A page collecting the resources and results from the 2015 iteration of the class at the Women’s League Cabin.
Throughout the term, we conducted archaeological research and fieldwork – surveys and excavations – in the Cowling Arboretum, with a particular focus on the former location of the Carleton Women’s League Cabin (WLC). This website provides personal field journals and weekly reports on our progress. It also serves as the primary venue for publishing the results of our fieldwork in the form of student projects. Students’ group projects range from analysis of materials collected, to historical analysis of the WLC, to oral histories.
As a whole, the course was conceived as an introduction to archaeological practice and process. Students learned the foundational methods of archaeological research design and fieldwork, including techniques of survey, mapping, documentation, excavation, artifact identification and analysis, and archaeological interpretation. The remit of the course also went beyond survey tracts and excavation trenches. Students engaged with issues of presentation and representation, interacted with professional and non-professional audiences, became familiar with political and ethical challenges, and integrated data from other sources into their research (e.g., documents, oral histories, museum collections). The pages found on this site are the product of this work.
Table of Contents:
For more information regarding student final projects navigate to the desired tab!
Histories
Two groups investigated the culture and history behind the WLC.
Oral and Documentary Histories
By: Elizabeth O’Connor, Elaine Sundberg, Rachael Sutherland, and Alice Welna
History of Women’s Leagues
By: Erika Farmer and Julia Miller
Surveying
The class conducted two surveys in different places in the Arboretum, one was a transect-based field survey and the other was an intensive, gridded survey at the WLC, which was key in determining where to place the three excavation trenches. These pages includes GIS maps, survey statistics, and material descriptions.
Field Survey in Prairie
Field Survey of the WLC
By: Chloe Berstrand, Sage Mitch, and Theo Morris
Excavation of the WLC
The excavation teams managed, participated in, and recorded the digging of the three excavation trenches at the WLC. These pages include specific descriptions of the location, stratigraphy, and artifacts found at each trench. They also include detailed description and analysis of particularly interesting artifacts. The final tab shows photogrammetry-generated 3-D models of each trench.
Trench 1
By: Megan Harder and Sara McAuliffe
Trench 2
By: Carrie Johnson and Charlie Linneman
Trench 3
By: Avinash Moorthy, Adam Moreno-Mendelson, and Emma Starr
GIS Mapping
This group worked with the software ArcGIS for their final project and generated several maps of the WLC site.
By: Patton Small, Anna Thompson, and Alex Claman
Outreach
This page describes our various outreach activities in the wider Carleton and Northfield communities.
By: Claire Jensen, JordiKai Watanabe-Inouye, and Shirley Yang
