Archaeology of the Flores Man Site: Liang Bua Cave, Indonesia

By K. Kris Hirst

Liang Bua is located in the Wae Racang Valley on the western end of the tiny island of Flores in Indonesia. Liang Bua is the name of the karst limestone cave from which Flores Man (a.k.a. the Hobbit) was found. The stratified site deposits are 12 meters in depth, and within the deposits have been found both modern humans and the hominin remains somewhat controversially called "Homo floresiensis".

Liang Bua Cave Formation

The cave was created by karst action nearly 400,000 years ago, but evidence suggests that it was invisible from the surface until about 190,000 years ago. Homo erectus appears on Flores Island beginning 840,000 years ago. Homo sapiens first appeared in the region circa 55,000-35,000 years ago.

Liang Bua's Hominin Remains

Hominin remains recovered from the site include LB1 (the original Flores Man, dated ca 18,000 years old), and elements from eight other individuals (dated between 12,000 years and 95,000 years ago. Modern human skeletal remains recovered from Liang Bua are all within Holocene levels (i.e., within the past 11-12,000 years or so). None of the bones recovered from Pleistocene deposits in Liang Bua cave appear to be modern H. sapiens.

Artifact Assemblages at Liang Bua

The artifact assemblages from Liang Bua include a fairly sophisticated suite of stone tools attributed to H. floresiensis, particularly within a level dated to ca. 74,000 years ago (+14/-12 ka) that contains stone artifacts with evidence of hard-hammer stone tool production. Raw material for the stone tools was mostly volcanic glass, with some marine limestone. The reconstructed stone tool manufacturing process is similar to sites of the same age found throughout Southeast Asia: a combination of off-site production of large stone blanks and on-site blank reduction. These methods were used by all hominids in southeast Asia around at the time: H. erectus, H. sapiens, and (assuming Flores is a separate species) H. floresiensis.

Sources

Argue, Debbie, Denise Donlon, Colin Groves, and Richard Wright. 2007. Homo floresiensis: Microcephalic, pygmoid, Australopithecus, or Homo? Journal of Human Evolution 51(4):360-374.
Brown, Peter, T. Sutikna, M. J. Morwood, R. P. Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wayhu Saptomo & Rokus Awe Due. 2004 A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 431:1056–1061
Morwood, Michael J. et el. 2004. Archaeology and age of a new hominin from Flores in eastern Indonesia. Nature 431:1087–1091
Morwood, Michael J., et al. 2005. Further evidence for small-bodied hominins from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 437:1012-1017.
Westaway, K.E., M.J. Morwood, R.G. Roberts, J.-x. Zhao, T. Sutikna, E.W. Saptomo and W.J. Rink. 2007. Establishing the time of initial human occupation of Liang Bua, western Flores, Indonesia. Quaternary Geochronology: in press
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Fossil Finds of Flores Man, Indonesia

By K. Kris Hirst

The scientific world was rocked by reports of the discovery of the preserved skeleton of a previously unknown hominin species in 2004. Tentatively named Homo floresiensis, or Flores Man, the hominin became known to the world press as the Little Lady of Flores or the Hobbit. Most of a female individual of Flores Man was discovered by a joint international research team led by R.P Soejono from the Indonesia Centre for Archaeology and Michael Morwood from the University of New England Armidale. The research team discovered Flores Man six meters deep within the deposits of the Liang Bua site, a limestone cave on the island of Flores in Indonesia. The hominin was very small in stature, no more than a meter in height and as small as those of the shortest human beings ever known, but the brain capacity of the creature was much smaller than in modern humans. Further, the form of the skull and lower skeleton suggested to Soejono, Morwood and colleagues that the Little Lady was a form of Homo erectus, and not Homo sapiens. Flores Man caused quite a stir, not the least because she appeared to have survived as recently as 18,000 years ago, far later than any other Homo erectus known on the planet.


H. floresiensis skull, Liang Bua Cave, Indonesia. (by Peter Brown)

The resultant furor over the original Flores Man findings brought a competing theory, not yet published, that the skeleton is of a microcephalic (diseased) modern human pygmy. Further problems developed when the skeletal material was damaged during analysis by another researcher.

Morwood and colleagues continued excavations in Liang Bua cave through 2004, and discovered partial remains of eight additional individuals, one a subadult. These new finds were reported in the journal Nature on October 13, 2005. The recovery of so many examples has allowed for a more complete consideration of the form of H. floresiensis as a group, rather than the single individual. All of the specimens (with the exception of the child) appear to have been about 1 meter in height. In general, the skull shape and body form are most similar to Homo erectus, but H. floresiensis has longer arms and a smaller brain capacity than H. erectus normally has, in fact closer to Australopithecus or gorilla than H. erectus. Recent investigations of the Dmanisi H. erectus fossils in Georgia and those at Olduvai in Kenya suggest that there was more diversity in H. erectus than has been previously identified, a fact surely epitomized here.


Comparison of mandibles from Laetoli Australopithecus afarensis LH4 and Homo floresiensis LB6. (by Nature)

Further information was also found about the behavior of the little hominin: butchered pygmy Stegodon (a primitive type of elephant) and Komodo dragon have been found at Liang Bua, as have clusters of fire-cracked rock and charred bone in levels containing H. floresiensis skeletal materials, suggesting the hominin knew how to control fire. Stone tools recovered from the site evidence a sophisticated grasp of lithic knapping.


Homo floresiensis (Liang Bua Cave, Indonesia) and a modern human skull. (by Peter Brown)

The late date of the appearance of H. floresiensis is also confirmed. Using thermo-luminescence dating of the strata in which the skeletons lie, the oldest appear to have been dated to about 94,000 years ago, and the most recent 12,000 years ago. None of these materials are fossilized, and DNA testing and radiocarbon dating of the hominid skeletons themselves does not seem to be possible, given the condition of the material. Morwood hopes that additional skeletal materials may allow these forms of testing.

Whatever species the little hominin is, Homo erectus or something quite different, they are certainly not human. The appearance of a different hominin species dated to 12,000 years ago is quite remarkable, given that the last known Homo erectus found to have been living on planet earth died out about 120,000 years ago; and the most recent Neanderthal form of Homo sapiens was gone by 28,000 years ago.

Sources and Furthern information

Read the latest information about the Flores individual: Is Flores a Deformed Homo sapiens?
Lieberman, Daniel E. 2005 Further fossil finds from Flores. Nature 437(October 13, 2005):957-958.
Morwood, M. J., et al. 2004 Archaeology and age of a new hominin from Flores in eastern Indonesia. Nature 431:1087-1091.
Morwood, Michael J., et al. 2005 Further evidence for small-bodied hominins from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 437(13 October 2005):1012-1017.
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The Italian Archaeological Expedition in the Sudan 2007 (by Torino University)

Since 1970 the Italian archaeological activities in the Sudan have been sponsored by Rome University "La Sapienza", since this institution was at the time the only university in Italy to have a chair of Egyptology and to be interested in fieldwork in the Sudan. A few years ago, however, the Faculty which hosted the chair of Egyptology, along with other remarkable subjects engaged in Africa and the Near East, diversified its objectives. Eventually the chair of Egyptology was suspended, after the Director of its expedition in the Sudan, Prof. Alessandro Roccati, was appointed to a newly created chair of Egyptology at the University of Torino, thus allowing him to resume and maintain the fieldwork in the Sudan on behalf of the Centro ricerche archeologiche e scavi di Torino (CRAST) and to continue the research in the archaeological area of Jebel Barkal and to ensure the continuation of the team's activities. Otherwise a long period of experience and training would have been lost. This ensures that the present mission is the legitimate offspring of the preceding one and rooted in the same place – as it was already announced at the recent Warsaw Conference. On the one hand it was at Rome that the Tenth International Conference of the Society of Nubian Studies was held in 2002, and on the other hand it was at Torino that the International Exhibition of Nubian archaeology was displayed in 1999: both of them for the first time in Italy, and both of them under the responsibility of Prof. Alessandro Roccati. Furthermore we need not underline the importance borne for the study of ancient Egypt by the research on the Nile civilisations farther South.



Funds for the mission were granted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centro Scavi of Torino. The team was composed of some already familiar participants: Prof. Alessandro Roccati (Torino University, head of the mission), Dr. Roberto Gozzoli (Torino University, historian), Dr. Grazyna Bakowska (Rzeszow University, Poland, archaeologist): and three newcomers to the Sudan, all of them trainees from the School of specialisation in Oriental Archaeology of Rome University "La Sapienza": Dr. Claudia Micari, Dr. Massimiliano Nuzzolo and Dr. Roberta Petrilli. They ensured the necessary backing for survey and documentation. The official appointed by the NCAM was Mr. Murtada Bushara Mohammed.



