2020 Virtual Annual Meeting

 

Welcome Message – President Jim Rees
Treasurer’s Report – Jannette Akridge
Field Notes Editor’s Report – Deb Sabo
Bulletin Editor’s Report – Glen Akridge
Annual Meeting Awards – Marilyn Knapp
ARF Awards – Marilyn Knapp
Election Results – Executive Committee

 

Video Presentations:

Preservation and Discovery at Grandview Society Dig by Melody G. Astle and Madelyn Rose
This presentation will cover the rehabilitation and inventory of artifacts discovered at the Grandview Society Dig from 2001 -2004, including digital databases and the use of cutting edge technology.

Conflict Archeology and Thanatourism in Arkansas in the 2020s by Carl G. Drexler
Thanatourism is focused on sites of death and dying is often applied to battlefields and other places where humans have died in large numbers. Archeology has engaged with this industry for years, helping to locate and interpret the sites. This presentation will hash out some of the challenges, opportunities, and considerations that will be part of conflict archeology in the future, as the debates about Confederate monuments, the Black Lives Matter movement, and American heritage and culture continue.

A Four Year Walk in the Park: Surveying the Pea Ridge CESU by Carl G. Drexler and Jami J. Lockhart
The Arkansas Archeological Survey completed a four-year research program with the National Park Service focused on Pea Ridge National Military Park. Arkansas Archeological Society volunteers participated in many phases of this research. This presentation reviews the work, the results, and underscores the significance of Society-Survey partnerships on multi-year research projects.

The Borden House Hillslope: An Important Feature of the Civil War Landscape in Northwest Arkansas by Jessica Kowalski, Jared Pebworth, Michael Evans, and Jami J. Lockhart
A land-clearing project on the hillslope of the Borden House at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park offered a chance for the Arkansas Archeological Survey to have the first professional look at this prominent feature of the battlefield landscape. In this presentation, we will discuss our recent survey project at Prairie Grove Battlefield, describe the artifacts recovered, and attempt to link those artifacts to the historical record.

An Assessment of Flood Risk for Cultural Heritage in the Ozark Plateau Using HEC RAS by Samuel A. Martin
This project is a case study examining the impact of climate change on site flood risk on a sample of archaeological sites located in the Ozark Mountains using remote sensing and flood modeling via the Army Corps of Engineers HEC-RAS utility. Archaeological sites within landscapes that experience high levels of alluviation are at a higher risk of being compromised or destroyed by overland flooding. As continuing climate change worsens, archaeological sites near these sources of alluviation will be increasingly at risk. Mitigating these issues will require site-specific monitoring programs and investment into local infrastructure designed with archaeological sites as the predominate focus.

Preliminary Analysis of Richard’s Bridge Area 5 by Michelle Rathgaber and Chris Nance
Richard’s Bridge is a Mississippi period site east of the site of Parkin Archeological State Park in northeast Arkansas. By examining various components of the site, we hope to learn more about the people who lived at the site and what life may have been like near the edge of the chiefdom. In this paper, we present a first look at the architectural, pottery, and lithic data from Area 5 of the site, which was recovered by members of the Arkansas Archeological Survey and Society as part of the Annual Training Program in 2015.

Outreach When Reaching Out is Not an Option by Mel Zabecki and Michelle Rathgaber
The pandemic has limited the traditional ways of doing public and educational outreach for everyone. Learn how the Arkansas Archeological Survey continues to foster interest in archeology even when physical programs are not possible.