November 10, 2014
On International Archaeology Day a small, dedicated group of community volunteers under the guidance of a registered archaeologist, braved rainy, cold weather to excavate a cistern on the Dr. Thomas Elkins property. Dr. Elkins, an African American dentist in the city of Albany, New York in the 19th century, was an Underground Railroad activist. Unearthed artifacts included pieces of clay pots, clay marbles, transferware, porcelain dinnerware, nails, glass bottles, melted lead, and coal ash. These are exciting finds for an important Underground Railroad activist for whom the only other records are paper documents. The excavation, conducted by the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc., needed to be concluded for now with the plan to return to the excavation before the snow flies.
The Wisconsin Historical Museum participated in International Archaeology Day by providing hands-on experiences for visitors. 75 participants learned about archaeology by touching real artifacts from Wisconsin archaeology sites, including projectile points and animal bones. In addition, the Wisconsin Historical Museum engaged visitors through games that allowed them to identify and piece together artifacts just like archaeologists.
Kennesaw State University‘s Student Anthropology Club, Lambda Alpha Anthropology Honors Society, and the Department of Geography and Anthropology co-hosted International Archaeology Day with the Cave Spring Historic Society on Oct. 18 at the Vann Cabin in downtown Cave Spring, Georgia. KSU Anthropology students led a variety of activities for families and awarded prizes for children that collected a stamp from all of the archaeology stations. Site mapping and dendrochronology consultations were also conducted on the cabin grounds.
International Archaeology Day Blog
