Alabama Archaeological Society

Archaeology in the News:

• Genetic Data on Ancient American Populations Points to Single Ancestral Group: For two decades, researchers have been using a growing volume of genetic data to debate whether ancestors of Native Americans emigrated to the New World in one wave or successive waves, or from one ancestral Asian population or a number of different populations. Now, after painstakingly comparing DNA samples from people in dozens of modern-day Native American and Eurasian groups, an international team of scientists thinks it can put the matter to rest: virtually without exception, the new evidence supports the single ancestral population theory. Read more at Scienedaily.com.
• Copper Axe Stolen from Exhibit at Cahokia: It was recently discovered that a copper celt (axe) had been stolen from one of the exhibit cases at Caholia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville, Illinois. The thieves apparently were able to compromise the security of the case at the "Fiber" display. The artifact was solid copper, 5 3/4" long, 2 1/2" wide, and 7/16" thick. One side had a textile psuedomorph, created by the mineralization of a textile in contact with copper deposited in soil. Although the original textile no longer exists, what remains--its psuedomorph--can provide information of the characteristics of the original cloth or bag in which the axe originally had been wrapped. There was a catalog number on it, "19 x 862". Other than some minor vandalism, this is the first artifact theft at the Interpretive Center since it opened twenty years ago. Please keep an eye out for this axe and if you see it or something similar for sale, please contact: William R. Iseminger, Assistant Site Manager/Public Relations, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, 30 Ramey Street, Collinsville, IL, 62234; or via email at cahokia.mounds@sbcglobal.net, or visit their website.
• New methods for dating an archaeological artifact, rock art: Rock art has been difficult for archaeologists to date employing scientific methods commonly used for archaeology. Recently, Marvin W. Rowe, professor of chemistry at Texas A&M, has applied the use of accelerator mass spectrometry, which requires a very small amount of material to be removed from a painting. For more information, see physorg.com, a web-based science, research and technology news service.
• A recent news item on a federal listserve: Archaeology Magazine Reports on Drugs and Looting The locus of archeological crime in the American Southwest and across the nation is shifting into the world of guns and drugs, reports Samir Patel in an article in the March/April issue of Archaeology Magazine. A strange synergy is developing with meth that puts every archeological site and collection at risk, Patel notes. Meth provides a surplus of energy that users need to work off, and artifact hunting to get the money for the next high is one way to do it. Meth looters are changing the face of looting in the U.S., and Southeast Asia and Europe may not be far behind. The looting-meth connection is reported by Federal archeologists and law enforcement officers across the nation. The involvement with drugs is problematic for law enforcement officers who pursue cultural resource crime. Once a looting suspect is caught, archeological resource violation laws take a back seat to drug charges. Drug and firearm possession carry much steeper penalties than ARPA violations, under most circumstances. Drug cases can make it easier to recover artifacts, as looters will more readily hand them over when faced with drug charges, especially if doing so will save them from ARPA charges. As a result, there is little risk for drug dealers who want to engage in antiquities trade. The entire article is available on-line at www.archaeology.org.
• Norwood Pottery in Mississippi: Archaeologists at the Center for Archaeological Studies at the University of South Alabama have recovered Norwood Pottery in Mississippi, farther west than this type of pottery has been found in the past. More information is available in the upcoming issue of the AAS newsletter, Stones & Bones (see the article).
• Fort Mims:The Fall 2007 issue of American Archaeology magazine, published by the Archaeological Conservancy, featured an article about Alabama's own Fort Mims, Clarifying an Historic Event: Archaeologists are working to uncover the details of the massacre at Fort Mims (a 3.5 meg PDF). The Archaeological Conservancy has generously allowed us to provide this digital copy of that article to AAS members. The Alabama Department of Archives and History, the Alabama Historical Commission, Sharon Blair, and the Center for Archaeological Studies, at the University of South Alabama, all contributed photographs for this article and also gave their permission for this digital copy.

Members at Work:

• AAS member, Cary Geiger, requests information on the distribution of MacCorkle Stemmed Points in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.