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One of those "What did you do on *your* vacation" pings. |
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Posted on 04/08/2012 6:08:03 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
The University of South Carolina is accepting registrations from volunteers to help excavate archaeological sites along the Savannah River April 30-June 2.
The expedition will be led by archaeologist Albert Goodyear, whose discoveries at the Topper site in Allendale County have captured international media attention.
Volunteers will learn excavation techniques and how to identify Clovis and pre-Clovis artifacts in several prehistoric chert quarries. This year, some volunteers may also be involved in the excavation of a nearby Paleoamerican site known as the Charles site.
The cost is $488 per week ($400 is tax-deductible) and includes evening lectures and programs, lunch and evening meals, a workbook and a T-shirt. Lodging, which is not included in the fee, is available at a nearby campsite or in motels 30 minutes from the dig sites.
A $60 deposit is required, payable to the USC Educational Foundation and mailed to Albert Goodyear, S.C. Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, 1321 Pendleton St., Columbia, SC 29208. Volunteers can register online or by calling 803-576-6579.
Goodyear's search for a pre-Clovis culture -- ice age man in South Carolina -- began in Allendale County in 1998 when he found artifacts that dated back 16,000 years. In May 2004, volunteers excavating the site were part of a monumental discovery. Pre-Clovis artifacts found in the Pleistocene terrace soil, some four meters (12-13 feet) below the ground surface, were radiocarbon-dated to be at least 50,000 years old, which placed humans in North America long before the last ice age.
(Excerpt) Read more at thetandd.com ...
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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One of those "What did you do on *your* vacation" pings. |
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The Topper site is one a hill above the Savannah River, which sweeps past a hilltop containing a large, exposed chert outcrop. Chert is a sedimentary rock that flakes easily and can be worked to produce tools such as knives, arrows, axes and blades.
Thanks JPB.
The U of Texas had a long ongoing dig in Central America on Mayan sites, back when the archeology department was among the leaders in deciphering Mayan glyphs.
They took volunteers who could devote a summer for the dig. I always wanted to go but somehow never could find the time.
Or maybe I was afraid of snakes.
Ping to remind myself
Oh, and I have explosive diarreah and might need to crap in the pits every few minutes.
Consequences of indiscriminate hitting.
Let's snuggle.
A family member did that program, he had a blast, he also had absolutely no archaeological training. He ended up drinking and smoking with the nearby Mennonite teens every night and was the guy who clear cut new excavation areas for his small team.
They found an amazing 4 foot tall , 2 foot wide stella...
and more feral lances than you could imagine.
"Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness."
If you go (and I totally agree that you should if you can!) then PLEASE post an action report for the rest of us! :o)
Agreed - let us know what it was like.
I think you meant fer-de-lances, a very deadly viper.
Speaking of finding a stela, I was down in Cozumel many years ago and we had rented some motorscooters. Went into the jungle alongside the road to answer a call of nature and stumbled over a small stela covered with vines that looked as though it hadn’t been seen since before the Spanish conquest.
There are so many undisturbed Maya ruins in Southern Mexico and Central America that universities and governments can’t even begin to find enough money and archeologists to discover and protect them.
“Why did it have to be snakes?”
Planning to go? Excellent!
Great nick’ too, btw, in case I’d never mentioned it.
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