Lab #8 (Tuesday, May 19, 2015)
JordiKai Watanabe-Inouye
EXCAVATION DAY 4, Community Archaeology Day
Individual Field Notes:
Today was our last day at the site. We, as normal, went back into the Arb to the location of the Women’s League Cabin (WLC) to finish our excavation of three trenches. Not only was today our last day at the site but also was Community Archaeology Day. My group’s final project is Outreach, so we were in charge of organizing some of this event. We did so by creating an informational flyer and posting our event in the news bulletin. Instead of digging in Trench 3, which is located on the downhill, west side of the WLC, I took photos of the class. I wanted to document Community Archaeology Day along with the excavation. These will be key resources for the poster my group will be making. Off-and-on I would go back and help Trench 3 with their excavation. All three trenches are scheduled to be backfilled this weekend.
Lab #7 (Tuesday, May 12, 2015)
JordiKai Watanabe-Inouye
EXCAVATION DAY 3
Individual Field Notes:
Today we went back out into the Arb to the location of the Women’s League Cabin (WLC) to continue our excavation of three trenches. I was posted in Trench 3, again, which is located on the downhill, west side of the WLC. We left off last class in mid-context. Today we were able to finish context 3 and complete 4. We suspected that the density of finds in the first few contexts would dwindle. However, we found several interesting materials today. For instance, metals such as nails and cans parts were spread throughout excavation. And as before, charcoal was consistently found when sifting and digging. We didn’t find as much glass parts as the first two contexts. Furthermore there hasn’t been a noticeable change in soil type.
Lab #6 (Tuesday, May 5, 2015)
JordiKai Watanabe-Inouye
EXCAVATION DAY 2
Individual Field Notes:
Today we went back out into the Arb to the location of the Women’s League Cabin (WLC). We set up three trenches and began digging. On class, Thursday, we discussed which areas would be the best to set our trenches. Today we finalized this decision by setting up three trenches one on the sloppy, east side of the patio, one where the location of the front door is suspected and another where the back door is suspected. Explanations for these three locations include a hypothesis of high-density material due to discarding, slope-wash, and post-depositional processes caused by the bulldozer. I was located on the slope and began excavating, Trench 3. Unlike the other two trenches because of debris, we decided to initially dig a 1m by 1m trench. The trench was oriented and aligned North, South. Trench three made it to Context 3, but didn’t finish. So far we’ve found a lot of glass and charcoal. An interesting find is a metal piece that looks like a hinge along with what seems to be matching screws.
Lab #5 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)
JordiKai Watanabe-Inouye
EXCAVATION DAY 1
Individual Field Notes:
Today we went back out into the Arb to the location of the Women’s League Cabin (WLC). Last week we begun clearing parts to conduct an initial survey and marked out the sections (10m by 10m). This week we finished surveying the area. Unlike the type of surveying we did in the prairie area (transect), the type of surveying we did was a complete/ gridded survey of the area. My pair (Shirley and I) was in charge of section D, which ran north/south and was bordered to the east by the fence and road. Shirley and I found much more than when we conducted transect surveying out in the prairie portion of the Arb. Materials frequented were glass and metal. One of the biggest finds was a metal rod, which Shirley and I conjured was apart of the bed frame. Furthermore this seems very possible because we also found approximately three bedsprings in the same grid (D3). The area we were in charge with was difficult to survey in sections D1 and D2 because there was approximately 5 to 10% visibility with around 3 inches of leaves covering the ground. We solved this by raking the area in front of us backwards and moving the leaves away with a stick to see the ground. D5 was surveyed by another pair, and by D3 we were able to snag someone to rake.
Lab #4 (Tuesday, April 21, 2015)
JordiKai Watanabe-Inouye
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURFACE SURVEY
Individual Field Notes:
This Tuesday our class had the opportunity to hear Sarah Murray lecture and to get “hands-on” with photogrammetry. After giving us a lecture on how to apply photogrammetry in archeological research by using her past research as a case study, Sarah Murray took our class in front of Laird where we used the monument to construct a 3D model. The overall compiling process took a while so Sarah Murray used photos she had of a wall behind her apartment as a tester. She ran through the foundational steps to creating a 3D model. One of the key aspects that I took away from this lecture was the progression of technology in archaeology. For instance before class, we briefly discussed how droids and Go Pros are now being used for topographical images of sites.
Following the lecture we went back into the Arb. Team B continued and finished surveying, implementing a pedestrian/ transect method, their area in the prairie from last week, while the rest of us worked on clearing the area of the Women’s League Cabin. Half of this group was given rakes and the other half was in charge of cording off the area to be later surveyed/ excavated. I worked with the group in charge of clearing; we raked the leaves away from a central point, working our way out, so that we’d be able to see the ground and proceed to surveying/ excavation.
