Acknowledgements
SIL 182 Project lead Mike Kelly instructing student excavators in the backdirt flotation process.
Author Paul C. Thistle excavating a square on SIL 182, August 1975. Photo by Glen Connell.
The author is indebted to several archaeologists who have generously shared their knowledge and taught me proper excavation skills: Michael E. Kelly, director of the SIL 182 excavation project at Sandhill Bay on Southern Indian Lake, Manitoba, Canada in 1975 that I have simulated, William B. Roosa, Paul G. Snead, David Meyer, most recently William Green, Director Emeritus of the Logan Museum of Anthropology at Beloit College, now Adjunct Research Associate, Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, and the many others who have accommodated my photography at their excavation sites.
Any errors or misinterpretations of proper archaeological procedures are the author's sole responsibility. The Sam Waller Museum Technician, Bryon Farguson assisted in building the first set of site simulation materials at The Sam Waller Museum. Unless otherwise noted, photographs on this web site are by the author.
The creator of this web site also appreciates the interest and further development of this excavation simulation concept by archaeologist Dr. Shannon M. Fie, Professor of Anthropology at Beloit College, Wisconsin. See Prof. Fie's poster presented at a session on teaching archaeology at the 2019 Society for American Archaeology conference linked below. Dr. Fie has made her simulation "a regular component of my introductory archaeology course. It is also proven useful in my mid-level methods course in instructing and reinforcing mapping techniques prior to conducting test excavations on campus" (Fie 2019:1-2). Also see Quave, K., Fie, S., Greiff, A., & Agnew, D. 2021. "Centering the Margins: Knowledge Production in the Introductory Archaeology Course." Advances in Archaeological Practice, 9 (2), 87-100 at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-archaeological-practice/article/centering-the-margins/20B3DF276E6B1DB83CF63758402E29CA [Scroll down from the first page.].
Fie 2015-SAA poster.pdfIf Dr. Fie's poster shown above is not accessible in your browser, it can be more easily viewed at 25% or 50% in Adobe Acrobat https://miscellaneousmuseology.files.wordpress.com/2021/09/fie-2015-saa-poster1.pdf .
The accompanying paper is accessible as a PDF at Fie 2015-Digging without Dirt .
During the creator of this web site's research Gerald A. Oetelaar, Editor of the Canadian Journal of Archaeology, informed the author that Stevie Stephens had used a similar gambit at the Simon Fraser University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, this programme employed only small pieces of paper that students used at their own desks rather than simulating a full-scale excavation as described herein.
Viewers of this web site are urged to contact the author with citations of any other published sources relevant to my method of simulation at Paul C. Thistle Contact .
The banner photo at the top of this web site's pages was taken by the author when reconstructing my 1974 discovery of an unrecorded archaeological site on the bank of the Bulkley River in British Columbia (BC), Canada. At that time, I was carrying out an archaeological and historic resource survey of the Bulkley Valley for the BC Archaeological Sites Advisory Board. Two summers later in 1976, I was in the midst of a huge figure 8 'photo safari' excursion from The Pas, Manitoba, Canada where I was teaching high school Native Studies. I used my summer vacation to develop Native Studies curriculum materials for Kelsey School Division that had purchased 50 rolls of 35 mm colour slide film for this project. My trip stretched from the Queen Charlotte Islands, BC (now Haida Gwaii ) in the west to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in the east. The finished product was 2 series of 40 slide presentations (one of which was "Archaeological Techniques") for the Kelsey School Division Native Studies elementary and high school curriculum on Indigenous cultures and histories taken at museums as well as archaeological and historic sites. I had purchased my own film for personal use, so was taking at least 3 images of every shot. Stay tuned for the posting of excerpts of the above "Archaeological Techniques" 129-slide presentation and its accompanying text on the Excavation Slide Shows page.
Recreation 2 years later of my 1974 survey work that located this unrecorded site at a confluence with the Bulkley River for purposes of my planned slide presentation on archaeological processes.
Igneous rock showing on the the surface of the storage pit rim exactly as seen during my survey 2 summers previous. I trust it remains here now 45 years later due to its provincial designation as an archaeological site.
The author of this site located his first new archaeological site at the horse farm of my father W. Calvin Thistle & my sister Fae. This was turned up during the creation of a pond at a spring located on a hillside.
The heavy equipment used for the purpose turned up one large flake as pictured below. I reported this discovery to the Ontario provincial department responsible.