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ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY of SOUTH CAROLINA, Inc.




2010 Conference

The Archaeological Society of South Carolina will hold its 36th Annual Conference on April 9th and 10th 2010. It will be held at USC Columbia in the ground floor auditorium at the Business Administration building (across from Gambrell Hall). The theme for this years conference is Archaeological Sciences. This broad topic was chosen to allow presenters to highlight the diversity of scientific techniques and applications that underlie modern archaeology in their own research and will comprise the first session. A second general session of papers covering archaeological research findings of interest will be presented as well. We encourage and welcome members of the public and professional archaeologists working in the Carolinas or Georgia to submit papers. We recognize that many of the same questions and issues important to South Carolina's archaeology community cross state borders in our region.


Key Note Speaker

We are very pleased to have Dr, Vincas Steponaitis as our speaker this year. He will be presenting a public lecture on the evening of Friday, April 9th, and a conference paper on the 10th. Dr Steponaitis is Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has served as chairman of the board for the Archaeological Conservancy (2003-2007), a national nonprofit organization, and has served as president of the Society for American Archaeology (1997-1999), president of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference (1990-1992), editor of the scholarly journal Southeastern Archaeology (1984-1987), and on numerous other professional boards and committees. His archaeological research interests focus on the precolonial Indian cultures of the American South, the development of chiefdoms, and the analysis of ancient ceramics. In addition to numerous articles, his books include Ceramics, Chronology, and Community Patterns: An Archaeological Study at Moundville (Academic Press, 1993), and Archaeology of the Moundville Chiefdom (co-edited with Vernon J. Knight, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998).


 Contact Jon Leader (Leaderj@mailbox.sc.edu) for more information.


Kolb Site 2010

Members of the ASSC and the general public are invited to join us in the swamp this year between March 8 and 19. We will have a public day on March 13, with primitive skills demonstrations, archaeology displays, pottery firing and more. Visitors will have the opportunity to see archaeology in action. School groups and home schoolers are encouraged to attend. If you'd like to come and work contact Sean Taylor (taylors@dnr.sc.gov), Chris Judge (
JUDGEC@mailbox.sc.ed) or Carl Steen (diachronic@aol.com). Otherwise, just come and visit. More info, including maps and directions, at http://38DA75.com


Archaeology in Goose Creek
ASSC Archaeologists Andrew Agha and Nicole Isenbarger led an excavation at the St James Goose Creek Chapel of Ease searching for the burial place of Yemassee War hero, Col. George Chicken. Read more at: http://www.ourgazette.com/news/Halloween-dig-focuses-on-uncovering-gravesite

Mitchelville

Mitchelville- (Archaeology was conducted there in 1986) A little-known piece of Hilton Head Island's history could one day come to life. A group of native islanders and town staff are developing a plan to turn a tiny sliver of town-owned land on the northern end of the island into a living history museum to commemorate Mitchelville, the first freedmen's village in the United States. Museum planners would build replicas of the freed slaves' 12-by-12-foot wooden tract houses and general stores, said town community development director Charles Cousins. more at the link: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/nov/30/site-be-commemorated/

The First 40 Years

The First Forty Years of South Carolina Antiquities is available in PDF format on a DVD. This is FREE with a new or renewing 2009 membership, or $20 without the membership. Contact Carl Steen (diachronic@aol.com) or Natalie Adams (npadams@newsouthassoc.com) for a copy.


The Archaeological Society of South Carolina
South Carolina is a state that treasures its past, and its archaeological resources are rapidly being depleted by man-made and natural threats. The Society is made up of avocational and professional archaeologists, as well as the interested public, who work together towards helping preserve our rich cultural past and bring the archaeological heritage of our state to the attention of the public.

The Archaeological Society of South Carolina offers events, field trips, lectures, publications and volunteer opportunities as a fun and educational way to learn about our past and encourage interest in site preservation. If you would like to become a part of this exciting organization, click here for more information on the benefits of joining. Please browse our website to see what we are doing now.


Featured Article
Foodways and Archaeology of the Lowcountry

By Martha A. Zierden,
The Charleston Museum

Access the "Featured Articles" page

A Word from the Prez
As 2009 draws to a close we look forward to an eventful new year. The Annual Conference will be the first main event to be held in Columbia Saturday, April 10, 2010. The State Archaeologist, Jon Leader, will be the Chairman with the theme "Archaeological Sciences". The new year also welcomes a new Executive Committee for the 2010 - 2011 term with Sean Taylor, Vice-President/President-Elect, the incoming President. Finally, many thanks for the great support I have received these past three years. George Stubbs


ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, INC.
1321 Pendleton Street, Columbia SC 29208-0071
phone:(803) 777-8170, fax:(803) 254-1338