It must be stressed that the objective of our university mission is not only the acquisition of new results but also the training of young people. Teaching is as much as part of fieldwork as the exploration of an ancient site.



Actually the present campaign is the sequel of the fieldwork carried out between 26th November and 23rd December 2006 on account of our Mission, by a team of geologists led by Prof. Giorgio Martinotti of Torino University, who executed a surveying in the archaeological area of the Mission's excavations at Jebel Barkal. They were assisted by Dr. Grazyna Bakowska (Rzeszow University, Poland) and Dr. Maria Novella Sordi (trainee in the School of specialisation in Oriental Archaeology of Rome University "La Sapienza"), who also tried out the study of ceramics.



Our stay lasted from 12th February till 2nd March 2007, and our activity concentrated in the building labelled B2400 lying near the (ancient) road, while further exploration of the palace B1500 was reserved as a spare activity. In fact, although the main road has meanwhile been moved across the desert and it is no longer a threat to the archaeological area, we wanted to achieve the knowledge of a rather interesting structure we came across during a protective operation of the monuments. Owing to a thin layer of rubble covering the floor, and the reduced surface of B2400, we aimed at getting a general layout of its structures within the limited time span at our disposal.



This building arose on a square platform, but it had become completely invisible on the ground, so to be traversed twice in recent years by the enclosure wall around the antiquities area built by the NCAM (which one day should be removed). Its special interest was awakened by some remains of a Greek architecture standing on it (more pieces were found this year), which may provide a terminus post quem for its dating. However, it was already overlaid in the antiquity by a well paved road in North-South direction, which points to a rather early destruction. Its lack of particular decorations (the walls were not plastered nor painted), its coarse entrance (the only one hitherto clearly detected is from the West) plead for an earlier date with reference to B1500 (the so called "Natakamani's palace"). However some typical potsherds and vessels show that the area was in use during the Meroitic period. A small fragment of pottery carved with some Meroitic signs found this year provides even inscriptional evidence.



One main achievement of this year's digging has been the discovery of a rather well preserved access from the North, in line with what was interpreted as a central court followed by a peristyle court. The much decayed condition of what was expected to be an eastern entrance has now been related to the creation of the paved road, which would have rendered such a passage devoid of use. This observation raises the question of a possible contemporariness of this paved road with the building of a Greek architecture – behind which, to the South, no passageway existed according to a careful search made in a previous campaign.



If these conclusions could be maintained, in view of the basic destruction of everything over the platform, we should consider the possibility that the platform was conceived for an earlier building. That building was later completely dismantled, so as to leave barely the platform in order to host some peculiar architecture, such as a Greek edifice. Nevertheless this older building can only belong to the (early) Meroitic period, due to its construction features, with outer walls lined with red bricks. A new mapping of the area by means of a satellite photograph points out also a parallel location with B100, another building likewise from the (early?) Meroitic period, which was excavated by Reisner in 1916. We owe the copies of Reisner's journal to the kindness of Prof. Timothy Kendall, who has already cooperated with our Mission on more than one occasion.



The new access, which was cleared to the North of B2400 is smaller than the one found on the western side, and it shows a (smaller) terrace abutting the middle of that side, ending in a short ramp perpendicular to the palace's wall, at the end of which a stone threshold lay. These features imply that this entrance was also roofed.



Although some of these features – three entrances of different size in the middle of every side of the platform - are shared by the more recent B1500 (Natakamani's palace), currently dated to the middle of the first century A.D., the latter stands out for its central and imposing position in the front of the sacred mountain. This building was much more elaborated and had equal access staircases instead of ramps. The staircase on its western side, however, was not visible from the plain and was not perpendicular to the palace's wall: it descended next to the wall in direction of B500 (Amun temple).


In B2400 the apparent parallelism between its access from the North and the close by paved road is to be stressed. At any rate, the main access - already of the former building - seems to have been the one to the West, namely the one looking towards the Palace of Natakamani. We expect to reach some better understanding of the entire layout through the tracing of (foundation) walls, which were duly recorded. Some soundings showed that the original floor next to the palace's outer wall looked like a pebbly ground.



The excavations were accompanied by the careful choice and documentation of ceramics uncovered in the different sites where the Italian Mission has been operating at Jebel Barkal. The material has been collected for several years, and at present we are organising a team for its encoding by means of informatisation. Sound results will require a longer time of study and comparison. However a provisional evaluation of forms and painted patterns refers to a period from the second century B.C. to the first century A.D. and possibly later, at least with reference to corresponding evidence from Meroe. Two reversed jars, still with their original contents of bones and some burnt material, were buried in the ground beside the eastern red brick wall closing the middle court and a mud brick wall bordering the paved road. Their location was next to each extremity, i.e. respectively South and North, of the wall.

When we arrived, we found that some heavy storms of last year had broadly damaged many restorations carried out in the excavated buildings, and these needed a number of repairs. These were operated as a by-work of the Mission also thanks to the kind collaboration of the appointed Official, Mr. Murtada. Some workmen of ours gave also a hand to cut the bushes invading the archaeological area in front of the Museum.

Finally we must assess that the friendly mood affecting the relations with the Sudanese Authorities as well as with the local people, either workmen or neighbours, has much contributed to ensure a good result of a difficult enterprise in a rather short time. May they all receive the heartily felt thanks of our entire team.

LA MISSIONE ARCHEOLOGICA IN SUDAN

Appendix: report on pottery examined

The pottery examined was found during the 2004-2007 seasons, during which two structures were being uncovered – named as B2400 and B2200.

B2200
Within the B2200 building there were mostly wheel-made ceramic pieces, some fragments of handmade ceramics were also found. About 6-7% of all finds were decorated sherds, mostly painted; less frequently they were some incised and stamped. The majority of the sherds were dated between 2nd century BC and 1st century AD.

Forms:
Fragments of cups, bowls, plates, saucers, stoppers, lids, beer jars, globular jars, pots, vases, bottles, amphorae, oil lamp, bread moulds and burners.

Motifs:
Offering-table, Hathor's emblem, rosette, ankh-sing, lotus-flower, upright leaves, connected circles, palm-branch, vine wreath, trefoil, twisted cord guilloche, stars, triangular geometric motifs, striped style.

B2400
Pottery sherds found enclosed in the building walls and floors, and other fragments spread throughout the surroundings of the building itself could be dated to the Meroitic Period (some ceramics can be dated between 2nd and 1st century BC, while other pottery in this case out of context could be dated between 1st and 3rd century AD). Moreover, some forms seem to go back to the Napatan Period.

There were wheel made and handmade ceramics pieces. In comparison with the B2200 structure there were very few painted ceramics, while incised and impressed pottery was predominant.

Forms:
Fragments of cups, bowls, dishes/plate, saucers, stoppers, lids, storage jars, globular jars, pots, basins, vases, amphorae, bread mould, klepsydrai.

Motifs:
Human figure, Lion (Apedemak), bird, ankh-sign, vine wreath, rosette, criss-cross.
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Underwater Archaeology: Excavations in Viet Nam

By Dr. Nguyen Dinh Chien (Chief Curator of National Museum of Vietnamese History-Ha Noi)

During the last decade of the 20th century, there were several ancient wrecks that were found in Viet Nam. Among those, the following five wrecks surveys and recoveries are especially remarkable.

I. Five ancient shipwrecks excavated in the sea of Vietnam.

1. Vung Tau ancient wrecks (1690)

In June 1990, the wreck Vung Tau, which was approximate to 15 km far from the Hon Cau Island at 40 m depth water beneath the sand of 0.6m to 1.0 m was recovered. Viet Nam Salvage Corporation (Visal) was licensed to collaborate with the Swedish Company Hallstrom Holdings Oceanic using the America driving equipment and divers from America, British, Canada, Viet Nam to recover the wreck. Until July 1991, the recovery was finished. The wrecks of 32.71m long and approximately 9m wide was measured and drawn by the divers. Thousand of artifacts were recovered from the wreck. Most of them were Chinese porcelains dated back to 1690 (1). The key archaeologist who participated during the projects was an Australian, Mr. Michael Flecker.

2. Hon Dam ancient wreck (15th century)

In May 1991, the wreck in Hon Dam – Phu Quoc Island (Kien Giang province) was recovered. This was ancient wreck which Jeremy and Rosemary Harper mention in seminar on porcelain held in Hong Kong in 1978 (2).

Visal recovered the wreck base on its experiences accumulated from the Vung Tau wreck project. The wreck lied at the over 40m depth. Some parts of the wreck were burried under approximate 2m sand. It was measured at about 30m long and 7m wide. The artifacts above the surface of the wreck were curdled in big blocks by oyster. There were about 16.000 pieces of celadon and brown porcelains recovered in the wreck. The most special ones were the port shaped bowls with segmented open rim of 38cm diameter and weighted 03kg. The specialists assumed that those porcelains were made by the Sawankhalok’s Kiln (Thailand) in the 15th century (3). The recovery was participated by the Vietnamese divers and two key archaeologists Michael Flecker (Australian) and Warren Blake (New Zealand).

