UWM Field School 2023

In the fourth week of field school, the excavation starts looking very different! Students work on knocking down baulks (earthen borders between test units in archaeological excavation), resulting in the area becoming a singular trench. This allows for connections between features to be revealed.  Figure 1. Anna-Sophia Tsiolis and Jackson King record a unit find. Anna-Sophia is placing pottery into a small box to keep it safe.  Figure 2. Taking down baulks! In the foreground, Anna-Sophia Tsiolis removes a western wall with Ava Wolcott and Madison Baynes carefully troweling where a baulk once stood to clean the area and search for artifacts. In the background, Nicholas Peterson, Elsie Touchstone, and Bryce Hansen work together to take down a unit.  Figure 3. As the wider excavation area opens, Bryce Hansen, Rachel Stewart, Hannah Bauer, Maria Innis, Tim Piatek, Anissa Zaske, and Matthew Sharley clean the floor with trowels.  Figure 4. Trying to get a photograph of the...

 Week 3 of the archaeological field school - excavation continues! Students have learned the basics of shovel skimming, troweling, and screening and are now in the swing of things. All of the units were opened this week, revealing ceramics, lithics, and large features (areas of past human activity).  Figure 1. On rainy days, students transition to other learning activities. Heavy downpours can challenge the structural integrity of a site, and we always watch the radar for safety in case a thunderstorm pops up. On Tuesday, Dr. Rick Edwards gave a lecture about the archaeological history of the area. Students learned more about Oneota artifacts and lifeways. Side note : Oneota is an archaeological, or material culture rather than an ethnographic one. People living in the past would have used another name for group identification.  Figure 2. Ian Auger examines a piece of fire-cracked rock (often abbreviated FCR). FCR is created when rocks are heated and then deposited in a c...

After a successful first week of field school practicing skills and conducting Phase 1 survey, students were ready to move on to the process of excavation. Students worked in teams of two to set up their units, screening stations, and learn vertical and horizontal excavation.  Figure 1. Dr. Edwards, Tim Piatek, and TA Sean Gleason set up the excavation area. Figure 2. Archaeological fieldwork is carefully measured. Students dig in 10 cm increments through the ground to chart any potential changes in soil color, collect artifacts, and record information. Ricky Huertas is shown excavating the Southwest quadrant of his unit, which will then be screened for small pieces of pottery, lithics, and other materials.  Figure 3. Elsie Touchstone and Gil Amador work on screening materials as well as site documentation.  Figure 4. Gil Amador shows off one of the most common finds in a unit: a rock.  Figure 5. Matthew Sharley with another type of screen.  Figure 6. Jackson Ki...

  The Archaeological Field School is a dynamic opportunity to practice classroom lessons and learn hands-on techniques. During the first week of instruction, students traveled to Koshkonong Creek Village. The lessons focused on field etiquette and equipment, compasses and mapping, shovel test pits, setting up units, and pedestrian walkover survey. The work conducted by students is essential to completing research on an archaeological site. Participants record their observations and data in their field notebooks; this information will later be used in the classroom, by graduate students, and by cultural resource management professionals in order to complement the materials recovered through survey and excavation. Their contributions are an important part of documenting the history of the area. Figure 1. Dr. Rick Edwards and teaching assistant Sean Gleason demonstrate a Shovel Test Pit. Sean is sieving material from the test pit in order to recover potential archaeological finds. Fig...