Upper Cumberland Plateau Archaeological Field School
Preliminary Listing
Location: Tennessee, United States
Season dates: June 06, 2010 - June 26, 2010
Session dates: None given
Application Deadline: Contact for details - March 30, 2010

http://faculty.etsu.edu/franklij/etsu_archaeological_field_school_10.htm

Program Type
Field School

Affiliation
East Tennessee State University

Project Director
Jay D. Franklin, PhD, East Tennessee State University

Description
ETSU’s annual archaeological field school will take place during the first three weeks of First Summer Session 2010. Students will spend three weeks in the field (June 6th – 26th) on the Upper Cumberland Plateau conducting rock shelter excavations.

Goals of the 2010 field season

We began archaeological test excavations in Sachsen Cave Shelter in 2008. The testing and five AMS radiocarbon dates revealed prehistoric deposits ranging in age from 6000 to 1000 years ago. The most intensive and extensive deposit is a black midden layer which is Late Archaic in age (3300-4500 years ago). The midden contains stone tools, flaking debris, animal bones, steatite bowl fragments, and nutting stones. The midden reflects intensive hunting and gathering activities during this time. The 2010 excavations will continue to explore this midden layer. Analytical efforts will focus on recovering paleobotanical materials such as nuts (we have already recovered charred hickory nuts and acorns) and seeds from early cultigens. We will also focus on recovering microfaunal specimens, namely very tiny terrestrial snails, which may provide proxy information regarding past climates in the area.

This is a multidisciplinary project with specialists working on ancient technologies (stone & ceramic), function (microscopic use-wear analysis of stone tools), faunal analysis, microfaunal analysis, paleobotanical analysis, and geoarchaeological analyses.

Students will learn general field excavation techniques. They will also learn to use a laser transit and data collector as part of the excavations.

Students will lodge in field houses or may camp if they wish.

Period(s) of occupation
Late Archaic, Middle Archaic, some Woodland

Minimum length of stay for volunteers
3 weeks

Minimum age
18

Experience required
none

Room and Board arrangements
Students will board in one of two field houses. The houses have bedrooms, full baths, equipped kitchens, TV, and internet access. In short, they will be comfortable. Alternatively, students may camp if they wish.
Cost: ca. $300 for three weeks. Camping will be less.

Academic credit
Number of credits: 3 to 6 hours
Offered by: East Tennessee State University
Tuition: ca. $650 TN residents; ca. $1,200 for out of state students

Contact information
Jay Franklin, PhD
Box 70644, ETSU
Johnson City, TN 37614-1702
U. S.
423-439-6653
423-439-5313
franklij@etsu.edu

Bibliography
Franklin, Jay D., "Luminescence Dates and Woodland Ceramics from Rock Shelters on the Upper Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee." Tennessee Archaeology. 3(1): 87-100. 2008.

Des Jean, Tom and Joseph Benthall, "A Lithic Based Prehistoric Cultural Chronology of the Upper Cumberland Plateau." Tennessee Anthropologist. 19(2): 115-147. 1994.

Franklin, Jay D., "Big Cave Archaeology in the East Fork Obey River Gorge, Tennessee." Cave Archaeology in the Eastern Woodlands: Essays in Honor of Patty Jo Watson. 141-155. Knoxville, Tennessee, 2008.

Franklin, Jay D. and Sierra Bow, "Archaeological Exploration of Workshop Rock Shelters, Upper Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee." Tennessee Archaeology. 4(1, 2):145-162. 2009.

Simek, J.F., J.D. Franklin, and S.C. Sherwood, "The Context of Early Southeastern Prehistoric Cave Art: A Report on the Archaeology of 3rd Unnamed Cave." American Antiquity. 63(4): 663-677. 1998.

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