3. Cu Lao Cham ancient wreck (15th century)

From May 1997 to July 1999, the wreck in the sea of Cu Lao Cham Island (Hoi An – Quang Nam province) was surveyed and archaeologically excavated. The wreck at the 70-72 m deep. The National Museum of Vietnamese History, Visal and Saga Horison (Malaysia) were performed the excavation. The Chairman of the Excavation Committee is Dr. Pham Quoc Quan, Director of the National Museum of Vietnamese History. There were also many archaeologists from Oxford University (England), Kebangsan University (Malaysia), Czechoslovakia and many divers and crew from Viet Nam, Malaysia, England, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand... The excavation showed tracks of a wreck of 29.4 m and 7.2m wide with 19 berth and spaces. Wood of wreck hull was fairly good. Some tenons on some bulkhead beams were still quite firm. Over two hundred thousand artifacts were recovered in the wreck . Most of them were made in Chu Dau – Hai Duong province – Vietnam in the 15th century.

Besides, this excavation was attended by foreign saturation divers and Director of Operation is Mr. Ong Soo Hin – Director of Saga Horizon and the Bound Mensun – The Director of the Archaeology who is the Director of the Marine Research Department of London University Oxford – England.

4. Ca Mau ancient wreck (1723 – 1725)

From August 1998 to October 1999, the National Museum of Vietnamese History, Visal and Museum of Ca Mau performed the archaeological excavation of the wreck in Ca Mau . The Chairman of the Excavation Committee is Dr. Nguyen Dinh Chien- Chief Curator of the National Museum of Vietnamese history.The excavation was headed by the archaeologists of the National Museum of Vietnamese history through diving operation of Visal’s divers who have an international certificates 3.I.U. The wreck was in the sea depth of 36 m with some obscure tracks of 24m long and about 8m wide. More 60 thousands of artifacts were recovered. Most of them were blue and white glaze porcelains and multicolor painted glazed ones and were made in China. Inscriptions in blue on the base of some bowls and cups indicates that they were made during the Yongzheng reign (1723–1725). The project had been especially done by only Vietnamese divers under supervision of the Vietnamese archaeologists. In 2002, the excavation result was reported in the book with title “ The Ca Mau Shipwreck- 1723- 1735” .(4)

5. Binh Thuan ancient wreck ( 16th – 17th century)

From 2001 to 2002, the wreck in the sea of Binh Thuan province was surveyed and archaeologically excavated. The National Museum of Vietnamese history and Visal performed the excavation. The chairman of the Excavation Committee is Dr.Nguyen Dinh Chien, Chief Curator of National Museum of Vietnamese History. The excavation showed tracks of a wreck of 23.4 m long and 7.2 m wide with 25 berths and spaces. Over 60 thousands of artifacts were recovered. Most of them were blue and white glaze porcelains and multi-colour painted glazed ones and were made in China. Origin of goods carried on board the ship from Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province; Dehua kiln complex, Fujian province and Guangzhou kiln complex, Guangdong province.

The ship and cargo are dated to the late 16th to early 17th century, the same of Wanli reign of late Ming dynasty. The excavation results were noticed in the scientific report by Dr. Nguyen Dinh Chien and Dr. Michael Flecker.(5)

II. Some experience in excavating and handling the artifacts of ancient shipwrecks.

1. Pre-excavation:

Most of the wrecks were accidentally found by fishermen while fishing. Therefore, it is needed to have further proper surveys to clarify the nature of the wrecks. Then to complete the relevant procedures as well as to arrange the excavating equipment.

• Arranging the personnel for the project as archaeologist, divers, conservators logisticts, guards of the site…

• Close circus television including diving masks KMB, underwater communications, diving control and video.

• Grids and sticks to set on the surface of the wreck.

• Space and instruments to wash the artifacts from sand and mud; package to transfer artifacts to the storages on shore.

• Form for analysis, statisticts of the recovered artifacts.

• Spaces and instruments for conservation, desalination, restoration and making scientific archives of recovered artifacts, which must be well treated numbered before taking the final classification. All artifacts data will be computerized under management and administration softwares.

2. Process of the underwater archaeological excavation:

• After the arrival of the means, which carrying personnel and equipment for the excavation at the site, the means will anchor over the wreck position. Based on the diving report the archaeologists will set up a core line as an azimuth for coordinates by connecting some visible parts of the wrecks such as beams, masts…Then the perpendicular aluminum grids with each side of 02 m long will be fixed above the wreck and having sides parallel to the core line and marked by rags.

• The excavation operation will be routinely arranged between the archaeologists and divers. Through the close circus camera with masks KMB 17 and the underwater communications, the diver masters will help archaeologists in the Excavation Committee to supervise and check up on the drives for the effect of air lists or the recovery of artifacts.

• At the depth of 35-40 m, we apply the air surface supply diving method. At the sea level below 4-5, every day we can operate 6-7 diving shifts, each two divers. The total diving time of one shift is 45 minutes (including time for decompression). Every diving shift will be followed up by log books with the video to their activities.

• The archaeologists will supervise the excavation through the monitors, to note what happening underwater and on board, especially concentrating on the drafting draws of divers, discussing and deciding which grid will excavated next.

• After the artifacts being pick up and put to baskets and lifted up, the archaeologists will initially classify and pack artifacts in the rubber baskets, which numbered and covered by nylon nets. Those baskets then will be put in to the sea water tanks waiting for transferring to the storages on shore or to the archaeologists barges. The delivery of these baskets must enclose the artifacts forms for the following up and statistics of artifacts in each grid, with name of divers, diving shift, date, people making notes and description.

• The sea usually has big swell at the sea level of 4-5 at the depth of 72 m in April 1999; we applied the saturation diving method. Following to this way, there were 2 shifts, 11 hours a shift (working time of 22 hours a day). The divers get up the grids, using air lifts, recovering the artifacts, putting into numbered rubber baskets and to the big steel baskets which could contain thousands of artifacts. Then the crane lifted up the steel basket to the barge. The archaeologists and workers washed the artifacts and numbered them and then put them in to the plastic tanks which were numbered too. The artifacts of each type were chosen and numbered, taken photograph, technically drown. With the recovery, the recording and drawing of the site were also undertaken usually.

3. Onshore post excavation

Big tanks or rubber tanks with fresh water were used to contain the artifacts for a number of days. Then the water was checked by the solution AgNO3, HNO3 and the desalinated equipment. When the saltiness was finished, artifacts were dried. Then the conservators recorded the result using the form NO6/TCCM.

• Chipped artifacts after begging put in the separate nylon bags, they were washed, cleaned and then restored by clue UHU or PVA. The separated parts of artifacts needed to be restored (boxes of two parts, kettle with lid and spout, handle...)

• The artifacts in the baskets after had been treated and completed the desallation were classified, numbered and noted in the following forms:
B4/TCCM: Condition form.
B5/TCCM: Dimension and photograph form.
B6/TCCM: Conservation form.
B7/TCCM: Artifacts (see annex) data sheet.

• Took photographs and technical drawing of the shapes and design of artifacts...

• The computerization of the data from the above forms with photographs and technical drawing help the archaeologists to recognize the disposition and the density of artifacts and the situation of the site. Based on the above mentioned matters, the archaeologists will answer the questions related to the wrecks such as dating back of the wreck, ship-owner art value…

• From the study result of the wreck, the archaeologists will make a scientific report with full of drawings of the site, typical kinds, ornamental objects, designs of decorations, video tapes of the survey and excavation. It will then be promulgated as a studying book and exhibited.

* *
*

Viet Nam is a country of over 3,000 km shoreline, lying on the international trading marine road. Form the early day, Vietnam created an economy and culture liaison with the other countries in the world. Underwater archaeological excavations in Vietnam through above five projects could be considered as the potential initial steps. Even though this work is new with our archaeological activities, but we have a lot of chances to share our underwater archaeological excavation experience with other countries. The recent excavations have proved the successful co-operation between us with organizations and specialists in the world for Vietnamese underwater archaeology.

The five ancient wrecks in Vietnam were archeologically excavated, specially the wrecks at Cu Lao Cham, Ca Mau and Binh Thuan. This will contribute more information to study process of the international marine road as well as the trading liaison at Vietnamese sea during the past centuries.

