Field School in Historical Archaeology at Hassanamesit Woods
This summer the department of Anthropology in conjunction with the Andrew Fiske Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Massachusetts Boston will sponsor a field school in historical archaeology at Hassanamesit Woods in Grafton, Massachusetts.
About the Program
This field program is designed for graduate and undergraduate students in anthropology, archaeology, history, Native American and American Studies. Students accepted into the program will receive training in archaeological excavation, geophysical testing, material culture analysis, environmental sampling and mapping. Students will also be able to gain additional laboratory experience by registering for a separate class that will follow the field school. This class will focus on the processing of archaeological materials unearthed during the field school as well as their analysis and conservation.
Courses and Credit
This summer students will receive training in archaeological survey techniques, open area excavation techniques and mapping, students will also have the opportunity to work with staff from the Fiske Center who specialize in environmental archaeology and geophysical testing. This summer specialists working on soils analysis, remote sensing and botanical analysis will be in residence.
Students also have the opportunity to sign up for an optional two-week extension of the field school that will focus on the processing of material culture from the Boston and Newman Farmsteads in the laboratory. This phase of the project will involve material culture identification, analysis and conservation.
Successful participants will be awarded six undergraduate or graduate credits for:
ANTH 485/685, Field Research in Archaeology
A supervised sequence of field research in archaeology. This research involves continuous study in a field situation directed by a professional anthropologist. The course may include attendance at field schools directed by qualified faculty outside the University, with permission of the department. No more than six credits from field research courses (483, 484, 485, 486) can be applied toward the major.
Students can also sign up for an additional 2-week, 2 credit, directed study (ANTH 479) that will follow the field school:
ANTH479, Directed Study (optional)
Students will learn how to process and identify material culture and samples recovered from the field. They will also receive training in the preparation of some materials for specialized analysis.
About The Hassanamesit Woods Project
The Hassanamesit Woods Project is a collaborative effort between the Fiske Center for Archaeological Research, the Town of Grafton, Massachusetts and the Nipmuc Nation. The overall goals of the project are to investigate a 200 acre parcel that was once part of the Native Community of Hassanamessitt, one of earliest and largest of the Christian Indian Communities established by John Eliot during the Seventeenth Century. Initial archaeological investigations of the property identified several Native American sites spanning an occupation of some 4,000 years. Information gleaned from current and future archaeological investigations will be used by the Town and the Nipmuc Nation to develop educational and interpretive materials for use in the local schools concerning Native American history and culture.
During the summer of 2012 excavations will focus on the Sarah Boston property, a Nipmuc farmstead occupied during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries and the Deborah Newman site, a second Nipmuc homestead occupied during the same period. Remnants of an earlier occupation may also be uncovered. Students will gain training in large-scale block excavation, stratigraphic interpretation, field recording, material culture identification and mapping. Students will also have the opportunity to work with specialists from the Fiske Center who specialize in geophysical testing, paleoethnobotany, zooarchaeology, and soils analysis.
About The Andrew Fiske Center for Archaeological Research
The Andrew Fiske Center for Archaeological Research was established in 1999 by Alice H. Fiske as a living memorial to her late husband Andrew to celebrate his love of archaeology and the history of Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island, New York. The Center supports interdisciplinary, archaeological research that examines the historical roots of many of the world's contemporary cultural and environmental issues. Working as an integrative force within the University, the Center seeks to expand research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of historical archaeology, environmental archaeology, indigenous archaeology, cultural and urban studies, and environmental history.
