People & Plants: Study of Ancient Oregon Rock Shelter Topic of September OAS Lecture

Catlow Valley Highway-Photo Courtesy of Dave Anderson (Picasa)

OAS Meeting & Presentation: Tuesday, September 6
The Oregon Archaeological Society will offer its first lecture of the year on Tuesday, September 6, 2011. The title of the lecture is “People and Plants: Paleobotanical Studies at a Late Archaic Rock Shelter in Oregon’s Catlow Valley.” Jaime Dexter, a doctoral student in Archaeology at the University of Oregon, is the featured speaker.


Dexter’s research interests include paleoethnobotany, palynology, plant genetics, and environmental archaeology. She has studied the subsistence strategies of hunter-gatherer populations in the northwestern Great Basin and is specifically interested in utilizing cross-disciplinary approaches to recognize and address prehistoric environmental impacts.


The presentation is at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) at 7:45 PM, and is free and open to the public. The talk is preceded at 7 PM by a general business meeting, which is also open to the public


See www.oregonarchaeological.org or call 503-727-3507 for more information.www.oregonarchaeological.org.

OAS Field Trip: Huckleberry Processing Fields, Saturday, September 10 - Space Available!

Photo courtesy Fat of the Land

Rick McClure, Forest Archaeologist & Heritage Program Manager for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest at Mt. Adams, Washington and archaeologist Cheryl Mack, will conduct two field trips to huckleberry processing field sites, focusing on the archaeology of the Cascade Crest - late summer upland use oriented toward collection and processing of huckleberries. The trip is expected to last the entire day. 

Meet at 9:00 a. m. at the Mt. Adams Ranger Station. This trip will go into the Indian Heaven Wilderness and is more difficult due to hiking conditions.


Contact Betty Tandberg (360) 695-6021 or tandberg0408@comcast.net to sign up for either of these trips since the number of participants is limited.

Final Resting Place of Clark County Pioneers

By Sue Vorenberg
Columbian Staff Reporter

It wasn’t easy for the dozen or so family members to pack up a wagon train in 1850 and bump, thump and roll their way from Missouri to what would eventually become east Vancouver.


When they staked their claims for free land around the Columbia River and Government Island, the small band probably didn’t consider that one day they’d end up as founding members of a county that would grow to more than 425,000 people...


Read the whole story at: Fishers Cemetery


British Columbia Village May Be 10,000 Years Old

Mark Hume

Globe & Mail

When Farid Rahemtulla and his anthropology students began to dig in the forest floor on Calvert Island, he pretty much knew what to expect – lots of clam and mussel shells.

But shortly after the team from the University of Northern British Columbia started to sink pits into a shell midden (refuse dump) on the Central Coast, he realized it was much bigger than anyone imagined – so large he now believes it is part of a long-lost, ancient village called Luxvbalis...

Read the whole story at: Ancient Village

Teen Gets Prison in Red Rock Graffiti Case

By Jeff German

Las Vegas Review-Journal

The desecration last year of prehistoric artwork at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area sparked outrage and focused attention on the spread of graffiti throughout the Las Vegas Valley.


This week, the 17-year-old youth charged with defacing the Red Rock area received his punishment behind closed doors in federal court, ending a case that rallied the community to help remove the spray-painted graffiti...

Read the whole sad story at: Rock Art Graffiti

Ötzi the Iceman Murdered on a Full Stomach
By Brandon Keim

Wired
A fresh analysis of Ötzi the Iceman’s stomach suggests a grisly new climax to the world’s most famous prehistory murder mystery: death by ambush, a surprise killing in the afterglow of a big meal.


Ötzi was found in 1991, frozen and fantastically preserved in ice high in the Italian Alps, where he’d perished 5,300 years ago. With his tattoos and cool tools and smart outfit, rendered by artists with soulful brown eyes under a weathered brow, he became a Copper Age celebrity. Public and scientific imagination seized on the circumstances of his life — and, of course, his death...