Note:
(1). Christie’s Vung Tau Cargo, Amsterdam 1992. Nguyen Quoc Hung: Excavation of the Antique Treasure at the Sea Bottom Hon Cau (Vung Tau) – Archaeology Magazine Issue N03 – 1992 (page 62- 73).
(2). M. Roxanna Brown. The ceramic of South East Asia. Their Dating and Identification – Kualalumpur, Oxford University Express, 1997.
(3). Pham Quoc Quan and Nguyen Quoc Hung: Thai Ceramics at the Wreck in Phu Quoc- Kien Giang. Culture and Art Study Magazine Issue N01 (108) – 1993 (page 66- 67)
(4). Nguyen Dinh Chien: The Camau Shipwreck 1723 – 1735. Hanoi, 2002.
(5). Nguyen Dinh Chien and Michael Flecker: The Scientific Report on Binh Thuan Shipwrecks. Ha Noi, 2003.
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Archaeology Site 2008: Elliot Park Neighborhood

Part of the yearly Elliot Park Neighborhood Archaeology Project, this site is located at 722-724 East 17th Street, just north of the I-35W/I-94 interchange. The 5 day dig is Aug 13th to 17th.

Site History

Journal Entries

Day 1 - Wednesday, August 13th 2008
Work began with about 27 volunteers digging 11 shovel tests of various depths. Artifacts that were found are normal domestic debris which include: clinker, coal, and various forms of broken glass. Towards the end of the day, two 1-squared meter excavation sites were opened. In one of the excavation sites, remnants of animal bone were found. Some of these bones, which probably belong to a goat or sheep, have butcher cuts on them.

Day 2 - Thursday, August 14th 2008
We had visitors and helpers from the Benedictine Health Center and a kids summer programs today. A few more shovel tests were done and another 1-meter-squared excavation site was opened. Site 1 found a large trash pit as well as remains of a large fish that someone must have buried after filleting. Site 2 found a few marbles, a jack, and a 14k gold button. Domestic remains were the most prominent of finds at sites 3 and 4. Among the 4 excavation sites, we have seen at least 8 separate soil layers, indicating that much of it was deposited. If there was farm use or Native American activities, it would show up about 65cm (2 feet) below the current ground level.

Day 3 - Friday, August 15th 2008
About 30 volunteers showed up to help with excavations today. Work continued on four excavation sites and a fifth one was opened. Site 1, discovered another trash pit below yesterdays pit. It was indicated by red soil and ash. At site 4, remnants of a board walk indicated by a series of nails and a soil stains, which indicate wood, were found. Other finds include more marbles, clay flower pots, ceramic bits, and a few metal bits such as a drawer handle and snapper were found. We have not seen as much animal remains as we were expecting in the beginning of the project. Tomorrow, several sites expect to break the original ground level, at about 2 feet below ground.

Day 4 - Saturday August 16th, 2008
Several of the excavation units broke through the level the soil was before the house was built. Artifacts relating to the consturction of the house were found, this included items such as plaster spills and square-head nails. Also, in these pits, a piece of glass from a bottle of old patent medicine, with the letters BL embossed on it was found. These are usually rectangular bottles with the name of the medicine or the makers of the medicine embossed on the bottle. In unit 1, what we thought was a trash pit, turned out to be a thin layer of burned material on the yard. We opened the last unit for excavation today, it is also our western most unit now. Tomorrow we will work on finishing excavation of the units and drawing profiles of the stratigraphy of the units.

Day 5 - Sunday August 17th, 2008
Today, unfortunatly, marked our last day on the site. While most unit dug in the morning, we had to wrap up around midday to ensure we would get clean up done. It was also a day of not many finds, since we broke through the original ground. The earth we reached was undisturbed during construction of the house, and was intact after many centuries. Unit 2 found two pits inside their site, however, they had to wrap up so the purpose of the pits as well as the complete depth is unknown. The wrap up procedure consited of carefully making profile drawings of each of the stratigraphies as well as figuring out the color of the soil according to the Munsell Chart. After the mapping of each unit was complete soil was shoveled back into the pit.

Day by Day Project Breakdown

Wednesday and Thursday -- Site Preparation
Out work on Wednesday and Thursday will be to get the site ready for excavation. We will survey in an excavation grid -- an imaginary grid of one-meter squares, used for guiding excavation and mapping. We will be placing portable fencing along the edges of the lot. There will also be some preliminary mapping and photography. Equipment and supplies will be brought to the site. As time allows, we will also begin excavation of a couple 1 x 1 meter units, probably on Thursday afternoon.

Friday and Saturday -- Excavation
On Friday and Saturday, we will do the bulk of the actual excavation. Excavators will work in teams that include an archaeologist, one or more archaeology students or experienced volunteers, and community volunteers. Each team will work on excavating a particular 1 x 1 meter unit, or a feature such as a utility trench, artifact concentration, cistern, or privy pit. This will involve digging with both a shovel and a trowel (the archaeologist's standard digging tools), and also screening all soil that is excavated in order to maximize recovery of artifacts. Other volunteers will also help with the screening. Volunteers can also help with note taking and drawing sketch maps of excavation units.

On these days we will also need volunteers to staff a sign-in and information table, and to guide tours of public visitors. Guides will be provided with information on basic archaeological techniques, and on the history of the site. Some volunteers will also be needed for helping with miscellaneous tasks and running last minute errands.
On these days there will also be volunteers working on jobs like mapping and photography.

Sunday -- Loose Ends and Clean Up
On Sunday we will be finishing up excavation that couldn't be finished on Friday and Saturday, and the accompanying tasks like mapping and photography. We will clean field equipment and get it ready to return. We will make sure that all the records and artifacts are in order -- that they are complete, correctly labeled, and so on. We will backfill all excavated areas, remove grid stakes, and move fencing as needed.

Hours
The general hours will be from about 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on the days of the excavation. You are welcome to volunteer for as few or as many hours as you like. It is helpful if we know when you plan on being at the site --by day and by morning or afternoon. This helps us with planning so we can make things run as smoothly as possible. Of course you're always free to change your mind.

What to bring and what to expect
If you are going to help excavate, plan on getting dirty. Wear clothes and shoes that can get dirty too. You may want to bring gloves and a gardener's pad to kneel on. It wouldn't hurt to bring coffee, water, iced tea or something else to quench your thirst, although we'll try to have plenty of water on hand for volunteers. Sun screen is a good idea, as is a handkerchief or something similar to wipe the sweat from your eyes. A hat can be helpful for shading your face from the sun. Feel free to bring your camera if you like. You may also want to bring lunch or a snack.
Archaeology involves all kinds of tasks. Some are delicate, painstaking and take a fair bit of patience. Some are hard physical work. You will get to observe and try your hand at a variety of tasks, based on your interests and abilities. Hopefully you will find the whole process interesting and rewarding. The archaeologists volunteering on the project will instruct you on the how and why of archaeological methods, so don't be afraid to ask questions.

Address:	722 17th Street E
Neighborhood/s:	Elliot Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota
City/locality- State/province	Minneapolis, Minnesota
County- State/province:	Hennepin County, Minnesota
State/province:	Minnesota
Country:	United States
Year Established:	1893
Founded by:	D.R. Wagner
Historic Function:	Housing development
Current Function:	Historic site

Archaeological Site Information

Archaeological Site ID Number:	XXXXX
Start Date of Fieldwork:	August 13, 2008
Site Features:	earthwork
Site Description:	artifact scatter
Site Landuse:	residential
Degree of Disturbance:	heavy
Current Threats to Site:	development

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The Archaeological Finds in the Yorkshire Dales

Introduction

Digging as a means of discovering new caves is a well established practice in the karst of the Yorkshire Dales (the area I am most familiar with) and other areas. This can be either digging from surface karst features in the hope of entering passages below, or trying to extend known cave passages by digging through blockages. The scale of some of the digging operations is often not appreciated by non-cavers. Some sites may be dug regularly for years and involve serious engineering work to gain new passage. For example, on Leck Fell in Lancashire it took four years for a group of cavers to excavate nearly 80 metres vertically to gain access to a series of passages already discovered by divers (Walsh 2001). One way of monitoring digging is through reports of finds of animal bones, as these are ubiquitous in unconsolidated cave sediments in the region.

Finds of Animal Bones

Since the 1950s animal remains have been reported from 25 sites in the sporting cave literature (Murphy 2002) and a further 8 sites are known but no written record of the discovery of animal remains was made (Murphy 2003a). Sites which have produced vertebrate remains described in the scientific literature are listed in Chamberlain (2002). Proximity to the road and rail networks has been a significant factor in determining which sites have received scientific attention, whereas surface accessibility has not deterred sporting cavers. This suggests there may be many more sites in the area with a much wider geographical spread than is indicated by a study of the scientific literature.

