Protecting Michigan State's Material Culture
My previous posts this semester have focused on Campus Archaeology’s involvement in community and educational outreach and the pros and cons of these types of activities. Last Friday, members of Campus Archaeology gave an in-school presentation for MSU Science Festival at East Olive Elementary in …
Cowritten by Nicole Geske and Lisa Bright In our last blog, we discussed some of the pros and cons of K-12 public outreach. On Wednesday, Campus Archaeology participated in the Bennett Woods elementary school Science Fair. This event was held for several hundred K-4th graders along …
This coming Thursday CAP has a meeting with MSU Infrastructure Planning and Facilities (IPF) and Granger construction to discuss the upcoming summer construction projects. Most importantly, Phase 4 (final phase) of the North Campus Infrastructure Improvement, a.k.a the steam tunnel project. This project began in the summer of 2012, in an effort to upgrade the 100 year old steam tunnels. CAP has worked closely with this project because a) it is taking place in the heart of historic campus, West Circle; and b) it gives CAP the opportunity to explore huge areas of buried MSU.
Unfortunately, this project is quite destructive to any potential archaeology, so my job is to do the proper research so CAP can preemptively excavate, or at least be prepared for any findings. Last summer, during Phase 3, you may recall that CAP discovered the foundation of the original Vet Lab, built in 1885. This discovery caught us off guard, and though we were able to hold off construction so we could excavate, it was not an ideal situation. I’ll be much more prepared this summer.
IPF always gives us the construction blueprints, which detail every aspect of the construction process. From digging the 30ft deep steam tunnels to tree removal, these plans allow CAP to make a game plan for how we’re going to approach the construction, i.e. simple shovel testing or full excavation. For Phase 4, the final steam tunnel replacements will cut across Olds Hall and towards the MSU Museum. I’ve been compiling historic maps and photos to see if any of these cuts will impact historical features. Currently, I’ve discovered three potential structures: the Vet Lab, the Mechanical shops, and the original steam tunnels. The steam tunnels are too deep for us to shovel test or excavate, so we can only monitor until something is found. Most likely, we’ll shovel test beforehand to determine if the remains of the Vet Lab and Mechanical shops will be disturbed.
At the upcoming meeting on Thursday we’ll explain our findings, and our concern for the possible destruction of these historic features, then we’ll create a strategy that allows for archaeology, but does not severally inhibit the construction. IPF and Granger understand the significance of the cultural heritage of MSU and are always willing to accommodate our archaeology.
In addition to the steam tunnel project, there are a handful of other construction projects occurring on campus this summer. MSU’s campus is constantly being renovated and upgraded to accommodate the ever-growing university. It is CAP’s goal to discover and disseminate the history on which MSU has built its name.
Author: Kate Frederick
Since its official beginnings in 2007, social media has played an important role in the management of and education about cultural heritage on campus. Social media is part of a larger multifaceted communication plan that has been developed as part of this program for multiple …
This past weekend Campus Archaeology took part in Michigan Archaeology Day. Every year the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), in conjunction with the Michigan Historical Center, hosts Michigan Archaeology Day at the Michigan Historical Museum. Michigan Archaeology Day is not only a day to celebrate …
30Jan1973.jpg)
Greetings gentle readers. I have admittedly procrastinated the writing of this blog post. In my procrastination, I stumbled upon a buzzfeed.com post (link below) referencing a recent interview with actor Nick Offerman in which he was asked about his preplanned funeral arrangements. His brilliant response involved an elaborate, if inventive, recreation of a Viking burial ritual, flaming arrows, and Chris Pratt. Last year I read a book chapter that cited a detailed eyewitness description of a Viking funeral, but one which included neither fiery missiles nor a burning longboat welcoming the deceased to the Great Beyond (Parker Pearson 1999). I am a touch disappointed that history seems to lack this dramatic theatrics, but I digress. I was reminded of the never-ending discussion among archaeologists regarding the public’s perception of archaeology and the past. We are often mistaken for paleontologists or are asked even more frequently if we own a fedora and/or bullwhip.