Otzi fans can read the whole story at: Otzi Dies on Full Stomach

Hand Axes Unearthed in Kenya are Oldest Advanced Stone Tools Ever Found

By Ian Sample

Guardian.co.uk

A recent discovery suggests early humans were wielding sophisticated stone tools at least 300,000 years earlier than thought. A rare haul of picks, flakes and hand axes recovered from ancient sediments in Kenya are the oldest remains of advanced stone tools yet discovered.


Archaeologists unearthed the implements while excavating mudstone banks on the shores of Lake Turkana in the remote north-west of the country.

Read the whole story at: Ancient Tools

(Thanks to Robin Harrower, Russel Micnhimer, The Columbian, Wired, the Guardian, The Globe and Mail, and Las Vegas Review-Journal for some of the info in this post.)

Sacred Cave/Rock Art Vandalized Near Bend, OR

Vandalism Discovered at Arnold Cave Complex in Central Oregon-Reward Offered

April 21, 2011, during a visit to the Arnold cave complex, Forest Archaeologist Penni Borghi, Wildlife Specialist Julie York, local Grotto president Matt Skeels, and ASCO members Lisa Nicol and Susan Gray discovered extensive paint vandalism at Hidden Forest Cave.

Several different colors of spray paint graffiti covered a large stretch of the east face of the sink area, stopping just short of the drip line. Pictures do not do the damage justice (see video below)!

This cave is one of the most beautiful in the extensive lava tube systems in Central Oregon, and one of the most overused and badly treated. Past ASCO stewardship visits have reported evidence of vehicular traffic on the closed roads, illegal fire pits, damaged trees cut for firewood and shot up for whatever reason, large numbers of beer cans and bottles (many shattered against the rock faces), discarded clothing, and other types of graffiti.

If you are unsure about what activities are not permitted in the caves, you may read the Forest Service’s guidelines for cave access on their website. (http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/conditio ns/cave_access_deschutes.pdf)

If you have any information that could help the investigation into the vandalism at this site, please contact Eddy Cartaya, the Forest Service law enforcement officer handling the case, at the Bend-Fort Rock Office (541-383- 4796).

(Article above reprinted with permission from the ASCO May-June 2011 Midden. Thanks to Susan Gray, Editor of the Midden for sending us this info.)

VIDEO BELOW PROVIDED BY OREGON HIGH DESERT GROTTO

(caution...if you love rock art and/or caves this is a very disturbing video).

REWARD OFFERED/DONATE TO REWARD FUND

Oregon High Desert Grotto, a caving club based in Bend, OR, is offering a reward for information on the Hidden Forest Cave vandalism. They are also asking for donations to increase the reward fund. Click here for more info on the reward or to make a donation

Warrior Art, Painted Caves, Flint-knapping, Mammoths ...and More

OAS MEETING: TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 7:00 PM AT OMSI
“Recounting Days of Glory: Plains Indian Warrior Art” is the topic of the April 5, 2011 Oregon Archaeological Society lecture. Dr. James Keyser is the featured speaker.

Keyser has conducted rock art research across western North America including projects in Alberta, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. He also has an ongoing research interest in European rock art in France, Spain, and Italy. He is a member of the Science Advisory Committee for the Study of Chauvet Cave (France), and is listed in Who's Who in Rock Art. Prior to retirement, he served for 27 years as a regional archaeologist for the U.S. Forest Service. He maintains faculty affiliation with the University of Montana and has more than 150 archaeology publications of which more than 100 concern rock art, robe art, or ledger art.

The presentation is at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) at 7:45 PM, and is free and open to the public. The talk is preceded at 7 PM by a general business meeting, which is also open to the public

See www.oregonarchaeological.org or call 503-727-3507 for more information.

JEAN AUEL BOOKSIGNING AT THE OAS MAY MEETING

As you've probably heard by now Jean Auel has released a new book "The Land of Painted Caves"! Jean has tentatively agreed to come to the May OAS meeting to sign copies of her new book (if she's back from her intergalactic book launch tour).