The Recovered Bones

However, there are important contrasts between the sites recorded from the caving and scientific literature. The bias of the caver records towards large animal bones is mentioned in Murphy and Chamberlain (2003). This probably reflects to some degree the probability with which finds are noticed and reported by sporting cavers. While this is certainly a valid explanation, the limitations posed by the use of head mounted lighting systems by cavers are not generally appreciated by non-cavers. Even in regularly visited sites bones have been passed by cavers for many years before being noticed. For example, although bones had already been recovered from the River Junction area of Kingsdale Master Cave (a very popular caving trip for novices), a horse skull jammed beneath a rock ledge next to the main cavers path was only noticed in 2002 (Murphy 2003b). Another contrast is in the age of the material recovered. The majority of the caver recovered fauna is probably, at least in part, of domestic or agricultural origin. This may reflect the lack of older deposits at the sites, though the occasional record of older faunas suggests this is unlikely. Cavers may also preferentially select digging sites where active deposition has occurred in recent times.

Cave Digging Techniques

A third possible explanation results from the contrasting aims of a cave exploration dig with those of an archaeological dig. The approach of cavers is to try and minimise the amount of material removed in order to gain access to open passages. This is not only to minimise the physical effort involved but because opportunities to dispose of debris from the dig site are often limited. In a filled horizontal passage this means digging against the roof as this will probably be where the blockage is the shortest, the fill least consolidated and the probability of intersecting any unfilled roof voids the highest. When digging a filled shaft the cavers will follow a solid wall rather than trying to go down the centre. This allows bracing of the dug shaft and will hopefully reach the top of any ongoing passage with the least volume of material needing to be moved. The strategies employed by cavers mean that in a horizontal passage the cavers are concentrating on removing the youngest sediment deposited in the passage and in a vertical shaft fill the oldest deposits at the base of the filled shaft will hopefully not need to be disturbed. This contrasts with the activities of archaeologists whose aim is to unravel as much of the history of the site as possible. As a result the recovery of animal bones by cavers must be taken as an indication of the potential of a site to contain older remains and not be judged as archaeologically unimportant solely on the basis of the age and origins of the bones submitted for identification.

Ipswichian Faunas

The two cave sites in the Craven area which have produced Ipswichian (OIS 5e) faunas are both known as a result of major excavations. In the case of Raygill Fissure, Lothersdale, the cave was exposed as a result of limestone quarrying and the fauna were recovered as the quarry face moved through a filled off-vertical shaft. The Ipswichian fauna were at the base of the completely sediment filled shaft from the base of which a horizontal passage led off (Mial 1880). The site appears to have been a pitfall trap in pre-last glacial times. In the case of Victoria Cave, the Ipswichian strata was only discovered as a result of the deliberate sinking of a number of shafts in the floor of the cave as part of a large scale archaeological dig (Tiddeman 1872). In neither case was there any evidence of the presence of these older deposits before quarrying or excavation took place. This shows the possibility of there being more such sites in the Craven area and any sites identified as containing animal remains by cave exploration activity must be considered as potential repositories of older deposits.

Conclusion

In conclusion, digging as a means of discovering new caves by sporting cavers has made a significant contribution to our knowledge of the archaeological resource of caves in the Yorkshire Dales. The strategies employed by cavers in order to dig through material blocking both horizontal passages and vertical shafts tends to limit the disturbance to the youngest layers in the deposit and has contributed to the bias apparent in the caver records towards more recent bone assemblages. This current paper has concentrated on the Yorkshire Dales, and as a review of currently available evidence offers an initial assessment of the impact that recreational cave digging has on archaeological deposits. It would suggest that such digging activities should not necessarily be seen as a problem by the archaeological community or the statutory bodies responsible for conservation as the damage caused, on the whole, would appear limited. It should instead be seen as an opportunity to increase our knowledge of this often neglected field of archaeology.

References

Chamberlain, A. T. 2002. A gazetteer of non-human vertebrate remains from caves in the Yorkshire Dales described in the scientific literature. Capra 4 available at-
http://capra.group.shef.ac.uk/4/bonecavechamberlain.html

Mial L C 1880. Raygill Fissure, the cave and its contents. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic Society 7: 207-8

Murphy, P. J. 2003a. A gazetteer of non-human vertebrate remains from caves in the Yorkshire Dales for which there is no record. Capra 5 available at -
http://capra.group.shef.ac.uk/5/bonecave2.html

Murphy, P. J. 2003b. More of the Kingsdale Horse. Speleology 2: 5

Murphy, P. J. 2002. A gazetteer of non-human vertebrate remains from caves in the Yorkshire Dales referenced in caving club journals and allied literature. Revised version 2004. Capra 4 available at –
http://capra.group.shef.ac.uk/4/bonecavemurphy.html

Murphy, P. J. & Chamberlain, A. T. 2003. The bone caves of the Yorkshire Dales. Speleology 1: 11

Tiddeman, R. H. 1872. Discovery of extinct mammals in the Victoria Cave, Settle. Nature VII: 127-8

Walsh, A. 2001. The quest for a dry way. Descent 159: 20-22

Written by
P.J. Murphy. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, U.K.
email: p.murphy@earth.leeds.ac.uk
Murphy, P.J. 2004. Cavers, Digging and Archaeological Finds in the Yorkshire Dales. Capra 6 available at - http://capra.group.shef.ac.uk/6/cavedigging.pdf
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George Washington’s Blacksmith Shop

During 1930s, Morley Williams, a landscape architect from Harvard University, was conducting historical and archaeological research at the plantation and he supervised the initial excavations at George Washington’s Blacksmith Shop. The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association was interested in the smithy as a possible candidate for reconstruction in the early of this decade. Williams and the Association were interested in identifying structures and other features present during 1799, the year of George Washington’s death, to enhance the authenticity of the historic house museum. Besides numerous documentary references to the shop, the structure was depicted on the Vaughan plan drawn in 1787. At some point a brick Ice House was constructed at the site of the Blacksmith Shop and debate over the age of this structure, the date of the demise of the smithy, and the Blacksmith's Shop size and appearance were the goals of this and subsequent excavations conducted over the next half-century.


Morley Williams excavated at the Blacksmith's Shop during the 1930s.

The Association sought physical evidence for the exact location and appearance of the Blacksmith's Shop, as well as about the activities undertaken at the Blacksmith's Shop to support a reconstruction of the building and interpret blacksmithing at the museum, an important component of the plantation economy. Besides Morley Williams’s work in the 1930s, restoration architect Walter Macomber excavated at the site during the 1950s and 1960s as did the Virginia Research Center for Archaeology during their survey and archaeological assessment of the plantation in 1984 -- 85. Dennis J. Pogue, Mount Vernon’s first Chief Archaeologist, completed this final excavation in 1989.


The base of the brick blacksmith's forge.

The archaeological excavations revealed considerable structural evidence for the shop. This included a fragmentary brick foundation that is interpreted to be the base of the forge, and two sections of masonry, running east-west and 16 feet apart, that are remnants of the foundation for the long walls of the shop. The forge base has a characteristic void in the center, marking the location of the fire box. A portion of the forge base and most of the shop’s foundations were disturbed by later construction, including erecting a mid-19th century ice house overlapping with the shop’s footprint.


Postholes such as these show the location for fences near the Shop.

The archaeological evidence indicates that the shop was 16 feet in width, but the other dimension cannot be determined. On the Vaughan plan the building measures roughly 12 by 40 feet, but this is clearly an example of artistic license. The depiction of the shop shown on the earlier Vaughan sketch appears more likely to be closer to the actual dimensions, as it is shown as roughly 18 by 24 feet.


The Vaughan plan depicts the Blacksmith Shop (top left) as 12 x 40 feet. Click image to see the 18 x 24-foot Shop on Vaughan's earlier sketch (#13).

Two rows of post holes and molds mark the location of two fencelines, each of which intersected with a corner on the east end of the shop. The fenceline connecting with the southeast corner turned to form a work yard on that side of the building, turning again to run parallel to the north lane and ultimately connecting with a corner of the Servants Hall, 160 feet distant, just as indicated on the 1787 Vaughan plan. The distance between the square post molds was six feet, and the view of the site shown in a painting executed by Edward Savage circa 1792 indicates that the fence was well finished and painted white. The other fenceline ran from the northeast corner of the shop to the north along the edge of the lane. The round postmolds marking this fence were nine feet apart, suggesting that it was a more rustic, post-and-rail fence. This fence appears to have been replaced by the time that Savage made his painting, as his depiction shows a white fence connecting with the northwest corner of the building, matching the one on the other side of the shop.


This painting from c. 1792 provides important evidence for the Blacksmiths'' Shop and the two fences.

The resulting picture of the Blacksmith's Shop is of a modest structure, supported by a brick foundation, upon which a wooden frame, clapboard siding, and shingled roof were erected. The Savage painting and plantation records indicate that the shop was unpainted, suggesting that it was considered to be a more utilitarian structure than the other outbuildings along the lane, with their white-painted walls and red-painted shingles. The adjoining fenced yard would have served as a handy general work area, being especially useful when repairing large items such as wagons and carriages, and bulky agricultural equipment. Great quantities of coal, slag, and other refuse were found within the yard area, testifying to the common practice of the day of disposing of rubbish, even very messy materials such as smith’s waste, very near their source.


