As for me, it’s unclear how much dirt time will be crammed into the schedule, but I have my fingers crossed. I’ll see you all out there.
And now, with school out, and the weather stabilizing (despite the recent experiences of Paleodude and the Archaeology crew), the field season is more or less in full swing. If there is anywhere else on the planet more suited to the field experience, I’d like to know. This region seems to yield more goodies per square inch of earth than, well, anywhere. Here at CEU we seem to perch in the middle of a lucky horseshoe of exposures, both in the realms of archaeology and paleontology. So a given trip could be multiple sites, cultures, formations, and times - what us Minnesotan expatriates might call a smorgasbord! Truly the variety and sheer abundance of opportunities is really remarkable. And with our new archaeologist on staff, Dr Renee Barlow, as well as our paleontology crew going full bore on digs, it should be a very productive season. As there are so many spots in Eastern and Southern Utah that qualify for the “breathtaking scenery” category, it’s not a small wonder that even the most strenuous fieldwork tends to give a really nice perspective on life as well.
Additions To The Museum Family
We are pleased to report that the tradition of outstanding volunteering continues at the museum. Our newest member of the volunteer corps, Stephanie Fitzsimmons, is lending her expertise in collections two days per week. Stephanie is an archeologist who has been raising her two sons in Carbon County. So far she has been invaluable to Collections in numbering new artifacts, Renee with her wood collection from Range Creek. We hope to get her out into the field this summer, as her family time allows. Welcome and thank you to Stephanie for the valuable support.
In addition, Collections has a new intern. Ariel Hayes, a student at CEU, is an artist with geology and paleontology under her belt. She is currently working on transferring some quarry maps to create archival masters, some of the priceless data that we treasure as much as the bones themselves. Ariel has also proven herself as a docent, leading tours in the museum during our busy end-of-school season. When the maps are finished, we hope to have Ariel assist with exhibits preparation, especially a new installation on Ice Age mammals. She is wonderful to work with and a big help for the paleo dudes.
Finally, I would like to recognize the extra influx of interns this spring. We’ve had great success with CEU students going above and beyond, helping with tours and class exercises. I have been impressed with both the quality of communication and the willingness to jump in and give a hand. Consequently, we’ve had an especially high rate of mission delivery, getting more tours and in-house to more people. I must acknowledge the coordination efforts of our office manager, Connie Leighton, who may well be awarded a conductor’s baton for her orchestrating these various groups.
Collections Bonanza: The Legacy Highway Accession Is In!
A long-awaited milestone has come this spring. The Museum received a substantial collection from SWCA, an archaeological contractor and museum curation partner involved with the state’s Legacy Highway Project. The construction involved in this major transportation work has yielded large amounts of archaeological material: we started to wonder when SWCA contacted us for more catalog numbers, and then more, and then…
The results of their careful and thorough archaeological recovery are staggering: One Davis County site alone yielded over 50 boxes of artifacts, everything from pottery to stone tools included. Karen Green, Assistant Registrar, has been coordinating volunteers to help with the 30 thousand plus artifacts this collection. The final steps of our Digital Initiative were well-timed to receive this from collection: now, as artifacts come in for inspection and labeling, we can permanently archive digital documentary images of the artifacts’ condition and characteristics as catalog records are checked and confirmed. As always with a collection this size, we rely on participation from skilled volunteers from the Castle Valley Archaeological Society; we also hope to include student interns on this project.
Another notable accession came from our curation partners at Montgomery Archaeology: a beautifully preserved winnowing basket of considerable size. This was found by purest chance, to put it mildly. In short, you have to relieve yourself somewhere when you are out doing fieldwork, and those with some experience in such matters tend to pick secluded, scenic spots. It just so happened that this particular spot chosen by Montgomery crew came complete with a rock overhang, sheltering this basket for centuries out of the elements! Aside from the exquisite preservation, further cleaning by the Utah Museum of Natural History revealed areas of repair in the weave.
Montgomery archaeologist Elizabeth Hora unveils the basket