OAS will have a few copies of the new book that you can buy at the meeting or you can bring your own.

We'll make another announcement later in April to confirm (or reschedule) the booksigning.

Read a great Oregonian article about Jean Auel at: "Where I Write: Jean M. Auel..."


OAS PRESIDENT DEMONSTRATES FLINT-KNAPPING AT FORT VANCOUVER

Dennis Torresdal, OAS President, was featured in a recent Columbian article titled "Flint-Knapping Fun". Dennis, an expert flint-knapper, created fine blades, projectile points...and a lot of debitage during a well-attended exhibition at the Fort.

Read all about it at: Fort Vancouver Flint-knapping









WENAS CREEK MAMMOTH EXCAVATIONS: LECTURE APRIL 11

Monday, April 11, 6:30 PM, Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center, 990 SW Rock Creek Dr., Stevenson, WA, Patrick Lubinski, Wenes Creek Mammoth.

Lecturer: Patrick Lubinski, Professor of Anthropology, Central Washington University.

The 2005 accidental discovery of a mammoth bone near Selah, Washington led to a six- year investigation by Central Washington University, providing a glimpse into life during that time. In addition to 16,000-year-old mammoth and bison bones, students and faculty have found human-made artifacts of unknown age that could shed new light on the early presence of people in Washington. Lubinski will summarize the project and its findings using bone casts, PowerPoint images and video. .
http://www.humanities.org/programs/speakers/current-speakers/inquiring-mind-speaker-patrick-lubinski

As this is an evening event the Interpretive Center will be closed. After you turn north on Rock Creek Drive from Washington SR14 look for the employees entrance/parking lot on your right (less than 1/2mile). If you get to Skamania Lodge Road or the main entrance to the Interpretive Center you have gone too far.

For more info: Patrick Lubinski

CENTER FOR JAPANESE STUDIES HOSTS PSU TALK MAY 19
May 19, 6PM PSU Smith Memorial Hall 238 presentation by DR. Ho Tae JEon (Harvard University) "Koguryo tomb murals and Japan in Ancient East Asian Funeral Arts" sponsored by the Portland State Center for Japanese Studies.

$10,000 FINE LEVIED..."NO, IT'S NOT COOL TO DEFACE NATIVE ROCK ART
Read more: Rock Art Fine

Archaeology Presentations, Rock Art Guide, Old Teeth, & A Third Branch of Humanity

OAS MEETING - TUESDAY, JAN. 4, 2011 - Revisiting the Meier Site

Dr. Kenneth Ames is the featured speaker at the January 4, 2011 Oregon Archaeological Society meeting. He will be talking about the Meier Site and Lower Columbia River archaeology.

The Meier Site, located near Scappoose, Oregon, is one of the most significant sites on the Lower Columbia River. It was excavated between 1987 and 1991. The site dates to the period from about AD 1400 to at least through the founding of Ft. Vancouver, in the 1830s and beyond. The Meier site revealed major residential habitation with a massive plankhouse. The talk reviews the results of analyses of thousands of artifacts, focusing on the Meier site, while also discussing other sites along the river.

Dr. Ames is Professor and Department Chair of Anthropology at Portland State University. He has conducted numerous archaeological field research in western North America and has authored numerous publications and reports.

The lecture will be held in the OMSI auditorium at 7:45 PM, and is free and open to the public. The presentation is preceded at 7 PM by a general business meeting, which is also open to the public. See www.oregonarchaeological.org or call 503-727-3507 for information.


ARCHAEOLOGY FOR THE CURIOUS-OAS BASIC TRAINING STILL AVAILABLE!
Are you looking to learn more about archaeology basics, or do you need a refresher on the history of the Pacific Northwest? The Oregon Archaeological Society offers an annual Training program.

OAS Basic Training, also known as Archaeology for the Curious, is taught by experienced regional professionals from organizations such as the National Forest Service, BLM, and the University of Oregon. The sessions will be held on six Saturdays in late Winter/early Spring.

