MAY 27 and 29, 2006

From: Scott Beld
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 10:47 PM
To: Oxbow Archaeologists
Subject: 20MD263 - May 27 and 29, 2006

Hi Oxbow Archaeologists,

Nik and I made it out to the site on Saturday (May 27) and Monday (May 29) and had productive days excavating. We continued to work on the 110 West Block taking units on the west side down to 30 cm (at or near the bottom of the plow zone). We continued to recover flakes, bone fragments, F.C.R. and the occasional pottery sherd. We recovered two projectile point fragments this weekend. Nik found a point blade (broken in the hafting element) on Saturday (see Photo 1) and I found part of an expanding stem point on Monday (see Photo 2). These continue to look Middle-early Late Woodland. We also recovered a biface fragment (see Photo 3) and a fragment of a core (see Photo 4). This week we recovered less pottery. One sherd that came up appears to be a basal sherd or at least a sherd well down the side of the vessel (see Photo 5). The vast majority of the bone fragments this weekend were mammal bones. I noticed several deer bones and teeth and a small carnivore mandible (with incisor and canine – probably raccoon). Two deer phalange fragments were hollowed out and one was clearly cut. These could be fragments of cups to a cup-and-pin game, similar to the ones we found at Cater (they weren’t very photogenic).

This Saturday we’ll plan to excavate at the site, it looks like it should be a pleasant day!

Hope to see you at the site

Scott

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Scott G. Beld, Ph.D.
Research Laboratory Specialist - Intermediate
The University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology
1109 Geddes Road
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1079
Phone: 734-764-0489 (UMMP Main Office)
734-763-9253 (My Office)
Fax: 734-936-1380
Email: sbeld@umich.edu
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