An artist's rendering of what the Blacksmith's Shop may have looked like.

The bottom courses of a robbed brick wall footing were found abutting what is interpreted as the northeast corner of the Shop. This is likely the terminus of the brick Ha-Ha wall that encircled the east lawn of the Mansion, and which is known to have been in existence by 1785. This portion of the Ha-Ha wall was removed and relocated in the 1890s during its reconstruction. At that time the route of the wall was altered to terminate at the corner of the brick Ice House. When the Blacksmith's Shop was demolished, the Ha-Ha would have ended in space, necessitating its extension to the west, where it probably connected with a fence or wall running along the north lane. The Currier plan of 1855 shows the north Ha-Ha connecting with a short section of wall or fence just north of the ice house.


The foundation of the earlier Ha-Ha wall.

Based on the archaeological evidence Mount Vernon reconstructed the Blacksmith Shop in 2009. Today, this important plantation craft is once again practiced at the site. The numerous artifacts and historical information discovered during the investigations help interpret the space for our visitors.
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An Archaeological Excavation In Aksum, Ethiopia

The ancient city of Aksum wielded great influence over trade in agricultural produce, ivory and gold. Via the port of Adulis the Aksumites held trading prominence on both shores of the Red Sea and rose economically on the interchange with the Roman Empire. This city is located 2,200 metres above sea level on a flat plateau deep in the interior of Ethiopia on Africa's horn.

The Kings of Aksum once ruled the great African power of Ethiopia. Little is known of the ancient Aksumites and an archaeology excavation of the old city is an important source of relevant data.



Archaeology Excavations At Aksum

Although the first recognised archaeology excavations were begun in 1906 it was not until Dr Neville Chittick's expedition in 1974 that the deep tombs beneath the city were explored. Like most treasure-hunting expeditions the earlier work concentrated on the easy pickings of artefacts from monuments and elite cemetery sites. By the 1970's, Chittick, working with staff under the British Institute in Eastern Africa, was using scientific explorative archaeology techniques at Aksum.

However, the improved methodology did not mean that Dr Chittick would not follow his early colleagues in selecting archaeology excavation sites that favoured the upper classes of an urban city. Grand palaces, stately homes, substantial and significant tombs, and even church buildings have surrendered their artefacts once belonging to Aksum's elite groups. Excavations have proved to unearth almost no peasant dwellings or their accompanying artefacts.

The reason for this could be that the class gap between the elite and the poor was so great that the peasants owned or used very little objects or tools in their daily lives. A second suggestion is that the peasantry were not permitted to live in urban centres and their peripheral dwellings are yet to be uncovered.

In spite of the lack of distilled information about this archaeology site many objects have been recovered in excavations. Pottery, glass, stoneware and metalwork artefacts all reveal a great deal about Ethiopia's lost gentry class.

Pottery Artefacts At Aksum

Fine and coarse ceramic items have been located in very large quantities in archaeology excavations at Aksum. What interests archaeologists about Aksumite pottery is that it appears to have been made in a unique fashion without the influence of the chronology of foreign pottery traditions.

The predominance of the characteristic style of a lightly impressed decorative design with vertical corrugations combined with small impressions in a staggered fashion within diamond-shaped panels has led to the pottery being known as 'classical Aksumite'.

Many of the pots and bowls extant as artefacts have stamped impressions often in the form of a cross in many different styles. The Ethiopian Queen, Candice, permitted her royal treasurer to attend the Passover celebration in Jerusalem and he was present in the city during the crucifixion week. Ethiopia's Lord of the Exchequer is credited with bringing Christianity back to Ethiopia.

Red, black and white were popular pottery colours although the rare and more collectable is known as purple-painted ware. This brownish-purple paint was used in the later Aksumite period.

Most pottery objects appear to have been made for drinking, eating, storing and cooking but some unusual items were certainly used for special purposes such as holding cosmetics, personal care and ceremonial occasions.

Glassware Excavated At Aksum

The Aksum excavations have uncovered a variety of exotically coloured glassware that is not represented at any other site. Among the rich range of glassware artefacts located, the common vessels are clearly imported. It is unlikely that lower classes could have afforded glass items as the journey from Egypt or Syria by ship followed a long, troublesome uphill land trek to the interior would have made the item highly expensive at its destination.

Thin-stemmed goblets, long necked flasks and engraved bowls tend to indicate rather luxurious levels of living. In one of the great homes, oil burning glass lamps suspended by fine bronze chains provides further evidence of the comfortable Aksumite lifestyle.

Aksumites were not without fine glass jewellery. Glass was employed into bangles and necklaces incorporating leaves of thin gold.

Stoneware Artefacts At Aksum

In Aksum's Addi Kilte district a quantity of broken lithic pieces was discovered in archaeology excavations of rooms that appear to be one of the great mansion houses. Archaeologists who excavated the floor believe they were deliberately broken and incorporated into the foundation for the plaster floor. Although none of the items were found complete, reconstruction of the artefacts shows them to be finely made, lathe-turned, stone bowls of an exquisite purplish colour. Like the locally made pottery and glassware, nothing like these bowls is known from any other source in Ethiopia.

Metal Artefact Items At Aksum

The metal artefacts found at Aksum fall into two main categories:
1. Luxury Items
Items made from the precious metals of gold and silver include jewellery, delicate boxes, small ornamental objects, and even bowls. Figurines in gold, silver and bronze were also located.
Comparative to other major North African sites there has been little in the way of gold or silver artefacts discovered. What has been excavated is, not surprisingly, of an Eastern Mediterranean appearance, in view of the considerable trading links with that region.

2. Utilitarian Items
Items made from iron include tools and weapons. All of the basic equipment for labourers and soldiers has been identified such as knives, chisels, saws, and axes for the workers while spearheads and arrowheads are examples of their military resourcefulness.

The Rise and Fall of Aksum

Aksum boasts some monumental architecture unconvered by archaeology excavation. One hundred stone obelisks loom over the cemetery; the tallest at over 30 metres high weighs 517 tons. Aksum's high rate of literacy saw it flourish until, in the 6th century AD, the rise of the Persian Empire redrew the map of Asia excluding the kingdom of Aksum from its trading networks. Shortly thereafter, the great Ethiopian trading capital fell from world importance.
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Modeling Native American Use of Recessional Shorelines

Abstract: KEA Environmental employs GIS technology to analyze a variety of environmental data, including geology, hydrology, biology and archaeology. This paper shows how KEA applied ArcView and 3-D Analyst to model a 700 year record of changing lakeshore configurations. The results helped describe the prehistoric environment and explain Native American settlement patterns. GIS simulations allowed the analyst to visualize the rising and falling levels of Lake Cahuilla, which formed at times when the Colorado River flowed west into the desert rather than into the Gulf of California. In addition, volume calculations can be useful in describing water quality.

Problem Statement

Archaeologists working in California (and many other places as well) have a problem. They want to study patterns of human behavior that occur in seasonal or yearly cycles, but they typically do not have chronological controls that allow them to sort their data to such a fine scale. Prehistoric archaeology in California is heavily reliant on radiocarbon dating to provide a chronological framework. Unfortunately, radiocarbon dating is not precise, typically yielding an uncertainty factor that far exceeds a prehistoric person's life expectancy. It is as if a cabinet-maker attempted to measure a board with his car's odometer. All too often the archaeologist is like the unfortunate craftsman: his tools for measuring time are not equal to the task. Occasionally, however, circumstances do occur that yield clearer snapshots in time.

Human behavior always has a spatial dimension, and sometimes the spatial dimension is chronologically organized. In such a case spatial analysis using GIS can provide improved chronological control - a better measuring rod. And, sometimes, this control is of sufficient precision to allow the prehistorian to see time on a truly human scale. Rapidly changing recessional shorelines along Lake Cahuilla in California's hyper-arid Colorado Desert provide such an opportunity. At various times in prehistory, much of the Imperial Valley was covered by the waters of Lake Cahuilla, a huge lake that advanced and receded in response to the changing course of the Colorado River (Figure 1). When the lake receded, prehistoric people followed the shrinking shoreline, leaving traces of their camps as they went. Investigating these camps, we found that GIS can be extremely useful in modeling the complex relationships between humans and this rapidly changing environment.