Contact Steve Satterthwaite (503) 824-2264 satterts@hotmail.com or visit http://www.oregonarchaeological.org/training.htm


NEW ROCK ART GUIDE BOOK NOW AVAILABLE
Oregon avocational archaeologists D. Russel Micnhimer and LeeAnn Johnston announce the publication of their new guide book, Where to See Rock Art: Washington Oregon Idaho by Pendulum Press.

It contains general information about various aspects of rock art and specific information about where rock art can be seen in museums, visitor centers, state parks and public lands in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Photographs, line drawings and a brief description give readers an idea of what they will find at 39 locations in the three states. The table of contents make it easy to access the information in this 147 page paperback.

The authors are members of the Oregon Archaeological Society and have received numerous Loring & Loring Grants from the organization in support of their on going research and website www.oregonrockart.com.

The new book is available directly from Russel Micnhimer, P. O. Box 1653, Prineville, OR 97754. $14.95 + $4.00 S&H (USPS). For more information email TalkingEarth@hotmail.com.

(I've read Russel and LeeAnn's new book and its a great guide for anyone who wants to visit the very interesting public rock art sites of the Pacific Northwest...Mike)


DOUGLAS HISTORIAN TO SPEAK IN PORTLAND, VANCOUVER
Author Jack Nisbet will talk about "Point of Departure: David Douglas at Fort Vancouver 1825-33" at 2 p.m. Jan. 9 at E.B. Hamilton Hall on the Fort Vancouver National Site. Nisbet will also give a reading from his book "The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest" at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at Powell's bookstore in downtown Portland.

Douglas was the premier botanical explorer in the Pacific Northwest and western North America in the 19th century. His base of operations always remained at Fort Vancouver. The people he met there influenced his every move, and the changes he witnessed during his visits mark significant turning points for the social, economic, scientific, and environmental stories of the region. In this illustrated presentation at Fort Vancouver, Nisbet traces the energy Douglas brought to, and absorbed from, his central headquarters at Fort Vancouver. Nisbet is this year's Michael M. Powell Fellow at the Center for Columbia River History.

For program information, go to http://www.ccrh.org/calendar.php


AN OLDER ORIGIN FOR 'MODERN' TOOL-MAKING TECHNIQUE?
By News Services-October 29, 2010
A technique for shaping stones into sharp-edged points may have emerged about 55,000 years earlier than previously known, according to a study of stone tools from Blombos Cave in South Africa. Previously, researchers have also found other evidence of “modern” human behavior, such as shell beads, from this 75,000-year-old site, where new ideas and techniques may have been rapidly introduced...

Read the whole story at: http://www.flickeringtorches.com/2010/10/29/an-older-origin-for-modern-tool-making-technique.html





HUMAN, NEANDERTHAL, OR OTHER?
Finger Bones Point to New Branch of Humanity
By Charles Q. Choi
Published December 22, 2010
LiveScience
A finger bone and other remains from Siberia now reveals a previously unknown group of ancient humans once existed there, one neither like us nor Neanderthals.

Bizarrely, the DNA from these extinct Siberians seems unusually similar to that of Pacific Islanders from tropical Melanesia.The 30,000-year-old fossil was found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia in 2008, a bone fragment that likely came from a fingertip of a young girl. It was discovered along with microblades (small stone blades used as tools), body ornaments of polished stone, and a molar shaped very differently from that of Neanderthals and modern humans, resembling that of much older human species, such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus. (The tooth and the finger bone apparently came from different members of the same population.)...

Read more: New Branch of Humanity?
More at: Three Types of Ancient Humans?


RESEARCHERS: ANCIENT HUMAN REMAINS FOUND IN ISRAEL
By Daniel Estrin
Associated Press – Mon Dec 27
JERUSALEM –Israeli archaeologists said Monday they may have found the earliest evidence yet for the existence of modern man, and if so, it could upset theories of the origin of humans. A Tel Aviv University team excavating a cave in central Israel said teeth found in the cave are about 400,000 years old and resemble those of other remains of modern man, known scientifically as Homo sapiens, found in Israel. The earliest Homo sapiens remains found until now are half as old...

