Public Invited to Participate at Blytheville Archaeological Dig

The Arkansas Archeological Survey, University of Arkansas System and the Arkansas Archeological Society will co-sponsor the 41st Annual Training Program in Archeology June 10-26 in Blytheville, Ark.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Archeological Survey, University of Arkansas System and the Arkansas Archeological Society will co-sponsor the 41st Annual Training Program in Archeology June 10-26 in Blytheville, Ark. The program provides the opportunity to work with professional archeologists and learn the methods of archeology through hands-on participation in an excavation and through classroom seminars on archeological topics.

 Work will be conducted at the Eaker Site, a multi-component site with Woodland, Mississippian and late historic cultural elements, located in the St. Francis Basin of the Mississippi Valley.

 In addition to the excavation, fieldwork will include topographic mapping, controlled surface collecting and geophysical investigations. In 2004, the excavation revealed a cluster of houses and related features dating to ca. A.D. 1200-1400.

 Participants can spend up to two weeks working at the site. A beginner's orientation is available for all newcomers, and seminars are conducted during a five-day period. Seminar topics include basic excavation, basic lab, ceramics, archeological photography and site survey, among others.

 To learn more, visit the Arkansas Archeological Society Web site at www.arkarch.org, or contact Barbara Scott with Arkansas Archeological Survey at (479) 575-3556.

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Mary L. Kwas, research associate/education specialist, Arkansas Archeological Survey, (479) 575-6549, mkwas@uark.edu