The Archaeological Conservancy is excited to be participating this coming Saturday, October 28th in the annual Mississippi Archaeology Expo: A Hands-On Family Fair, hosted by the Mississippi Archaeological Association
Location
Winterville Mounds Park, Greenville
Date and Time
Saturday, October 28, 2017
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The Mississippi Archaeology Expo is a hands-on family fair for school-age children and adults held during Mississippi Archaeology Month, which is an annual October observance. The Expo is a special event featuring educational and fun activities for all ages, such as demonstrations of archaeological techniques as well as prehistoric and historic lifeways. Free and open to the public. Activities will include:
Artifact Identification (Bring your artifacts!)
Flintknapping (Stone tool making)
Prehistoric Technology Stations
Artifact Displays
Local Food Vendors
The Archaeological Conservancy as the only national, nonprofit organization preserving the most significant archaeological sites in the United States, will provide information on the extraordinary archaeological sites we have saved in Mississippi. Among those many sites saved include site that became Parkin State Archaeological Park , Carson Mounds, Blanchard Mounds, and Prospect Hill Plantation Preserve. TAC will also share information about our archaeological tours and information on how you can get involved in preservation.
The location this year is at Winterville Mounds. “Winterville Mounds is a 42-acre site near Greenville, Mississippi, featuring 12 prehistoric Native American mounds, two large plazas, and a museum…Winterville Mounds, named for a nearby community, is the site of a prehistoric ceremonial center built by a Native American civilization that thrived from about A.D. 1000 to 1450. The mounds, part of the Winterville society’s religious system, were the site of sacred structures and ceremonies. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Winterville people lived away from the mound center on family farms in scattered settlement districts throughout the Yazoo-Mississippi River Delta basin. Only a few of the highest-ranking tribal officials lived at the mound center.”
You can find the Mississippi Archaeological Association on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Mississippi-Archaeological-Association-MAA-103224035941/ for all the latest, or visit their website http://www.msarchaeology.org/ .
MAA invites you to become involved in archaeology: “Have you ever found an arrowhead? Did you realize that this small stone could have been used to procure a meal or defend a family? Maybe you wondered who used the tool, when it was used, or how it was manufactured. Just a small, carefully shaped piece of stone to the finder, an artifact is the clue to an archaeological site. It may have been a seasonal campsite for the acquisition of food, a permanent village, or simply a place where a hunter lost his weapon — it remains important to the archaeologist. You may become a vital link in discovering and reporting these sites and play a role in learning about preserving a unique piece of knowledge. Perhaps you are a collector who would like to show your collection and learn more about it. Joining the MAA will provide hands-on learning sessions with professionals and others with whom you share a common interest. Benefits include four issues of the Mississippi Archaeological Association Newsletter and two issues of the journal Mississippi Archaeology per year.
Are you interested in excavations, mapping, or other field work? If so, there are ample opportunities for members to take part in scientific research under the guidance of professional archaeologists. Field schools sponsored by our universities also welcome volunteers who are MAA members. Volunteers may work indoors or out, in physically demanding roles or in sorting and labeling of excavated artifacts. Volunteers learn by doing.
From the gigantic piles of shell along the Gulf Coast to the large mound complexes in the ancient river floodplains, prehistoric Indians left their mark upon the face of Mississippi. From De Soto’s time to the Trail of Tears, what was written about the native inhabitants of the Southeast gave a one-sided picture of their lives, leaving out the everyday activities of ordinary people. This story is being learned bit by bit from the soil, and it is a story that you can help to write.”