Read the whole story at: Ancient Teeth


ANCIENT ROCK ART'S COLOURS COME FROM MICROBES
BBC Mobile
December 27, 2010

A particular type of ancient rock art in Western Australia maintains its vivid colours because it is alive, researchers have found...

Read more at: http://goo.gl/eAEFH








(Thanks to Oregon Heritage News, News Services, LiveScience, the Associated Press, Russel Micnhimer, and Jodi Lorimer for some of the info in this message).

OAS eNews: Breaking Info on Events, Discoveries, and More

OAS Meeting & Presentation: Tuesday, Nov. 2
“Archaeology in the Oregon State Park System” is the title of the November 2, 2010 lecture sponsored by the Oregon Archaeological Society. From the Oregon coast to the Willamette Valley to John Day, Oregon’s state parks are the stewards of Oregon’s history, which is revealed in the cultural sites found within many of the parks. Nancy Nelson, Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department archaeologist, will provide
information on an array of archaeological site types found in state parks. Both precontact and historic archaeological sites will be highlighted, including Tseriadun, Fort Yamhill, and Kam Wah Chung.

Nelson received her education from Oregon State University and the University of Oregon in Anthropology. She has a broad range of experience working on archaeological and cultural resource projects in conjunction with the Coquille tribe; Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Suislaw; the Yakima Nation; and the Ak-Chin Indian Community in Arizona.

The presentation is at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) at 7:45 PM, and is free and open to the public. The talk is preceded at 7 PM by a general business meeting, which is also open to the public

See www.oregonarchaeological.org or call 503-727-3507 for more information.

AIA Lecture: Friday, Nov. 12
November 12, 2010 - Friday 7:30 pm - School of Business Auditorium PSU
Susann Lusnia, Tulane University
“The Petrified City: Reading the Marble Plan of Rome”

Washougal Pedestrian/Petroglyph Tunnel Complete
...A Somewhat Tardy Report

After months of work the Petroglyph tunnel in Washougal had its grand opening in mid-August. Well over 100 people came to the celebration (including several OAS members!) and were treated to speeches by Rep. Brian Baird, the current and a couple of former Washougal mayors, other dignitaries...and yours truly.

If you're near Washougal the tunnel is well worth a visit. You can find it by simply heading for the Pendleton Woolen Mills Outlet Store (also fun to visit), parking in their lot and looking south toward the river.

The City of Washougal deserves a lot of credit for building what will be a lasting addition to the community.

(Left to right) Washougal High intern Patrick McCarthy, Washougal Councilwomen and project team member Molly Coston, Project Advisor Mike Taylor standing with "See Who Watches" panel.

Three more of the seven panels in the tunnel.

Read more at: http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jul/13/we-helped-guide-them-to-build-something-that-would/

See more photos and info at: http://culturewatchnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/02/petroglyph-tunnel-entry-stone.html

Two Books to be Released Online
Two ground-breaking works on relations between Native Americans and early Pacific Northwest settlers will be released online this week by Oregon State University in celebration of the fourth annual International Open Access Week.

The OSU Press and the OSU Center for Digital Scholarship and Services are making available Theodore Stern¹s two-volume works, "Chiefs and Chief Traders: Indian Relations at Fort Nez Percés, 1818-1855," and "Chiefs and Change in the Oregon Country." First published by OSU Press in the 1990s,the books have been out of print for several years.

The books are free online as high-resolution, searchable PDF files in the press's collection in the ScholarsArchive@OSU open access repository: http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/18857

Raven Bluff: another dated Alaskan fluted point site
Northwest Coast Archaeology
qmackie | October 26, 2010
"Some time ago I (Mackie) posted about the Serpentine Hot Springs site in Northwestern Alaska, at which several fluted points have been found, apparently dating to about 12,000 years ago. That’s about a thousand years more recent than Clovis, which is the best known of the early “fluted point” archaeological cultures from the Americas. I was interested to come across another site – Raven Bluff – which has recently come to light from the same general area, and which also has fluted points. At Raven Bluff, at least one of these dates to between about 12,000 and 12,500 years ago – also younger than Clovis, which is mainly confined to a narrow window around 13,000 years ago..."

