ARKANSAS CELEBRATES ARCHEOLOGY MONTH 2004
Another successful Archeology Month was held this past March, with a theme of "Containers Before Plastic." Received in time to be printed in the Events Brochure were 46 programs held at 27 different venues around the state. Some additional activities made it onto the web site, and probably a few more were held during the month without a formal announcement. Highlights of this year's event included a Colonial Arkansas Encampment at Arkansas Post National Memorial; an archaeological dig at Cane Hill; a program on woven baskets at Fort Smith National Historic Site; a talk on the Sloan Site at Lake Frierson State Park; Adventures in Archeology School Days at Parkin State Park; an Archeology Open House at Rick Evans Grandview Prairie Conservation Education Center; and a tour and slide-talk on rock art at Petit Jean State Park. Participating venues included:
State & National
Parks: Arkansas Post Museum, Arkansas Post National Memorial, Fort
Smith National
Historic Site, Hampson Museum State Park,
Lake Frierson State Park, Parkin Archaeological State Park, Petit Jean
State Park, and Toltec Mounds Archaeological State Park.
Museums: Bella Vista Historical Museum, Clark County Historical Museum, Museum of Discovery, Old State House Museum, Pine Bluff-Jefferson County Historical Museum, Peel Mansion Museum, Searcy County Historical Society, Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, and Texarkana Museums System.
Libraries, Colleges, & Others: Arkansas Archeological Survey Coordinating Office, Arkansas School of Math & Sciences, Arkansas Tech University, Garland County Library, Northwest Arkansas Community College, Rick Evans Grandview Prairie Conservation Education Center, Southern Arkansas University, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville Anthropology Department, and University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.
Many thanks are given to all those who provided programs and participated in Archeology Month 2004.
For the first time this year, an Archeology Month Fund was established to help offset the costs of printing the Events Brochure and poster, cover mailing costs, and generally underwrite the event. The biggest donation to the fund came from an anonymous donor who provided $1,000 as a challenge, which meant that an equal amount of money had to be raised in order to receive the donation. The next three largest donations came from Historic Preservation Associates ($250), the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program ($200), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock District ($200). Numerous Arkansas Archeological Society members also gave donations of various amounts that, taken together, met the challenge donation and gave us over $2,000 to work with. The Society and Survey extend our warmest thanks to these various generous individuals, businesses, and agencies.
Archeology Month also had a very nice brochure this year, thanks to Larry Porter's beautiful drawing of containers. Larry's artwork was so well received that it was adapted for use on the advertising poster, which made a very dramatic design.
Activity Ideas from Archeology Month 2004
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See Also: Archeology
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