LAS Announcements

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January 11, 2010

52nd Caddo Conference and
17th East Texas Archeological Conference
March 18-20, 2010
University of Texas at Tyler

Full info on the conference web site. http://www.52ndcaddo-17thetac.com/


August 19, 2009

The Winn Ranger District will be filling a GS-0193-09 Archeologist position. This is a permanent full time position with a duty station of Winnfield, Louisiana. This notification is being circulated to inform prospective applicants of this employment opportunity. This is an OCR (Open Continuous Register) Vacancy announcement and applicants need to specify Winnfield, LA as the duty station. Those applicants that wish to be considered for this position must apply to the vacancy announcement on line NO LATER THAN September 1, 2009. The Referral list request date for this position will be September 2, 2009.

Linda D. Carroll, SSS
Winn Ranger District
12319 U. S. Hwy. 84 West
Winnfield, LA 71483
Phone: (318) 628-4664; FAX: (318) 628-2971
email: ldcarroll@fs.fed.us


January 16, 2009

Be A P.A.L. !!!!

November 26, 2008, marked the birth of a new professional organization in our state, the Professional Archaeologists of Louisiana (PAL). The group is open to all professional archaeologists operating in Louisiana, both in the public and private sectors. Its intentions are to insure the continuation of superior quality archaeological work in Louisiana by maintaining high principles; assisting and advising public agencies in their formulation and the implementation of archaeological standards and procedures; facilitating communication among all sectors; and monitoring archaeological developments so as to ensure a positive image of archaeology on the part of the public and CRM clients. So far the new organization has received tremendous support from archaeologists both inside and outside the state, and has the backing of Dr. Chip McGimsey, State Archaeologist.

A committee of three persons, two from the CRM community and one from the Division of Archaeology, has been formed to prepare the official mission statement and write the bylaws. This committee will report to the members and other interested parties at the LAS meeting in Natchez, MS in February 27, 28 and March 1, 2009.

Inquiries for the time being may be directed to: Malcolm Shuman, Surveys Unlimited Research Associates, (225) 381-8201 or mkshuman@surainc.com; or to Martin Handly, URS Corporation, (225) 231-6328 or martin_handly@urscorp.com .


January 14, 2009

Caddo Conference

The website for the 2009 Caddo Conference, which will be held March 12-14, 2009 in Norman, OK at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, is now up and running. Many of you may have already received information about the conference in the mail. At the website, you can find information about how to register, accommodations for the conference, and submitting abstracts. You can also download registration forms and see a tentative conference schedule.

The web address for the conference is:

http://www.ou.edu/cas/archsur/CaddoConf/CaddoConference2009Newest.htm


August 7, 2006

For Immediate Release by the Arkansas Archeological Survey:

The Arkansas Archeological Survey and Southern Arkansas University report the theft of 26 prehistoric Caddo Indian pottery vessels from the Arkansas Archeological Survey's Research Station collections at Southern Arkansas University. The pottery vessels are all from the Cedar Grove site located on the Red River in Lafayette County, Arkansas. The vessels belong to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and are federal property. Photographs and complete documentation of each pottery vessel exist so they will be very difficult to sell on the open market.

The vessels are from Indian graves subject to the provisions of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, a federal law. If the vessels were transported across state lines they will be subject to the federal Archeological Resource Protection Act. Hence, the thieves can be prosecuted under two separate federal laws as well as state law. For these reasons, the SAU Police Department is working with the El Dorado office of the FBI in the investigation.

For a list and photographs of the stolen pottery vessels see: http://www.projectpast.org/sau/SAUCedarGroveMissingList_v3.pdf

For more information call:

Thomas J. Green
Director
Arkansas Archeological Survey
2475 N. Hatch Ave.
Fayetteville, AR 72704
479-575-3556 or 479-442-0261

or

Jamie C. Brandon
Research Station Archeologist
Arkansas Archeological Survey
Southern Arkansas University
PO Box 9381
Magnolia, AR 71754
870-235-4229


May 3, 2006

New meeting time for West Louisiana Archaeology Club.

Contact: John Guy (President)
P.O. Box 503
Anacoco, La 71403

337-238-3277
email = catherineguy at earthlink.net

New meeting time: 6:00 PM on third Thursday of the Month excluding October and December.

Location: Museum of West Louisiana, 803 S 3rd St., Leesville, LA 71446


July 4, 2004

There's a new book out on Middle Archaic and Poverty Point earthworks and contemporary cultures in the Southeast. Published by the University of Alabama Press, edited by Jon Gibson and Phi Carr, and titled:
Signs of Power: The Rise of Cultural Complexity in the Southeast


May 3, 2004

The Northwest Chapter of the LAS now meets regularly on the first Monday of each month. Meetings begin at 6:30 pm and are held at the Bossier History Center, 2206 Beckett St., Bossier City, LA (www.bossierhistory.org). For more information contact Jeff Girard, Northwest Regional Archaeologist, (318) 357-5471 or girardj@nsula.edu.


January 21, 2003

The LAS Executive Committee recently voted on two resolutions. The resolutions and the voting results are:

(1) Resolution 1: Shall the LAS establish the Saucier Award.