Read the whole story at: http://goo.gl/nsw4

Rock Spirits at the Portals to Afterlife
By Andrew Howley
A 14,000-year-old bone flute found inside Bédeilhac cave.
The final day of the 2010 IFRAO conference on Pleistocene Art of the World continued to present innovative approaches and fascinating discoveries about the well-known but little understood world of prehistoric rock art.

Tarascon-sur-Ariège, France--Anderzej Rozwadowski gave some enlightenment about the significance of rock itself to Siberian shaman culture, showing how parts of it may match up well with Paleolithic rock art traditions. Among some of these groups, when people die, they are seen as going to an afterlife that exists within the Earth's rock. Cracks and caves are then powerful places that can serve as passages between our world and theirs.

Rozwadowski also pointed out that often in Siberian rock art, images of a drummer (presumably a shaman) are paired with a wounded or hunted animal. If ethnographic evidence can identify this as a current symbol of human death, we may be one step closer to understanding similar images from elsewhere, including the famously mysterious scene of an aggressive wounded bison facing a human-like figure who could be falling backward, in a deep shaft at Lascaux...

Read the whole story at: http://goo.gl/tGqh
More at: http://goo.gl/eA5d

Vandals Strike N. Arizona Archaeological Site
By: Associated Press

WILLIAMS, AZ - Archaeologists are assessing damage to a 1,000 year-old rock art panel in a northern Arizona forest.

A hiker reported the damage last month at the Kaibab National Forest's Keyhole Sink, named for the keyhole-shaped lava flow.

Read more at: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_northern_az/other/vandals-strike-n.-arizona-archaeological-site

Aged 9,000 Years, Ancient Beer Finally Hits Stores
by BRAD HORN
NPR

Dogfish Head brewery is known for making exotic beer with ingredients like crystallized ginger or water from Antarctica, so it might not sound surprising that one of its recent creations is a brew flavored simply by grapes and flowers. It's not the recipe that makes this beer so special; it's where that recipe was found: a Neolithic burial site in China...

Read the whole story at: http://goo.gl/dA9t

Subterranean Secrets-New Rock Art Discovery in Borneo Subterranean Secrets
Photograph by Robbie Shone, Barcroft/Fame Pictures

Caver Andy Eavis compares his hand size with painted prints on the walls of the recently discovered Black Hands Cave, part of the massive Gunung Mulu cave system in the Malaysian section of the island of Borneo...

Read the whole story at: http://goo.gl/QSoP


(Thanks to Oregon Heritage News, Northwest Coast Archaeology Blog, National Geographic, AIA, and Robin Harrower, Pat Lyttle, and Jodi Lorimer for some of the info in this message.)


Copyright (C) 2010 CultureWatch Northwest All rights reserved. Previously copyrighted material is the property of the copyright holder.

Petroglyph Tunnel Progresses!

The other day Suzanne Bachelder (from the City of Washougal) and I went over to Vancouver Granite Works to take a look at the large basalt rock that will stand at the entry to the Washougal Pedestrian Tunnel.

This large chunk of columnar basalt will be a commemorative stone that recognizes the Indian people of the Columbia Plateau and those who contributed to the rock art portion of the project. The boulder, standing at the northern entrance to the tunnel (see drawing for one possibility), will mark the beginning of the transition from the city to the river.


The rock is not quite complete in the photos that follow. Suzanne collected tracings of actual handprints from all the high school interns who worked on the project. When complete those real handprints will be carved into the stone. When we saw it the handprints had not yet been carved, but the concept photo (at right) will give you the idea.

Check it out!
















...and here are the interns and coordinators who are helping make the concept into a reality!

The Ultimate Archaeology Christmas List!

