JUNE 23, 2007

From: Scott Beld
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2007 8:47 PM
To: Oxbow Archaeologists
Subject: Sias East - June 23, 2007

Hi Oxbow Archaeologists,

Kevin, Nik, Becky, Chris J. (back from his field school), and I made it out to the site yesterday. We continued excavating the five meter test trench on the east side of the 110 West Block (see map-6-23-07.gif).

In the morning, we excavated the 25-35 cm levels of unit 1S-101W and the 25-30 cm level of 1S-102W. We found several flakes and bone fragments but it was relatively low density. Chris finished trowelling the 25-30 cm level unit 1S-105W that I began last week and I excavated the 30-35 cm level of 1S-102W.

In the afternoon, Chris and I began a unit on the floodplain at approximately 11S-110W. We’ll take this down to see if there is a midden similar to Cater and 20MD534. We excavated it to about 35 cm yesterday and found several flakes, sherdlets, plastic, iron and glass that had been washed down from the terrace. Later in the afternoon, we excavated the 25-30 cm and 30-35 cm levels of unit 1S-103W. The density in this unit seemed to pick up at these levels with more flakes, bone fragments, sherdlets and fire-cracked rock. In the 25-30 cm level we recovered a small biface fragment, bipolar, deer antler fragment, and a bear tooth. In the 30-35 cm level, we found a projectile point fragment (see point 1S-103W.jpg) and two Middle Woodland rimsherds (see V1 1S-103, 35 cm.jpg and V2 1S-103W, 35 cm.jpg). V1 1S-103W, 35 cm.jpg has two punctates on the interior that would have produced bosses in the exfoliated area on the exterior. I finished the day by excavating half of the 25-30 cm level of 1S-104W.

This week, on Wednesday, I’ll try to establish a new datum at the Naugle site and grid out units in the afternoon. We’ll probably try to dig near the Visitor Center in the evening. If that doesn’t get done we’ll was flotation and 1/8” screen bags at the Resource Building. Next Saturday, we’ll plan on excavating at the Sias East site.

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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