Day 1--SUNY-Orange Archaeological Field School 2013

Today, the 2013 season of the SUNY-Orange Field school begins.

Crew Before Dirt

In our first season in 2012, we had very general research questions...when was the site occupied and what was going on at the site?  I think we were able to provide some basic answers to those questions.

Through a variety of diagnostic artifacts, we were able to determine a late 19th century occupation and that the activities taking place at the site left more than an ephemeral signature (good density and diversity of artifacts).

This season, we hope to get a better sense of the relationships between several adjacent features that represent the most intact architectural elements at the site and are also the location of the highest density of artifacts.

Trowel Action

And More Trowel Action

Further, we will examine the internal chronology of the site in more detail to better understand its history of occupation.  Was the site occupied over a long span during the 19th century, or was it the scene of some intense activities, but over a short span (see Zeppelin, Bon Jovi and Nirvana for more on diagnostic artifacts and stratification)?  To get at these questions, we are targeting the trash dump area with at least one excavation unit to exercise tight stratigraphic control over the deposits within.  Initial identification of the ceramics from this deposit indicate the presence of early and late 19th century ceramics.

Is the trash deposit well-stratified, with early ceramics restricted to lower portions and later to upper? Or, is the deposit a jumble, with both late and early ceramics intermingled?

Dispensing Joe's Wisdom