What to get?

Its getting late!

I hate the holidays!

...actually I love the holidays, but shopping for gifts can be a pain!

Here are some ideas that are sure to please that person on your list who's into archaeology:

(click on the blue words for details)




• An Oregon Archaeological Society Membership
Great talks, Screenings, training, access to volunteer projects and much, much more...you can't go wrong with this one!

...or, give a year-end, tax deductible donation in the name of your sweetie to OAS. Just mail a check to:

Oregon Archaeology Society
P.O. Box 13293
Portland, OR 97213

• TAC Tickets: ArchaeologyFest Film Series: Best of 2009
How about tickets to see some great archaeology films...get one for yourself too, then he can't leave you home!




OMSI Tickets & Membership
Cool exhibits, OMNIMAX, the Northwest's largest planetarium...and then there's that submarine!



Clark County Historical Museum Membership
Exhibits, events, newsletter...all in downtown Vancouver USA.



An Archaeology T-shirt
You'll be the hit of the project because some of these are hilarious!

Or, you can make up a gift certificate so your archaeologist can come to the January OAS meeting and get a REAL, AUTHENTIC OAS T-shirt!










Archy Stuff
Bumper stickers, coffee cups, license plate frames...even thong underwear if you're daring enough...or think your significant other should be!


Adult Archy clothing...if you're easily offended don't go here...if you want to get that real "Paisley Cave look" this could be for you...


Your archaeologist will love a day trip to:
The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center
Grab a picnic basket, a bottle of wine, and whatever else you need for a road trip and head for The Dalles...plus, on the same day you can hit
The Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center
...archaeology overdose! Yes!!

Visiting Ancient Rock Art in the Columbia River Gorge

Let's take a short video trip to one of the Pacific Northwest's premier rock art sites. This culturally and spiritually important area has been used by native people for thousands of years.

In April of this year I was privileged to accompany Dr. Jim Keyser on a day-trip to photograph the site for possible inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Located in the Columbia River Gorge, the site (actually many sites in close proximity) holds hundreds of ancient petroglyphs and pictographs and remains very important to the Indian people of the region.

This was a return trip to one of my favorite Northwest places. Over a period of about 5 years beginning in 1998 I worked with Dr. Keyser, tribal members, and many other volunteers to catalog and preserve the extensive body of rock art found in the area.

Almost pristine, the area is closely monitored and watched over by the U.S. Forest Service, Columbia River Intertribal Fisheries Enforcement and a number of other law enforcement agencies. Thanks to the work of the Forest Service and The Trust for Public Lands the site is protected and now belongs to all of us, ownership having been passed to the Forest Service a few years ago.

Following is a short video that I hope will give you a feel for this special place...enjoy the trip!



(Click on the triangle in the center of the screen to start the video. Don't forget to turn on your computer's sound. To watch "full screen" click on the small gray rectangle second from the lower right corner of the video control bar)

You can learn more about this culturally sensitive and important site and the rock art of the Columbia Gorge in a series of books written by Dr. Jim Keyser, myself (Mike Taylor), George Poetschat, and others. Published by The Oregon Archaeological Society Press, you can find them at http://www.oregonarchaeological.org/store.htm and at book stores around the Northwest. (All money from sales of the books goes to the non-profit Oregon Archaeological Society).

The books most closely relating to this area are:

- Echoes of the Ancients, Rock Art of The Dalles-Deschutes Region
By James D. Keyser, Michael W. Taylor and George Poetschat

- Visions in the Mist: The Rock Art of Celilo Falls
By James D. Keyser, Michael W. Taylor, George Poetschat, and David A. Kaiser

- Talking With the Past: The Ethnography of Rock Art
By James D. Keyser, George Poetschat, and Michael W. Taylor

Hope you enjoyed the trip!

Otzi Talk Fascinates Crowd! Oldest Pottery...More Northwest Events

Dr. Angelo Fossati talks about Otzi, the Iceman.

