Charles Lindbergh's Contribution to Aerial Archaeology
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THE FATES OF ANCIENT REMAINS • SUMMER TRAVEL • SPANISH-INDIGENOUS RELIGIOUS HARMONY american archaeologySUMMER 2017 a quarterly publication of The Archaeological Conservancy Vol. 21 No. 2 Charles Lindbergh’s Contribution To Aerial Archaeology $3.95 US/$5.95 CAN summer 2017 americana quarterly publication of The Archaeological archaeology Conservancy Vol. 21 No. 2 COVER FEATURE 18 CHARLES LINDBERGH’S LITTLE-KNOWN PASSION BY TAMARA JAGER STEWART The famous aviator made important contributions to aerial archaeology. 12 COMITY IN THE CAVES BY JULIAN SMITH Sixteenth-century inscriptions found in caves on Mona Island in the Caribbean suggest that the Spanish respected the natives’ religious expressions. 26 A TOUR OF CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELDS BY PAULA NEELY ON S These sites serve as a reminder of this crucial moment in America’s history. E SAM C LI A 35 CURING THE CURATION PROBLEM BY TOM KOPPEL The Sustainable Archaeology project in Ontario, Canada, endeavors to preserve and share the province’s cultural heritage. JAGO COOPER AND 12 41 THE FATES OF VERY ANCIENT REMAINS BY MIKE TONER Only a few sets of human remains over 8,000 years old have been discovered in America. What becomes of these remains can vary dramatically from one case to the next. 47 THE POINT-6 PROGRAM BEGINS 48 new acquisition THAT PLACE CALLED HOME OR Dahinda Meda protected Terrarium’s remarkable C E cultural resources for decades. Now the Y S Y Conservancy will continue his work. DD 26 BU 2 LAY OF THE LAND 3 LETTERS 50 FiELD NOTES 52 REVIEWS 54 EXPEDITIONS 5 EVENTS 7 IN THE NEWS COVER: In 1929, Charles and Anne Lindbergh photographed Pueblo • Humans In California 130,000 Years Ago? del Arroyo, a great house in Chaco Canyon. • Chaco Canyon Burials CREDIT: Lindbergh Collection, MIAC/Lab MIAC Cat. # 70.1 / 149 • World’s Oldest Bedbugs View more images from our feature articles online at www.archaeologicalconservancy.org american archaeology 1 Lay of the Land Y Clearing The Fog Of War attlefield archaeology is an up- Park Service, state parks, and others. and-coming sub-discipline that These preserves are a treasure trove of is demonstrating that the use of information about America’s greatest LIZ LOPEZ PHOTOGRAPH Bmodern archaeological techniques can conflict. Using developing technologies, Mark Michel, President add huge amounts of new, reliable data archaeologists are beginning to add sig- The possibilities are endless. to the story of warfare. As every histo- nificant new information to the myriad This new field of study can only rian knows only too well, the chaos and accounts and histories of the conflict. prosper if the sites of American military obscurity of warfare lead to distorted In the 1980s, NPS archaeologist encounters are preserved, and the Con- histories. Adding modern archaeology Douglas Scott did pioneering work at servancy has been working to do just to the mix helps to clarify events that the Little Bighorn battlefield in Montana that by preserving forts and battlefields are often misunderstood. using teams of volunteers with metal across the country. But development In this issue of American Archae- detectors to map the course of the battle. and looting continue to take a toll. ology (see “A Tour Of Civil War Battle- His work rewrote what happened at the Armed conflicts play an essential role fields,” page 26), we feature a tour of famous conflict. Using similar method- in the human experience and working battlefields from southern Pennsylvania ology, Albuquerque archaeologist Matt to better understand them will pay to central Virginia. Many of the dozens Schmader was able to map and describe enormous dividends. of Civil War battlefields in the area are a battle that took place between Coro- now being preserved by the National nado’s army and pueblo natives in 1541. 2 summer • 2017 Letters Doubting The Doubter In the Spring 2017 News article “Study Concludes Canadian Site Is Editor’s Corner 24,000 Years Old” about the pos- It’s very possible that you’ve heard sible 24,000-year-old cuts made of Kennewick Man, but what about by humans on a horse jawbone, Gordon Creek Woman? Maybe you’ve I keep thinking about the doubt read something about Spirit Cave Man, expressed by archaeologist Gary or possibly Arlington Springs Man, but Haynes that the scratches on a more than likely the name Minnesota horse jawbone were human- Woman means nothing to you. Have you made. How and why could all the heard of Leanne, or Shuká Káa? scratches be the same type in a In our feature “The Fates Of Very narrow parallel band if they were Ancient Remains” (see page 41) we formed by nature? acquaint our readers with these and It would be even more other highly unusual individuals. What unlikely if the same situation makes them so unusual is that they are were found repeated on other bones, and among the few sets of human remains the questionable likelihood that they were done by nature’s hand grows found in the U.S. that