Field School Student Projects

Titles of Student Research Papers from Recent CSU Summer Field Programs (versions of  red underlined titles were subsequently prepared for presentation at professional conferences or student research symposia; titles marked with double asterisk indicate students who enrolled in graduate programs).

| 1994 | 1995 | 1998 | 1999 |

1999

• Taphonomy on the Nebraska Plain: An Actualistic Study (Nancy Barrickman): The Hudson-Meng site (25SX115) is a 9500-year-old bonebed in Nebraska containing the tightly packed remains of over 500 bison. In a effort to interpret this archaeological site, taphonomic analysis, or the study of the processes and organism is subjected to as it moves from the biosphere to the lithosphere, can provide insight. An actualistic study was begun during the 1999 field season that involved the placement of one elk limb and four horse limbs into four distinct Plains microenvironments, and then observing the resulting modifications from decomposition, exposure, carnivores, and so on. Eventually, the micro-environmental specific taphonomic process, and the resulting "signature patterns," observed in this study would provide additional interpretative tools for helping to understand complex archaeological deposits like Hudson-Meng. The objectives of the 1999 field project were to establish a baseline for future long-term observation. Over time, as the specimens are exposed to further modification from natural processes, and as more specimens are introduced into the control areas, we will begin to build better linkages between observations on Plains bone modifications and past microenvironmental settings.
• 25SX348 Archaeology on the Level: Examining Scatters within the Patches using Spatial analysis in the Ogalala Grasslands, Siouox County, Nebraska (JaNae Grutt, Christopher Nicholson, and Lawrence Todd): During the 1999 field season, a Plains Woodland ceramic sherd was found in association with a bison femur eroding out of a Holocene sod table. A systematic 20x50m pedestrian survey at 70 cm transect spacing of the surrounding area was conducted. Two 1x2m test pits were placed above dense scatters of artifacts. Proveniences of all materials from both the surface and from test units were documented as UTM coordinates (NAD 83) using a combination of EDM total station and GPS (Sokkia Locus system) mapping. The excavated RT-Z-2-G45 units yielded lithic material, ceramics, a potential hearth and culturally modified bone. RT-Z-2-H46 yielded chipped stone and bone. Samples for radiocarbon dating have been submitted. Measurements, weights and diagnostic attributes of collected materials were used in the spatial analysis of the site. Vertical and horizontal backplots were created to assess cultural and post-depositional patterns within the test units.
• Cobble Beds in Dawes County, Nebraska: A Survey of Two Lithic Raw Material Sources (Jeremy J. Lawson, Jesse Adams, and Lawrence Todd):  An initial documentation of two cobble beds in Dawes County, Nebraska is presented. During July, 1999, a survey was conducted as part of a long-term research project intended to examine the diversity in lithic raw materials available in the Oglala grasslands. A 1 x 20 meter transect area designated Lit-1, was systematically surveyed (hands and knees, all cobbles > 5 cm documented). Variables recorded include individual item weights, presence/absence of cultural modification, meter square provenience, and raw material type. GPS (Sokkia Locus system) was used to obtain three-dimensional locational information (NAD 83 UTM coordinates) for every tenth cobble encountered and also collected within the survey area. This research seeks to evaluate the range in size and diversity of raw material types available for tool manufacturing and to assess the degree that these cobble beds were utilized prehistorically. Collections from a second cobble source were made to provide additional samples of raw material availability. This study contributes to the development of a comparative collection of raw materials from the area, which will add to our understanding of past resource acquisition and use.