Dr. Angelo Fossati came to Portland last Saturday to give his talk "Unraveling the Secrets of Otzi, the Iceman: His Life, Times and Death". Fossati thrilled the crowd with an excellent presentation that covered many aspects of Otzi's life and death.


Dr. Fossati makes a point during his Otzi lecture.

We learned about Otzi's culture, his clothing, food, weapons, and much more. Most fascinating was Fossati's new theory that Otzi's death was actually recorded in stone carvings on a stele (an upright stone or slab with a carved surface) recently uncovered under the altar in a church near where Otzi would have lived.


This image, carved on a stele, may
show events surrounding the death of Otzi.

The event was well attended and the crowd seemed delighted with the talk and with the enthusiastic question and answer period afterward. OAS can be very proud to have brought a presentation of this quality to Portland.


Becky Steed (left) volunteered to sell imported
Italian t-shirts, under the smiling supervision
of OAS President Robin Harrower.


OAS members Donna Tallman (in red) and Denise
(Cramer) Hershey (seated) sell books to interested attendees.

CATHLAPOTLE PLANKHOUSE HOSTS ROCK ART EVENT JUNE 14
“Rock Art of the Lower Columbia River” Dr. James Keyser, Rock Art Researcher, will share his knowledge and images of the rock art along the lower Columbia, 2pm. Also featured, Greg Archuleta and Greg Robinson teach how native earth pigments have been and are made and used through demonstration and hands-on activities. Noon to 3:30.

Please visit www.plankhouse.org or phone 1-360-887-4106 for seasonal hours, information, and directions. For more Refuge events visit www.ridgefieldfriends.org


OREGON STATE PARKS DAY TO FEATURE HERITAGE ACTIVITIES
State Parks Day on June 6 will highlight the state's sesquicentennial, have a theme of *Happy Birthday Oregon!*, and include living history presentations, special tours, exhibits, free fishing, free admission and lots of cake.

Champoeg*s renovated visitor center with its new exhibits will be a focal point and provide tours of the park*s 1860s kitchen garden and the old Champoeg town site. Evening programs with historical themes will take place in the campground and at the Historic Butteville Store. The Friends of Historic Champoeg and Daughters of the American Revolution are co-sponsors.

Other state parks with heritage activities include Farewell Bend, Cape Blanco, Crown Point, Carl Washburne, Fort Stevens, Jessie Honeyman, Silver Falls, Sumpter Valley Dredge, Tryon Creek and other state parks. Details are available at http://www.oregonstateparks.org/events.php


JACKSONVILLE PLANS SESQUICENTENNIAL EVENTS
Jacksonville will mark Oregon's sesquicentennial with a parade and other heritage activities June 13-14.

A parade at 10 a.m. June 13 will be built around the theme of "150 Years Living In and Loving Oregon" and feature covered wagons; an oxen-pulled wagon; mounted posse; historic cars, fire trucks and tractors, and draft horse teams. Other weekend activities include a Civil War encampment, covered wagon camp, historical displays, antiques, old time cars, old West re-enactments, shootouts, outhouse race, calliope, beard-growing contest, horse-shoeing, and snake-oil salesmen. People can have an old-time photo taken, hear cowboy poetry, take horse-drawn wagon rides, go on trail walks, and tour the cemetery.

For more information, contact Sharon Wesner Becker at 541- 326-6832 or the City of Jacksonville at 541-899-1231.


18,000 YEAR-OLD POTTERY FOUND IN CHINA
Monday, June 01, 2009
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Bits of pottery discovered in a cave in southern China may be evidence of the earliest development of ceramics by ancient people.

The find in Yuchanyan Cave dates to as much as 18,000 years ago, researchers report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The find "supports the proposal made in the past that pottery making by foragers began in south China," according to the researchers, led by Elisabetta Boaretto of Bar Ilan University in Israel...

Read the whole story at:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,524041,00.html?sPage=fnc/scitech/archaeology

(Thanks to Oregon Heritage News, the Cathlapotle Plankhouse, and Fox News for some of the info in this message).