The 35th Annual Kentucky Heritage Council Archaeology Conference will be hosted in partnership with the Wickliffe Mounds State Park, Land between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Tennessee Valley Authority, the Kentucky Archaeology Survey and the Kentucky Organization of Professional Archaeologists. The conference will take place at the Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park in Gilbertsville, KY. A block of rooms has been reserved for the … Continue reading 35th Annual Kentucky Heritage Council Archaeology Conference March 2-4, 2018 Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park

Please stay tuned to this WordPress site for upcoming publications and information on the annual Kentucky Archaeology conference.   Yesterday wrapped up Kentucky Archaeology Month 2017. Didn’t we have some great blogs? We sure hope you have enjoyed them and will participate next year. Thank you to Christina Sabol, our newest above-ground reviewer, who set up the WordPress site (and taught me how to use … Continue reading Kentucky Archaeology Month 2017

I was fifteen feet under the surface of the Kentucky River, and it was pitch black except for the beam of my flashlight. Even with the light, I could see only a few inches through the muddy water. I had heard all the stories of catfish the size of Volkswagens. I could be right next to one for all I knew. I wasn’t thinking about … Continue reading Underwater Archaeology in Kentucky’s Rivers

The Myth of the “Dark and Bloody Ground”1 asks us to believe that before people of European and African descent arrived in Kentucky, Native peoples had hunted and fought over the land and its resources, but had never lived permanently anywhere in the Commonwealth.  WHAT?   This enduring fallacy about Kentucky’s indigenous inhabitants – The Myth of the Dark and Bloody Ground – is a … Continue reading The Myth of Kentucky As A “Dark and Bloody Ground”

My grandmother recently sent me pictures of various Native American artifacts that her father-in-law had collected from the farm fields of southern Michigan. “What can you tell me?” she asked. It’s a common question, and one that archaeologists are often asked anytime they are shown an artifact collection. The collections are often exquisite examples of Native American lithic technology and early frontier resourcefulness. Unfortunately, all … Continue reading Amateur Archaeology: Collecting and Curating Our Past

Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site provides archaeological opportunities throughout the year for visitors, schools, teachers, and scouts to learn about the site’s history and culture.  The site is situated along a bluff by the Mississippi river in western Kentucky and is a prehistoric village of the Mississippian culture, dating 1100 to 1350 A.D.  The mounds in Wickliffe were first excavated by a private owner in … Continue reading Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site

Technology is becoming an increasingly important part of archaeological investigation. Not only can it provide us with an aerial perspective, but also allows us to locate archaeological features without digging, thus saving time, money, and precious cultural resources. Luckily for us, through the power of the technologies available such as aerial imagery either from aircraft or drones, geophysical survey, and geospatial analysis, among others, we … Continue reading Technology and Archaeology

We all know our world is increasingly interconnected. Basic items such as bread and milk can come from a couple states over, our clothing from the country north or south of ours, and even something as simple as a hammer sitting under your sink is manufactured in a country an ocean and several thousand miles away. Truly though, this type and scale of trading material … Continue reading WHY IS ARCHAEOLOGY IMPORTANT?

As time goes by some things that were difficult to recognize, to see, to comprehend, become visible and understandable.  The past requires us to look backwards.  Archaeologists in particular spend a lot of time looking backwards.  When I reflect on my career path and look back from the beginning until now, some important things come into relief.  My aim with this blog for “30 Days … Continue reading Perspective.

Why Documentary Art? Documentary art is created to represent lifestyles or events of the past, provoke lively discussions, and generate questions. Teaching Through Documentary Art: Lessons for Elementary and Middle School Social Studies Teachers (http://arch.as.uky.edu/) is an on-line resource of innovative lessons linked to documentary art: two murals featured in the award-winning documentary Davis Bottom, Rare History, Valuable Lives. Developed with Kentucky teachers in mind, … Continue reading Archaeology and Documentary Art at Davis Bottom