• Cultural Remains of the Oglala Grasslands: A Comparative Study of Survey Method for Detecting Differences in Arifact Densities (Sarah A. Larson, Maura S. Finkelstein, and Lawrence Todd):  Results obtained from an intensive program of survey and test excavations conducted within a 20X50 meter area in the Oglala Grasslands, Nebraska, during the summer of 1999 are summarized. In order to evaluate the content and distributional patterning of cultural materials within the research area, the landscape was evaluated at a series of scales of increasing resolution. First, a conventional pedestrian survey with 70cm crew spacing was conducted of the entire area. All materials encountered were flagged, provenienced with GPS surveying equipment (Sokkia Locus system) and documented. Using the same methods but moving to a Modified Whittaker sampling design, developed for vegetative ecology, a hands-and-knees crawl survey with 10cm crew spacing was completed. Within the Modified Whittaker, systematically placed areas were selected for subsurface excavation in order to compare surface artifact densities with buried materials. The data collected are used to draw conclusions between survey methods and the observed density of cultural remains.
• A Comparative Analysi of Electromagnetic Distance Measurement (EDM) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Technology for Proveniencing Archaeological Materials (Alissa L. Klein and Lawrence Todd):   Two types of measurement devices are compared; the Sokkia Set 4BII total station EDM, and the Sokkia Locus Global Positioning System (GPS) for use in archaeological survey, excavation, and testing. Research consists of a systematic measurement of UTM coordinates (NAD 83) of twenty-three arbitrarily selected marked locations. Each point was shot five times with the EDM to calculate mean and standard error and with the GPS at 10, 20, and 30 second occupation intervals. Data collected on these points were analyzed using SPSS-PC in order to assess the variability of each measurement device (i.e., standard error of the mean, minimum, maximum, range, and standard deviation). Preliminary results of this research indicate that for use in landscape survey both machines give 3-dimentional UTM coordinates that are comparable within 9-12 millimeters. Estimates of the compatibility and applicability of these two proveniencing systems is summarized and discussed.
• Hudson-Meng: A Survey of Visitor Reactions to On-Site Interpretation (Elizabeth Roberts)
• Documenting Articulated and Conjoined Skeletal Elements at the Hudson-Meng Bison Bonebed: An Educational and Interpretive Tool for Public Visitation (Ryan J. Christi and David Rapson):  This is a summary of the mapping and coding procedures used during the 1999 field session in the documentation of articulated and conjoined skeletal elements encompassing a 3 x 4m area within the Hudson-Meng bonebed enclosure. Three-dimensional provenience data for all items are recorded using Electronic Distance Measuring (EDM) technology. Then with a digital camera, photographs taken of individual meter squares are scaled and printed to provide an accurate template for drafting of in situ bones on mylar. The individual meter square maps are then arranged to create a master mosaic map of the bonebed. For the purposes of this research, the articulated and conjoined elements were drawn on a separate piece of mylar without any of the background bones. This method of documentation expands the views of specific patterns within a complex archaeological deposit such as the Hudson-Meng Bison Bonebed. It also provides a excellent visual aid for public education and interpretation.
• Hudson-Meng 25SX115: Summary of Excavations, 1999 (Oskar Bugar, Charles Egeland, and Ryan J. Christi)

• Variation in Mapped Item Frequencies, Strata A (above bonebed), Hudson-Meng Bison Bonebed, Sioux County, Nebraska
• Coyote Scat: The Local Ecology and Identification at Archaeological Sites
• **Content Survey of Rodent Middens, East Bank, Hudson-Meng Site, Sioux County, Nebraska
• Monitoring Rates of Badland Erosion, Sioux County, Nebraska
• A Study in the Seasonality of Use of Archaeological Charcoal Features
• Heath Use-time and Variation in Burned Bone Surface Condition
• Interviews and Documentation of early 1900s Homesteading in the Hudson-Meng Site Area, Sioux County, Nebraska
• **Natural Burns, Fire-Cracked Rock, and Mid Range Research
• **Variation in Slow, Fast, and Subsurface Bone Burning
• A Taphonomic Study of Carnivore Modified Bones on the Nebraska High Plains
• Glossary of English and Russian Archaeological Terminology
• **A Brief Survey of Cultural Plant Productivity in the Hudson-Meng Site Area, Sioux County, Nebraska
• **Large Bovid Trampling of Bones in Riparian Settings

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