Figure 1. Regional Map


History of Lake Cahuilla

Our study area lies in the northwestern portion of the Colorado Desert, a subdivision of the Sonoran Desert which occupies large portions of southeastern California, southwestern Arizona, and much of northern Mexico. The dominant physiographic feature of the Colorado Desert is the Salton Trough, a roughly 130 mile long, 70 mile wide desert basin that forms the landward extent of the Gulf of California. The bottom of the trough, now occupied by the Salton Sea, is at more than 250 feet below sea level exceeded only by Death Valley as the lowest and most arid region in the United States. Clearly, the periodic appearance of a huge body of fresh water in such a rigorous environment (Figure 2) would cause radical changes in the resource base for humans throughout the region. At its maximum stand of 5,700 square kilometers and 96 meters deep, this lake would not only have provided a source of fresh water in one of the world's most arid regions, but would also have supported a wide variety of plant and animal resources as well.

Figure 2. Panorama of Colorado Desert along Lake Cahuilla Recessional Shorelines


Prior to modern flood control measures, Lake Cahuilla would form when the Colorado River diverted its flow into the Salton Trough from its normal course into the Gulf of California. This occurred when the meandering channels along the north side of the river's delta occasionally cut through their natural levees and flowed down the steeper gradient to the northwest toward the Salton Trough instead of the Gulf. This caused rapid head-cutting and enlargement of the channel, and eventually captured the entire flow of the river. Once it began, there was little to stop this flow until the entire basin filled to a point 40 feet above sea level. At this point the lake stabilized by flowing back into the Gulf through an outlet channel near Cerro Prieto, Mexico. Eventually, the channels at the delta would meander back to the southeast and the lake would begin to evaporate.

Figure 3. Chronology of Late Prehistoric Lake Cahuilla


The most widely accepted chronology for the stands of Lake Cahuilla (Waters 1983) identifies a series of four lakestands occurring over the past 1,500 years (Figure 3). The first is thought to have begun at about A.D. 700 and ended around A.D. 940, with full desiccation. The second interval is not directly dated but based on estimated sedimentation and evaporation rates is inferred to have occurred sometime between A.D. 940 and 1210, again with complete desiccation. The third interval is thought to have begun around A.D. 1210, with a partial recession to about -130 feet below sea level at about A.D. 1430. At this time the lake began to fill again, initiating the fourth interval; this interval is estimated to have terminated around A.D. 1540 based on sedimentation and evaporation rates, as well as the lack of any direct observation of the lake by Spanish explorers traveling through the area after that time. More recently, a fifth interval has been proposed based on archaeological data from a site on a recessional shoreline. This is believed to have been a partial infilling occurring sometime between A.D. 1516 and 1659 (Schaefer 1994).

The Salton Sea Test Base Data

Our work on the recessional shorelines of Lake Cahuilla was related to the upcoming closure of the U.S. Navy's Salton Sea Test Base, a roughly 10-square mile facility located on the lake's southwest shore (Apple, et al. 1994). As part of the closure, the Navy was required to fund a complete inventory of the facility for cultural resources, as well as a subsurface testing program to determine which sites are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The archaeological inventory of the base revealed a surprising number of prehistoric cultural sites, some 166 in all. Of these, nearly half contained hearths, rock enclosures, and artifact assemblages that suggested that they were the remains of temporary camps, indicating this area to have been fairly heavily occupied during certain periods of prehistory. An extensive suite of radiocarbon dates indicated that nearly all of this occupation took place between the AD 1640 and AD 1740 (Cleland 1999).

Figure 4. A Rock Enclosure at Salton Sea Test Base


The most prominent features of the habitation sites are the rock enclosures (Figure 4); we found nearly 200 of these on the base, occurring singly or in clusters of up to a dozen or so. Typically, these features circular or semi-circular in shape, and are constructed of forty or fifty sandstone slabs stacked one to three courses high, with a well-defined opening on the east side, away from the prevailing winds. Excavations at more than 100 of these enclosures indicated them to be the centers of domestic activity at the camps: most contained charcoal and fish bone, and were generally surrounded by small scatters of artifacts. Also of interest in the investigations were sandstone features thought to have been used as fish traps (Figure 5). These are "v" or "u" shaped arrangements of sandstone, usually several meters long and always oriented with the narrow end downslope. It is believed that fish were driven into them, or went in to spawn, and were caught using nets and baskets. Unlike the rock enclosures, the fish traps must have been directly associated with the shoreline at the time they were used.

Figure 5. A Probable Fish Trap at Salton Sea Test Base


The archaeological data from the SSTB indicated pretty clearly that the occupations of the sites within the project area were fairly short in duration, and focused directly on the use of the receding shorelines. With the help of GIS, patterns in the distributions of the habitation areas and fish traps begin to emerge, and their relationships with the receding shorelines in this area can be seen more clearly.

GIS Analysis of Shoreline Sites

While in the field, KEA's archaeologists used a Sokkia submeter GPS instrument to map the precise location of each site. After completion of the survey, each rock ring and fish trap was plotted using ArcView. As can be seen in Figure 6, some clustering of locations is immediately apparent. A linear configuation and a small cluster are indicated as examples. But overall, it is not easy to determine which sites were utilized contemporaneously and which represent a time series of occupations. We wanted to know: were all sites used at the same time, or were only a few used each year?

Figure 6. Distribution of Archaeological Features at Salton Sea Test Base


The archaeological evidence was pretty clear on some things. Sourcing of raw materials used in the manufacture of pottery and flaked stone tools indicated that Native American groups with access to the peninsular ranges to the west occupied the Salton Sea sites; the low quantity and diversity of the artifact assemblages indicated that occupation was typically brief. Groups came down from the mountains or mountain canyons seasonally to fish and to process their catch for transport and storage. After a very brief stay, they would move on to other subsistence resource patches (Apple, et al. 1997).

We hoped that radiocarbon dating would help sort out our sites chronologically. And, it did to a limited degree. We were able to identify three distinct periods of Late Prehistoric occupation, contemporaneous with the recession of periodic stands of Lake Cahuilla. One site dated to a recessional interval between the second and third lakestands about AD 1200 and two sites dated to the recessional interval between the third and fourth stand probably around AD 1460. But, the vast majority of the sites dated to very late fifth infilling that has only recently been identified, probably after AD 1640 when the first Spanish explorers passed through the area.

Dated sites from the last lakestand range in elevation from 90 feet below sea level down to 190 feet. But site distributions suggest a broader range in our area from -50 to -210 feet. Radiocarbon dating could not sort these sites into a dated sequence, so we wondered whether spatial analysis could. All indications suggest that this final lakestand was quite short-lived. A previous investigator calculated that, without replenishment from the Colorado, the lake level would recede due to evaporation at 5 to 6 feet per year (Laylander 1994). If so, our final period sites might cover a span of only thirty to forty years.

Spatial or locational analysis in archaeology generally assumes that archaeological site locations were originally selected on the basis such important variables as ease of access to resources, shelter, defendability, and length of occupation. Fish trap features obviously must be located in shallow water. The rock enclosures, which were used as temporary shelter and for drying fish, are not as constrained with regard to location. Since we have good reason to believe that the rock enclosures were utilized over relatively short periods of time, perhaps only a few days to a few weeks, they would be considered expedient features and would most probably have been sited primarily on the basis of access to resources. Three resources appear to have been most critical - access to fish, access to fuel for smoking the fish, and access to sandstone slabs for fish traps and rock enclosures. Fuel would have been available most abundantly in desert washes; however, there is no apparent clustering of fish processing features along washes, so we can discount this factor. Sandstone is relatively abundant, and it does appear that low sandstone ridges were preferred locations of fish processing camps. Finally, we come to access to fish - the shoreline. Given that sandstone ridges are relatively ubiquitous, it seems reasonable to assume that access to the shoreline was the driving force in site selection. Thus, seasonal camps were located on or adjacent to sandstone ridges in close proximity to fishing locations along the shoreline. Each year as the lake shrank the distance to the shoreline would increase unless fish camps were moved downslope. At some point it would be most economic for returning fishing groups to occupy a new site rather than reuse the previous one. We don't know if this happened yearly or every few years. But the point is that sites lying at the same elevation may well have been utilized contemporaneously, while those at substantially higher or lower elevation would probably have been older or younger respectively.

GIS helps us visualize (or model) the project area as the water slowly receded exposing more and more dry land for human utilization. One cluster of rock enclosures occurs between -30 and -50 feet on a relatively regular, northeast facing shoreline (Figure 7). For our purposes, we'll call this Year One because this is probably the first fishing camp in the survey area associated with the final lakestand, but undoubtedly similar camps occur at this elevation in unsurveyed areas to the northwest and southeast. Four to five years later, the first fish traps appear along the -70 foot lakeshore (Figure 8). These traps are located just below several rock enclosures, indicating a fishing/fish processing camp. Another probable fishing camp is indicated by a rock enclosure a little over a mile to the southeast. The shoreline at this time is still relatively regular and northeast facing.