The Campus Archaeology Program at MSU has consistently maintained a visible presence, whether by social media or fieldwork on campus. By frequently updating the website with our findings or participating in events such as the annual Michigan Archaeology Day, we not only inform the public about what it is that archaeologists do, but also generate interest in MSU’s rich history. I remember my excitement at learning about CAP when I first came to MSU. My undergraduate institution did not have a similar program, nor have I heard of other universities having archaeology programs that focus work specifically on university history. I have only conducted fieldwork with CAP a few times and was initially a bit surprised but always excited when passersby visited our work areas. Some would briefly stop and ask if we had found anything exciting before continuing their day, but many would stay for several minutes and ask questions about what we were looking for, why we were excavating in a given space, etc. A few even participated in screening soil for artifacts. It was always apparent that students and non-students alike take a special interest in Michigan State’s heritage and hold it as a source of university pride.
My primary project for CAP this year involves determining a suitable location to hold the 2015 Campus Archaeology field school. The project will involve a combination of archival research and shovel testing across campus. Current areas of interest include the botanical gardens, the Forestry Cabin once located at People’s Park, and an area of the River Trail near the administration building that yielded what appears to be a large trash pit comprised mostly of discarded lab equipment. In the weeks to come, you may see us around campus with our shovels and screens digging away. If you do, feel free to stop by with any questions or if time permits you could even help us uncover, preserve, and share our university’s heritage.
We hope to see you soon.
Author: Josh Burbank
Reference:
Parker Pearson, Mike. 1999. The Archaeology of Death and Burial. Texas A&M University Press,
College Station.
Link to Buzzfeed article: http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/nick-offerman-has-already-planned-
his-funeral-and-it-sounds#1ei364n
*Disclaimer: The Offerman interview includes a single instance of profanity at the end.
As I’m sitting here, trying to figure out what I can possibly blog about this week, I’ve ticked off in my head the usual blog topics; fieldwork update, archival research update, CAP outreach rundown, etc…and I have nothing new to report on. Well this lack …
Grandparents University 2014 wrapped up last Thursday and, as usual, the Campus Archaeology Program offered its two-day class about the history and archaeology of Michigan State University. This year, our two-day class ended up getting flipped around due to inclement weather. Usually, the first day …
Last Thursday, Campus Archaeology had the pleasure of presenting at the Science-Palooza, part of the 4-H Discovery Days that occurs each year on campus. It was basically a circus, but for science! There was a big tent with a bunch of science exhibits at tables, all having to do with MSU sciences or other local scientific and educational groups. This was the first year that Campus Archaeology was invited to present, and we were delighted to accept the offer. The event has been happening every year at MSU since 1970. It has always drawn 2,400 or more kids from across Michigan each year.
For several days that week, campus (especially McDonel Hall, the home of our lab) was crawling with kids between the ages of 11 to 19. They seemed pretty excited, both for the learning and because they got to spend a few days with their friends and away from their parents!
For the Science-Palooza, we had several activities. We showed them how screening for artifacts works, played a matching/memory game, had them guess which artifacts were “old or new,” and had them do a mock walk-through survey of some dirt where we laid out artifacts and rocks.
I worked a screen for most of the time. We were screening through sand that was full of beads, shells, rocks, and fossils. We explained to them how and why we screened, what an artifact was, and how a shell may or may not be an artifact depending on the context. Most everybody seemed interested, except a few kids just wanted to know where we got the sand for some reason. Perhaps they were planning to turn their rooms into beaches.
In the matching/memory game, kids had to match historical artifacts with their modern counterparts. Some were pretty easy, like comparing an old Listerine bottle with a new one. Some of them were a little trickier, such as the old graphing compass and the new graphing calculator. It was our most popular game.
For the “Old or New Game”, we took an old-looking new objects and put it next to an actual artifact and had the kids guess which one was the historic one. For instance, Kit, our volunteer, took a file to a new glass Coke bottle and made it look impressively weathered. We stuck it next to the old Coke bottle that we found and asked the kids to tell us which one was actually old and why they thought so.
In the walk-through survey game, we had a tarp covered in dirt shaped to look like a farmer’s field, placed artifacts, sticks and rocks throughout the dirt, and had the kids walk by and point out the artifacts. We used sturdy materials, such as iron horseshoes, pieces of brick, and thick ceramics, just in case somebody stepped on something.
The event was very successful, and we were excited to teach these students about archaeology. Even Sparty came by and checked out our exhibit- he even tried sifting some dirt to search for artifacts! It was a great event, and we hope that we will be invited again next year!
Author: Caroline Dunham
Most archaeologists would agree that you do archaeology, because you love archaeology. It’s generally not a profession that you happen to fall into, you strive to become an archaeologist. And in that passion for archaeology, you look for opportunities to show others just why you …