are 8,000 years or greater yet if the cuts are all very likely spots where humans would carry more in age. As our article explains, while out butchering. these individuals have great antiquity in Finally, if any cuts crossed one or more other cuts, wouldn’t that common, they often have very little else. mean the crossing cuts were done at a different time...even just seconds Though it’s likely that he was just apart, but not at one single swipe, or trample? How extraordinary for another face in the crowd when he nature to have done all this repeatedly on bones that would have been walked the earth some 8,600 years ago, likely sites for human butchering! Kennewick Man achieved posthumous Phil Yost celebrity. Scientists and Native Ameri- Las Cruces, New Mexico cans waged a protracted, expensive, and highly-publicized legal battle for the Very Ancient Geometry right to claim him. Though they lost in A physicist-statistician might not know about Hopewell, but the editors court, the Native Americans ultimately of American Archaeology should have commented on her ignorance in prevailed, and this long drama ended the statement that her work produced the “first potential quantitative early this year when Kennewick Man evidence of knowledge of advanced geometrical constructs in a prehis- was reburied. toric North American society.” (See “Ancient Architects Used Geometry,” Native Americans also engaged in a page 10, Spring 2017). long legal battle to claim 10,600-year-old A thousand years before Mesa Verde Ancestral Pueblo buildings, the Spirit Cave Man, and they, too, recently Hopewell filled southern Ohio with dozens of complexes of precisely prevailed. But meanwhile 11,000-year- engineered pure geometric earthworks. These works, which from the air old Leanne and her elder, 13,000-year- look like a textbook of Euclidean geometry, also used a standard measure- old Arlington Springs Man, have been ment unit, and many were astronomically oriented. in the custody of museums for decades. Alice B. Kehoe The Natives haven’t claimed them, and Professor of Anthropology, emeritus, consequently the lawyers and media Marquette University have ignored them. Why the difference? As one archae- American Archaeology welcomes your letters. ologist noted, “It’s case by case, tribe by tribe, and location by location.” Write to us at 1717 Girard Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, or send us e-mail at [email protected]. We reserve the right to edit and publish letters in the magazine’s Letters department as space permits. Please include your name, address, and telephone number with all correspondence, including e-mail messages. american archaeology 3 Welcome to the ArchAeologicAl conservAncy! 1717 Girard Boulevard NE Albuquerque, NM 87106 • (505) 266-1540 he Archaeological Conservancy is the www.americanarchaeology.org only national nonprofit organization that identifies, acquires, and preserves Board of Directors the most significant archaeological Gordon Wilson, New Mexico CHAIRMAN sites in the United States. Since its Cecil F. Antone, Arizona • Carol Condie, New Mexico beginning in 1980, the Conservancy Janet Creighton, Washington • W. James Judge, Colorado has preserved more than 510 sites t Jay T. Last, California • Bill Lipe, Idaho across the nation, ranging in age from the Leslie Masson, Massachusetts • Dorinda Oliver, New York earliest habitation sites in North America to Rosamond Stanton, Montana • Bill Thompson, Texas a 19th-century frontier army post. We are building a national system of archaeological Conservancy Staff preserves to ensure the survival of our Mark Michel, President • Tione Joseph, Business Manager irreplaceable cultural heritage. Lorna Wolf, Membership Director • Sarah Shuler, Special Projects Director Dawn Kaufmann, Web Developer • Kyrstin Beck, Administrative Assistant Why Save Archaeological Sites? Crista Taylor, Administrative Assistant • Shelley Smith, Administrative Assistant The ancient people of North America left virtually no written records of their Regional Offices and Directors cultures. Clues that might someday Jim Walker, Senior Vice President, Southwestern Region (505) 266-1540 solve the mysteries of prehistoric 1717 Girard Boulevard NE • Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 America are still missing, and when Tamara Jager Stewart, Projects Coordinator a ruin is destroyed by looters, or leveled for a shopping center, precious Paul Gardner, Vice President, Midwestern Region (614) 267-1100 information is lost. By permanently 3620 N. High St. #307 • Columbus, Ohio 43214 preserving endangered ruins, we Josh McConaughy, Field Representative make sure they will be here for future generations to study and enjoy. Jessica Crawford, Regional Director, Southeastern Region (662) 326-6465 315 Locust St. • P.O. Box 270 • Marks, Mississippi 38646 How We Raise Funds: Funds for the Conservancy come Cory Wilkins, Regional Director, Western Region (530) 592-9797 from membership dues, individual 4445 San Gabriel Drive • Reno, Nevada 89502 contributions, corporations, and foundations.