There were scattered storms throughout the day yesterday, so we had to cancel class. However, the tarps covering our units held up nicely. Our system of tarps was tested once again around 10:00 A.M. Fortunately, the rain didn’t last long, and we were able to resume work within the hour.
We made several neat discoveries today. One of these, a large fabric-impressed saltpan fragment, was made by John, Brittany, and Kathryn. This sherd came from the prehistoric Mississippian midden in the eastern part of the site.
In an effort to get a better understanding of the midden’s contents, Maddie, Fiona, and Hannah opened up another 1x2 m test unit. Despite having to get the unit set up and getting rained out for part of the morning, the crew was able to complete three levels. They should now be near the bottom of the plow zone; so hopefully tomorrow, they will start coming down on the midden.
Since Hannah and Fiona moved to the eastern side of the field today, Amanda and Constants were all alone in the west. They were beginning to get lonely, but they were soon joined by a large, partially intact deer jaw. The jaw is probably no more than a couple hundred years old, but an interesting find nonetheless.
Not to be outdone, Valerie, Devon, and Matthew unearthed a secondary deposit of hearth remains and a partially-intact deer skull; both of which were located in the Mississippian midden.
Just after lunch we were paid a visit by DJ and his dog Grace. Grace seemed to enjoy touring the site, though it’s probably a good thing Lil Bit (Ron’s cat) decided not to join the field crew earlier this week.