Figure 7. Modeled -50 Foot Shoreline with Archaeological Features


Figure 8. Modeled -70 Foot Shoreline with Archaeological Features


As time goes on the number of rock enclosures increases, suggesting that Native Americans were intensifying their fish procurement activities. By about Year 12, we find three distinct clusters of rock enclosures and associated fish traps along the -110 foot shoreline (Figure 9). Interestingly, at this time we have two sets of fish traps in the same vicinity that appear to have been only one year apart in that they are separated by 5 feet in elevation, the estimated yearly recession of the lake. It is also noteworthy that a north-facing embayment is beginning to become apparent. This embayment appears to have created an especially good fishing location for several years inasmuch as at three or four possible time-seriated camps appear along a peninula that juts northward into the receding lake. This embayment continues to be a prominent feature in the vicinity through -160 feet, suggesting a ten to twelve year period during which the embayment was a favored fishing area (Figure 10).

Figure 9. Modeled -110 Foot Shoreline with Archaeological Features


Figure 10. Modeled -150 Foot Shoreline with Archaeological Features


During the life of this embayment, the use of fish-traps appears to have been abandoned in our project area. It is not clear at present whether this is due to declining fish yields, or perhaps to the introduction of a new fish-procurement technology/strategy. Or, perhaps it is due to changing shoreline characteristics that made fish traps less productive (Figure 11). It is true, however, that as the use of fish traps was given up, the overall intensity of occupation of the project area appears to have declined. To demonstrate this, we used the analytic capabilities of GIS to generate counts of fish traps, rock enclosures, and other Late period features in twenty foot elevational intervals, and then divided these counts by the length of shoreline exposed in the survey area. This gave us the frequency of each feature type per km of shore.

Figure 11. Modeled -190 Foot Shoreline with Archaeological Features


Analyzing our point data in this manner proved to be a challenge for our GIS operator. She imported USGS Digital Elevation Model files for two quads into ArcView and converted each file into a Grid, using applications within the Spatial Analyst extension. She then created a mosaic of the Grids using an ESRI extension called Transform Grid and recreated the topographic contours using Spatial Analyst. A major challenge was imposed by the fact that the contours are line layers, but point data such as our sites can only be clipped to polygons. ArcView and Spatial Analyst enabled her to avoid the 20 hours or more of work that it would have taken to redraw polygon shapes along the contour lines; AVENUE expressions were used to select contour intervals in 20-meter swaths. Each selection was then converted into a shapefile. Twelve separate shapefiles were created in this manner, and the site data were clipped to each using the Geoprocessing Extension. The compiled data were then exported to dBase IV and Excel for further analysis.

The results of these efforts are summarized in Table 1. First, looking at the middle column we see that the frequency of Late period features per unit of shoreline increases steadily until it reaches a peak along the -110 and -130 foot shorelines and then declines fairly rapidly. Importantly, during the four intervals where fish traps were present, we also find our highest frequencies of rock enclosures. These data indicate first that fishing was probably best in the project area during the time that the lake surface was between -70 and -130 feet. This period may have only lasted a decade or a decade and a half. We do not know if the decline was due to declining productivity of the fishery or simply the shifting of procurement activities to new favorable places located elsewhere along the shoreline. Studies similar to this one of additional areas along the recessional shores of Lake Cahuilla would be necessary to answer this question. We do know that a relatively intensively used Late period camp was located five miles south at the Elmore Site, excavated by Caltrans archaeologists (Laylander 1994). This site is located at -180 feet and thus would have been under-water during the height of utilization of the Salton Sea Test Base. The Elmore site is adjacent to San Felipe Creek a potential source of freshwater. This makes us wonder: was water quality within the lake declining so as to encourage the creation of a larger encampment near a water source? More research would be necessary to answer this question, but GIS can also help in addressing changes in water quality by allowing us to calculate lake volumes with a high degree of accuracy.

Table 1 Density of Late Prehistoric Features along Lake Cahuilla Shorelines
Shoreline Elevation (ft. amsl)	# Late features	Late features per km	Fish traps per km	Rock Enclosures per km
-30	1	1.4	0.0	1.4
-50	7	2.2	0.0	2.2
-70	20	6.6	2.6	4.0
-90	19	3.8	0.6	3.2
-110	41	10.7	1.3	9.4
-130	33	7.1	1.3	5.8
-150	32	3.7	0.0	3.7
-170	30	2.2	0.0	2.0
-190	22	2.0	0.0	1.9
-210	5	0.6	0.0	0.6

Lake Volume

In modeling human use of the shorelines of Lake Cahuilla, it is useful to accurately calculate the lake's volume at different levels. One way in which accurate volumetric estimates are useful is that they allow us to calculate the rate at which the lake filled, by using known values for evaporation, precipitation, and Colorado River flow. This in turn will help us to model the settlement of the submaximum lakeshore during transgressions, and to help establish the timing of lakestands, particularly the hypothesized fifth last infilling during the fifteenth century.

More importantly, good volumetric estimates will eventually allow us to more accurately model a number of important parameters of the lake's recession. Since the lake's recession is controlled mainly by evaporation, this will be a more linear progression with respect to elevation, and has been estimated at about 5 to 6 feet per year on average. However, the lake's salinity during recessions is controlled by changes in the volume of the water in the lake. As the lake volume is reduced by evaporation, dissolved salts, which do not evaporate, are increasingly concentrated in the remaining water. At a certain point, the water becomes too salty to drink, restricting the occupation of the shorelines. Later on, the lake will not support the freshwater mussels that are so common in sites along the maximum shorelines. Eventually, the lake's abundant fish resources decline and eventually disappear entirely. Since increasing salinity during recessional episodes is controlled by the reduced amount of water in the lake, estimates of volume at specific points is critical to modeling salinity and its effect on human use of the shorelines.

Previous calculations of the lake's area and volume have been based on counting the number of square miles covered by the lake at various contour intervals (Laylander 1994). While careful application of this method has provided fairly good "ballpark" estimates, the use of GIS for these estimates is clearly much more accurate and less cumbersome. Calculation of the lake's volume at specific contours is a fairly straightforward procedure using GIS derived values for the area of the Salton Basin at specified contour intervals. For example, at its maximum extent at the 40-foot contour, these calculations show the lake surface encompassed 1,279,363 acres and that it contained some 191,462,187 acre feet. Halfway through its recession, at the -150 foot contour, it encompassed 436,170 acres and contained 37.066,095 acre feet.

The values of the lake's volume can then be used to estimate infilling times employing (1) known values for the flow of the Colorado River during the 19th and early 20th centuries; (2) values for average yearly precipitation in the Salton Basin; and (3) values for yearly evaporation in inches (Laylander 1994). Assuming full capture of the Colorado River's flow, these values may be used to arrive at a filling time of 17.5 years for the lake. The volumetric values can then be applied to Laylander's (1994) volume-based salinity curve for the lake's recession. Although subject to a variety of complicating factors, this simplified model suggests that beginning with a salinity at the maximum stand equal to that of the historic Colorado River (322 ppm), the water would become distinctly salty to the taste by the 21st year of the recession, and the salinity of seawater would be reached by the 49th year.
Conclusions

The rapidity of Lake Cahuilla's recession after the Colorado River was rediverted to the Gulf of California offers a unique opportunity to study a prehistoric culture with a fine-toothed chronological comb. The analytical capabilities of GIS are critical to this endeavor in that they allow us to develop models of how archaeological sites might relate to each other in time as well as facilitating the study archaeological sites in relationship to landscape variables. Also of value is the ability to model transgressions and recessions volumetrically, yielding a better understanding of water quality and suitability for human occupation. Now that we have our data in GIS we will be able to use modeling approaches to evaluate alternative scenarios of the interrelationships of archaeological sites and the environment over time.

References

Apple, Rebecca McCorkle, Andrew York, Andrew Pigniolo, James H. Cleland, and Stephen Van Wormer. 1997. Archaeological Survey and Evaluation Program for the Salton Sea Test Base, Imperial County, California. Prepared for U.S. Navy, Southwest Division, San Diego. KEA Environmental, Inc., San Diego.

Cleland, James H. 1999. From Paleoindian to Protohistoric: The Chronology of Human Occupation of Salton Sea Test Base. Proceedings of the Society for California Archaeology 12:10-19.

Laylander, Don. 1994. Phase III Data Recovery at the Elmore Site (CA-IMP-6427), Imperial County, California. On file, Caltrans District 11, San Diego.

Schaefer, Jerry. 1994. The Challenge of Archaeological Research in the Colorado Desert: Recent Approaches and Discoveries. Journal of California And Great Basin Anthropology 16(1):60-80.

Waters, Michael R. 1983. Late Holocene Lacustrine Chronology and Archaeology of Ancient Lake Cahuilla, California. Quaternary Research 19:373-387.
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