ISLAND ARCHAEOLOGY

2 week option: MAY 31 – JUNE 14, 2010
1 week option: MAY 31 – JUNE 7, 2010
1 week option: JUNE 7 – 14, 2010

$1,250/person/week (double occupancy)

Prerequisite: NO previous experience in archaeology required!


CLICK HERE FOR GENERAL and PAYMENT INFORMATION and REGISTRATION FORM (coming soon!)

The Isles of Shoals off the coast of Maine (New England)  has a long history of human settlement from the late 16th century. Early communities were based on fish processing. Students will take part in ongoing archaeological research on the site of a fish processing station on Smuttynose Island, located adjacent to Appledore Island's Shoals Marine Laboratory. In this course you will learn about the past human communities that lived on the island (1650 to the late 19th century) and about marine organisms that were present in the environment during those periods.  Students live at the Shoals Marine Lab and commute to Smuttynose Island by boat each day.  Course work will include documentation, reporting and completion of  architectural, historic and prehistoric site survey and excavation forms suitable for historic preservation submission.  Training in field logistics, scheduling, ethics, and public relations are also part of this course. The Register of Professional Archaeology Standards and Practice will be used as a guide.

Research objectives of this project include:
Identifying the past size and geographic and temporal distribution of marine species:
• warm water marine species such as swordfish, scallop, and quahog over time which can be compared to marine temperature changes apparent in foraminifera records.
• extinct species such as sea mink and great auk.
• invasive species by documenting spatial occurrence over time.

Faculty:
Dr. Nathan D. Hamilton, University of Southern Maine
Robin Hadlock Seeley, Shoals Marine Laboratory, Cornell University
 

Reports on the 2008 Island Archaeology course at Smuttynose:
Cornell Chronicle
Photo Gallery
Foster's Daily Democrat