The Saucier Award (named in honor of our former president and colleague Roger Saucier) will be initiated by the LAS to honor those individuals who, while not having a professional career in archaeology, none-the-less found the time and energy to make a substantial contribution to the field. Criteria for consideration for this award will include at least one of the following:

1) providing numerous and significant ancillary analyses in a related field such as geology, botany, zoology, etc.;
2) providing significant assistance to the development of archaeology and cultural heritage preservation in the state via administrative and legislative means;
3) having a substantial record of supporting archaeology and the Louisiana Archaeological Society by serving in the organization, providing educational opportunities in non-traditional settings (presentations to schools, developing LAS chapters), and/or repeatedly working with or helping to arrange funding for archaeological investigations.

Any member of the LAS can nominate an individual for the award, which will be considered by the Executive Committee. The award will be given whenever appropriate and need not be awarded on a regular basis.

Resolution #1 passed: 11 yes; 0 no

(2) Resolution 2: Give Marc Dupuy, Jr. either the Saucier Award or a Special Award.

Bob Neuman has nominated Marc Dupuy, Jr., for an award by the LAS. If the Saucier Award is approved by the Executive Committee, Marc Dupuy would be the first recipient of that award, to be given at the 2003 Annual Meeting in Baton Rouge. If the Saucier Award is not approved, Marc Dupuy would be presented with a Special Recognition Award by the LAS (following the pattern established by previous awards to Francis Thompson and CEI, Inc. - see discussion in LAS Newsletter, Vol. 29 (2).

Resolution #2 passed: 10 Yes; 1 Abstention


October 26, 2002

The LAS Executive Committee recently voted on five resolutions. The resolutions and the voting results are:

(1) Junior Doughty is the web master of the new LAS web page. The first resolution is to formally appoint Junior Doughty as editor of the Louisiana Archaeology Web Page and to make him a voting member of the Executive Committee. Vote = 10 yes; 0 no.

(2) Three Society members will be asked to judge student presentations at the LAS meetings to select the “best student paper.” The judges will be appointed by the President and will be composed of one professional archaeologist, one avocational archaeologist, and a teacher/educator. Vote = 10 yes; 0 no.

(3) Mr. Tony Ortman, graduate student from Tulane, has requested funding ($1785) for radiometrically dating (AMS) three samples from his recent excavations at Poverty Point. The Executive Committee recommended that the LAS fund the dating of one of the samples. Mr. Ortman will be required to submit a report on the provenience of the sample and its age to the Louisiana Archaeology Newsletter. The cost for dating one standard AMS sample is $595. Vote = 9 yes; 1 no.

(4) The Division of Archaeology has requested $200 for postage during Archaeology Week. Vote = 10 yes; 0 no.

(5) Make the contents of the Special Publications 1 (Stone Points and Tools of Northwestern Louisiana, by Clarence H. Webb) and 3 (Louisiana's Archaeological Radiometric Database, by Charles R. McGimsey and Josette van der Koogh) available on the web page. Some members are worried that if we do this, no one will purchase the hard copy, and we have plenty of them left. The senior author of SP #3, Dr. Chip McGimsey, is willing to make the text available on line. But, if one purchases a hard copy of #3, he/she will receive the booklet and future updates of the data base in an electronic format (Excel). Should the contents of the Special Publications be put on the web page? Vote = 8 yes; 2 no.

Resolutions #1, #2, #3, and #4 passed. Resolution #5 failed.


Click for full size map
Map by Philip Phillips. Click for full size version. Use your "Back" button to return.
August 13, 2002

The Archaeological Conservancy has acquired the Mott site in Franklin Parish. In May, the Conservancy closed on the first parcel utilizing P.O.I.N.T. funds. In July, the Conservancy used Acquisition Funds to close on the larger, second parcel. Consisting of over 200 acres, the Mott Archaeological Preserve represents one the Conservancy’s largest acquisitions in the Southeast to date. The site will be used for research and educational purposes, beginning when Joe Saunders of ULM and T.R. Kidder of Tulane test the large mounds.

A site the size of Mott, and its excellent condition, provide archaeologists with a unique opportunity to study the social dimension of prehistoric cultures. It will be possible to establish the chronological sequence of mound construction at the site. This will provide the baseline data necessary to estimate the population size and level of social organization associated with the development of Mott. The Conservancy expects many exciting discoveries at the Mott site in coming years. We look forward to reporting these finds as they are made.

Alan and Jennifer Gruber
The Archaeological Conservancy



Click for full size popup photo July 19, 2002

The Ancient Mounds Heritage Area and Trails Advisory Commission has provided funding for a Giddings Coring rig, mounted on an ATV, to explore mound sites in Louisiana. Continuous soil cores provide an efficient and virtually nondestructive means for defining mound stratigraphy, construction sequence, and the recovery of organic samples for radiometric dating. The ATV mounted rig was selected because it gives archaeologists the mobility necessary to core previously unaccessible mound sites in wooded areas and/or steeply-sided mounds. The rig is equipped to recover 2-inch cores to a depth of 20 feet.



June 9, 2002

There's a new book on the Woodland period: David Anderson and Robert Mainfort, Jr.: The Woodland Southeast. Just printed, it's about the early ceramic periods: Tchefuncte, Marksville, Baytown, and Coles Creek. Should have a lot on Louisiana.


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