Lab #3 (Tuesday, April 14, 2015)
JordiKai Watanabe-Inouye
MAPPING, PEDESTRIAN SURVEYING, COLLECTING DATA
Individual Field Notes:
This Tuesday we went into a prairie portion of the Arb near the Women’s League Log Cabin. Here we broke into three groups- two groups of seven and one group of eight and surveyed three areas which will be referenced to as Area A, B, and C.
The collection strategy that we employed was transect, so for my group in particular we had six people surveying walking either north or south for approximately 150 meters. There was approximately 15 meters between each surveyor, who was in charge for surveying a total of 2 meters. We surveyed in the afternoon (1330-1645). It was a sunny day and the area we surveyed had great visibility. I was the recorder for Team C; this area had a total of six survey units. Figure 1 outlines the Area C in blue and the trail in red.
Figure 1:
A terrain map of the prairie land, covering Area C bordered by the trail and woods.
Figure 2:
A terrain map of all three areas along with the Women’s League Cabin (yellow dot).
Area C was different from the other two areas because it was recently burnt. Also this area was a bit hilly and sloppy in areas (mainly past SU_C01 & SU_C02). There was also a noticeable depression, from what I would infer to be a water flow. Furthermore this area had several squared off/fenced plots. These areas were isolated and marked by metal rods and wired mesh. Most of the materials gathered in this area were plastic.
Figure 3:
A photograph of one of the squared off plots.
Lab #2 (Tuesday, April 8, 2015)
JordiKai Watanabe-Inouye
GOODHUE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Individual Field Notes:
On Tuesday we went to the Goodhue County Historical Society. Here we were able to look at the Archeology exhibit and see artifacts. The archeology exhibit had an array of interesting maps. One of my favorites (see Figure 1) was one that showed the meeting of the Cannon and Mississippi River along with the known locations of native mounds.
Figure 1:
An archeological map of mounds and cairns along the Cannon and Mississippi River
Figure 2:
A geological map of the Red Wing (and surrounding) area
Our guide also talked briefly on the Dakota people, Woodland, and other Indians, which furthered Norman Risjord’s excerpt we read. Three of the known, showcased, and objectively the most relevant sites are the Bryan, Enery Park, and Silvernale Site. The exhibit also elaborated on archeologist Ronald C. Schirmer (see Figure 3), whose projects in Red Wing area have resulted in many findings today.
Figure 3:
A photograph of Ronald C. Schirmer, courtesy of MNSU
After our short tour and lecture in the archeology section, we met with the curator of the Goodhue County Historical Society and looked at some artifacts including a pot, a bone fishhook, a bead, and a copper pointed-head.
Lab #1 (Tuesday, March 31, 2015)
JordiKai Watanabe-Inouye
SURVEY BEHIND THE LIBRARY
Individual Field Notes:
A group of four, including myself, had area SU9. This are encompassed the sloppy feature between the CMC and the Lib all the way back to the parking lot on the backside of Laird. This area marked by fallen leaves, trees, branches, and tree stumps. The boundaries of the area included a road on the top of the slope to the green grass and area SU10, which was a dirt pathway. The majority of materials found in this area were plastic (46) and other (31). The density of materials found, at least in regards to the upper side of the slope, increased near the end. This proportion may be due to the trash bin landmark. Additionally it is key to note that the basement of Laird (with a door to the parking lot) has a vending machine with candy bars. Styrofoam was also an interesting other material that was plentiful; an explanation for this could be that ITS gets new shipment of computers in the summer and they are conveniently located in the CMC.
(Thursday, April 2, 2015)
ARB WALK WITH NANCY
Individual Field Notes:
Nancy Braker, Carleton College’s Arboretum Director, took our class on a tour of the Arb. We were able to visit two historical and possible archeological sites. The two sites were the Waterford Mill and the Women’s League Cabin. On this tour we also passed a fenced off area (see Figure 1), which has been allocated to plant new trees. These new trees are in danger of being eaten by deer and therefore need to be secured for the early stages of their life.
FIGURE 1:
View of Fenced off Area in Arb
Additionally we stumbled upon the invasive Siberian Elm (see Figures 2 &3). This elm, although its presence is less than that of the buckthorn and honeysuckle, has caused historical problems in the arb.
FIGURE 2:
Small Siberian Elm
FIGURE 3:
Up close on the bark of a Siberian Elm
