed: Will aspiring archaeologists still be
drawn into the field when studying virtual models instead of real
artifacts? Rising generations are rapidly evolving into one whose
understanding of the world is both shaped and experienced through
virtual means. What is considered "real" to many is now what is
depicted on screens through social media outlets such as Facebook,
or avatars in alternate worlds. The concept of reality to which we
are familiar is constantly active, "moving between reality as
virtual and reality as actual." To a rising youth, virtual is just
as real as the objects we live with and handle daily. Therefore, the
topologic models of archaeological objects that are increasingly
becoming available will hold the interest of prospective
archaeologists because what has been created is in every sense a
real object. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(1)::9-13 |
| The concept of 3D printing in archaeology is quickly gaining
attention and funding all over the world. The cost of owning a 3D
printer, meanwhile, is plummeting. Not only does this drop in price
facilitate access by universities and businesses, but it also does
so for interested members of the public. With this in mind,
archaeologists must consider the prospect of using new technology to
increase the accessibility of sites and artifacts to the general
public. By creating reproductions of artifacts, researchers can
share sensitive physical information on a larger scale than ever
before. The Virtual Curation Laboratory at VCU has already begun the
process of printing artifacts for display. Here the focus of 3D
printing has been primarily on small finds, being the most detailed
and intriguing artifacts available; and, introducing the public to a
wider array of these artifacts could help spark a newfound interest
in the field of archaeology. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(1):14-18 |
| The advent of three-dimensional representations of artifacts
promises new opportunities for research regarding Iroquoian effigy
faces on ceramics. The Virtual Curation Laboratory at VCU has
created digital avatars of effigy faces, and these virtual
representations increase access to these artifacts to a wider
audience. With an increasingly large database of these effigies,
scholars can have easier access to many artifacts, and recognizing
trends within the ceramics of a community, between ceramics of
different Iroquoian tribes, and with other media such as pipe
bowls-is made simpler. Digital representations open new avenues to
showcasing research to the general public. Anyone interested can
virtually manipulate sherds that are too fragile for excessive
handling and feel involved with archaeological research. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(1):19-22 |
|
In Fall 2012, elements of a raccoon skeleton loaned from the
Virginia Museum of Natural History and the California University of
Pennsylvania were scanned and transformed into three-dimensional
(3D) digital models in the Virtual Curation Laboratory at Virginia
Commonwealth University. The purpose was to study and learn about
the advantages and disadvantages of using 3D-scanning technology on
faunal remains and to promote the virtualization of
zooarchaeological data. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(1):23-26 |
| As our Department of Defense (DoD) Legacy project (#11- 334) has
shown (Means et al. 2013) and the preceding papers have
demonstrated, creating virtual collections of artifacts provides
real and tangible benefits that will help a wide range of
individuals interested in the past. Digital models can be avatars
for otherwise inaccessible physical objects. The NextEngine Desktop
3D scanner is well suited to meet the virtual curation needs of a
wide range of people and institutions, including: cultural resources
personnel; curators and collections managers; descendent
communities; museums and places of cultural heritage; and educators,
students, and researchers. The following section has been modified
from that presented in the technical report for our Legacy project,
but is included here to ensure that a wider audience of interested
professionals is aware of this work. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(1):27-45 |
| This essay analyzes ceramics from a large
sample of Shenks Ferry tradition sites, assigns these ceramics to
one of several historical types, and employing ceramic frequency
seriation, orders these sites in time. Numerous radiocarbon dates
are available for the Shenks Ferry site sample and these absolute
dates, generally, confirm and reinforce seriation findings. The end
result of the study is a well-integrated, relative-absolute Shenks
Ferry chronology, amenable to studying late prehistoric cultural
change. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(1):46-61 Peri-Susquehannock Pottery of the Tioga River Area, Pennsylvania and New York Christopher T Espenshade |
|
The study of late pottery recovered from well-dated contexts in
three sites in upstate Pennsylvania brings into question the
typically assumed typology and chronology for this part of the
state. This paper documents the pottery associated with each
context, and addresses how these findings question traditional
models of Susquehannock development. The assemblages addressed
include: the Mature Late Woodland at the Wood site (A.D. 1400-1500);
the Mature Late Woodland at the Losey 3 site (A.D. 1300-1450);
Peri-Susquehannock at the Losey 3 site (A.D. 1500-1640); and
Peri-Susquehannock at the Webster site (A.D. 1500-1640). |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(1):62-75 |
|
While a great deal is known about the many earthworks of central and
southern Ohio, there is a gap in our data about such features in the
northern part of the state. The present report is an effort to bring
work on one such site in Wayne County into the literature. The Pee
Wee Hollow Mound group consists of three small circular earthen
structures and a possible fortification trench on a high bluff
overlooking the main stream that drains the county. Systematic
excavation by avocational archaeologists in the 1950s revealed the
structure of the mounds and retrieved a small assemblage of
artifacts, some charcoal, and pockets of red ochre. Recent analysis
of the artifacts, coupled with radiocarbon dating, indicates that
the site was a location of some local importance from the Late
Archaic through the Middle to Late Woodland periods. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(2):1-35 |
|
The early Late Woodland occupation of small camps at 36BL112 along
the Little Juniata River in central Pennsylvania offers another
perspective on the question of what archaeologists mean by terms
like Clemson Island and Stewart phase. A number of such small camps
span the time period associated with the Clemson Island and Stewart
taxa and document an essentially unchanged way of life from that of
the Early and Middle Woodland inhabitants of the region. Although
recognized as a Clemson Island settlement type, relatively little
attention has been paid to small temporary or resource procurement
camps. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(2):36-41 |
|
The use of triangular arrow points in dating Shenks Ferry culture
sites is discussed. The temporal order that results from seriating
triangular points supplements and reinforces an existing Shenks
Ferry ceramic seriation. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(2):42-49 |
|
Peter's Creek and Linn (36WH36) mounds are located in Washington
County, Pennsylvania. Dragoo (1955, 1963) believed both mounds were
related to Early Woodland Adena groups based on artifacts recovered
from in or near the mounds. A recent reexamination of the artifacts
by the author and radiocarbon dating of various mounds types in
western Pennsylvania suggest that Peter's Creek and Linn mounds
should be placed in the Middle and early Late Woodland periods,
respectively. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(2):50-64 |
|
The Squirrel Hill site (36WM35) is one of the defining sites of the
Johnston phase (A.D. 1450-1610) of the Monongahela tradition.
Limited investigations of the site have taken place, but no notes or
to-scale site maps remain. As part of the Johnston phase, the site
has also been hypothesized to represent an amalgamation of the
Monongahela with the McFate phase of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau
tradition. This research addressed two topics: a) the efficiency in
using geophysical instruments to relocate prehistoric sites in the
region and b) a reevaluation of the site's relation to the Johnston
phase and to the McFate phase presence. These research topics were
investigated through multiple surveys with different geophysical
instruments, excavation, artifact analysis, and accelerator mass
spectrometric (AMS) radiocarbon dating. |
|
Pennsylvania Archaeologist 84(2):65-73 |
| The Reinhardt site (33PI880) is a Late Prehistoric village that was intensively occupied during the 14th century A.D. Recent investigations by Nolan revealed a planned, organized community. Many features were discovered including two that included dog burials (F6/08 and F33/09). F6/08 yielded a complete, articulated male dog at the bottom of a very deep and dense midden pit. F33/09 contained a young dog near the top of another midden pit. Only the upper 2/3 of the F33/09 dog was recovered during Nolan's investigations; the dog was also fully articulated. |
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