Port Tobacco Archaeological ProjectRegular updates of the Port Tobacco Archaeological Project. The Project is sponsored by the Archeological Society of Maryland, the Society for the Restoration of Port Tobacco, the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium, Preservation Maryland, and Preserve America.Countdown to the Blog Birthday- August 31, 2008 Time flies when you are having fun...so we must be having great fun! The Port Tobacco Archaeological Project Blog turns 1 year old on September 9th! Don't you think we should do something special to celebrateI'd like to invite all the regular bloggers (Jim, Pete, Scott) and our regular volunteers and readers to think up an appropriate way to mark the 1 year anniversary. We don't all have to do the same thing so think about what you may like to do. Here are some ideas:1. If you have been meaning.http://porttobacco.blogspot.com/2008/08/countdown-to-blog-birthday.html Morning Mullings- August 30, 2008 When stuck between a football game (Louisiana State University) and a Force 3 hurricane (Gustav), it's great to have a laptop with backup project files and a good internet connection. As Bonnie and I prepare to make our way back home from southern Louisiana, I've had some down-time to peruse digital maps and think about some of the recently completed fieldwork at Port Tobacco.The northernmost historic site in the plowed fields south of town is undoubtedly 18th century, probably late 18th...http://porttobacco.blogspot.com/2008/08/morning-mullings.html 13 Star Button- August 29, 2008 Previously I stated that there were more interesting buttons to blog about, so here's the next installment. In Unit 10 Stratum 2 was found a metal button with 13 stars on it. This, as it turns out, would be the second military button found during the field session. I wrote earlier about the mid 19th Century button we found. I remember when this button was found and everyone at the time, including myself, immediately thought it was a military button,...http://porttobacco.blogspot.com/2008/08/13-star-button.html Lab Update- August 28, 2008 This morning the cataloging for the summer Field Session was finished! Yeah!There is still an enormous amount of work to be done but the most time consuming part is done. We would like to send out a very big thank you to all of our volunteers as well as the staff of the MHT, especially Charlie and Bruce, for all the help.At this point, we have packed up everything from the lab at Crownsville and will work from the home office. Jim is working on lithic analysis as well as preparing for other..http://porttobacco.blogspot.com/2008/08/lab-update.html Map Source- August 27, 2008 Yesterday Pete said a few words about maps and their importance as both resources for and products of our research. One of my favorite sources is the Library of Congress American Memory website. Here is the URL: http:memory.loc.govammemindex.htmlJust click on maps and type in Martenet for scanned 19th-century atlases of several Maryland counties. Or type in a subject keyword or phrase like "Charles County, Maryland" and see what pops up.For those of you interested in Prince George's County,...http://porttobacco.blogspot.com/2008/08/map-source.html Maps- August 26, 2008 We have used various resources in our research of Port Tobacco including maps. For centuries, maps have been used throughout the world for varying reasons.I had the pleasure of attending an exhibit at the Walters Art Museum a few months back that was dedicated to maps. There were maps of the universe taken from space, a map of the first internet, a map from 15th Century China showing all the Buddhist temples along routes in and out of Peking, even a map of the fictional Hundred Acre Woods from..http://porttobacco.blogspot.com/2008/08/maps.html Future research priorities- August 25, 2008 Assuming that I haven't screwed it up, you will notice a new poll immediately to the left of this posting. We would like to gauge interest in some of the research topics that we are pursuing. These are some of the research topics with which the project is involved and the list is not intended to be inclusive.Early prehistoric riverine adaptations refers specifically to the Late Archaic Indian sites that we have identified in Port Tobacco and in the fields extending to Warehouse Point. The...http://porttobacco.blogspot.com/2008/08/future-research-priorities.html Planning for next year- August 24, 2008 While our Preserve America grant remains tangled in red tape, it is important that we start thinking about next year. What kinds of sites do we want to further explore Where will our funding come fromI will not bore our readers with funding details, but thought I would reflect on a couple of possibilities on what we might look at and who might help us look.The early cemetery discovered in October of 2007 and confirmed last June is one obvious site to pursue. We have no intentions of digging up..http://porttobacco.blogspot.com/2008/08/planning-for-next-year.html Final Lithic Analysis for the Field Survey- August 23, 2008 Okay, numbers aren't for everyone. I could sense the collective glazing over of eyes whenever we post a table with numbers. But that is often what analysis is about: quantifying finds in the hope of seeing patterns, and then trying to interpret the behaviors behind those patterns.Anyway, below are the last two tables for the field survey, both for the South Field. Readers could check past blogs to see the numbers for the North and South fields, but basically most of the flakes recovered from...http://porttobacco.blogspot.com/2008/08/final-lithic-analysis-for-field-survey.html |