October is Archaeology Month in Mississippi!

Archaeology month activities include public talks on archaeology and archaeological methods, visits to ongoing archaeological fieldwork projects, site tours, and even fieldwork opportunities. This program is financially assisted by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Mississippi Humanities Council. Other sponsors include:

Mississippi Archaeological Association
Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History
Mississippi Dept. of Transportation
Mississippi Association of Professional Archaeologists
Cobb Institute of Archaeology, MSU
University of Southern Mississippi
University of Mississippi
R. Christopher Goodwin and Associates
Tennessee Valley Archaeological Research
Pritchett Engineering & Planning
Jackson, Scott & Associates
Panamerican Consultants, Inc.
Brockington & Associates, Inc.
URS Corporation
Archaeological Conservancy
Bureau of Land Management

Archaeology Month 2014 Calendar of Events

Northeast Region

• Date: Monday, October 13, 6:30 - 7:30 pm
  Place: Mississippi State University, Taylor Auditorium, McCool Hall
  Event:"Poverty Point World Heritage Site: New Name, Same Amazing Place," Public talk by Dr. Diana Greenlee, Station Archaeologist at the Poverty Point Site
  Contact: Evan Peacock, 662-325-1663

• Date: Saturday, October 18, 10 am - 2 pm
  Place: Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State University
  Event: Mock Excavation for Kids. Museum will be open to the public.
  Contact: Kathy Elliott, 662-325-3826

• Date: Saturday, October 25, 10 am - 2 pm
  Place: Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum, Starkville
  Event: Artifact ID Session with archaeologists Janet Rafferty and Evan Peacock of MSU
  Contact: Evan Peacock, 662-325-1663

• Date: Saturday, November 1, 10 am - 3 pm
  Place: Oren Dunn Museum, Tupelo
  Event: Artifact ID Session with archaeologists Derek Anderson and Shane Miller of MSU
  Contact: Rae Mathis, 662-841-6438

Delta Region

• Date: Saturday, October 4, 10 am - 2 pm
  Place: Winterville Mounds Park, Greenville, MS
  Event: Mock Excavation, young and old are invited to participate in a mock excavation at the mounds to learn about archaeological techiques. All tools will be provided.
  Contact: Mark Dingeldein (662) 332-2580 or mdingeldein@mdah.state.ms.us

• Date: Saturday, October 11, 1 pm
  Place: Winterville Mounds Museum, Greenville, MS
  Event: "Aspects of Mississippi Archaeology," a lecture by archaeologist Sam Brookes. Refreshments will be served.
  Contact: Mark Dingeldein, (662) 332-2580 or mdingeldein@mdah.state.ms.us

• Date: Saturday, October 18, 1 pm
  Place: Winterville Mounds Museum, Greenville, MS
  Event: Movie and Popcorn Day,which will feature the movie "Cahokia."
  Contact: Mark Dingeldein (662) 332-2580 or mdingeldein@mdah.state.ms.us

• Date: Saturday, October 25, 1 - 4 pm
  Place: Winterville Mounds Museum, Greenville, MS
  Event: Artifact Identification. Bring your artifacts to be identified by MDAH archaeologists.
  Contact: Mark Dingeldein (662) 332-2580 or mdingeldein@mdah.state.ms.us

• Date: Saturday, October 25, one tour at 10 am and another at 1 pm
  Place: USDA Forest Service Office, Hwy 61 South, Rolling Fork, MS
  Event: Guided Driving Tour - in conjunction with "The Great Delta Bear Affair" festival, a guided driving tour of nearby prehistoric Indian mounds is offered by retired archaeologist Sam Brookes. Fill up with gas BEFORE departing.
  Contact: Sam Brookes, sambrookes@bellsouth.net

• Date: Wednesday, October 29 to Saturday, November 1, 10 am - until
  Place: Winterville Mounds Museum, Greenville, MS
  Event: Annual Native American Days Festival - Native Americans from different tribes will perform traditional dances, storytelling, singing and an authentic stickball game will be held that Saturday afternoon. There will be Indian games (stickball, darts, chunky and relay races) for the kids held each day from 10 am to 2 pm. There will also be vendors with a wide range of craft goods (beaded necklaces, fur and leather goods, pottery and other items) available for purchase, as well as several vendors serving different foods, including some traditional Native American items.
  Contact: Mark Dingeldein (662) 332-2580 or mdingeldein@mdah.state.ms.us

Central Region

• Date: Tuesday, October 7, 7 pm
  Place: Gertrude C. Ford Academic Complex & Recital Hall, Millsaps College
  Event: A lecture entitled "The Mounds of Mississippi." Admission is $10, students $5, Millsaps students free.
  Contact: Sam Brookes, sambrookes@bellsouth.net
  Note: This is not an official MAM event, but we wanted to let everyone know about it.

• Date: Wednesday, October 15, 12 pm - 1 pm
  Place: William F. Winter Archives and History Building, Jackson
  Event: "History is Lunch" program will feature a lecture by archaeologist John O'Hear, concerning the Mississippi Mounds Trail to open in 2015.
  Contact: 601-576-6998

• Date: Saturday, October 18, 10 am - 4 pm
  Place: The Green at the Old Capitol
  Event: Mississippi Archaeology Expo. The 7th annual Archaeology Expo is a hands-on family affair that showcases numerous educational activities for all ages featuring drummers from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and Civil War reenactors as special guests. Bring your family and meet your state's archaeologists!
  Contact: Pam Lieb, 601-576-6940, archaeology@mdah.state.ms.us

Southern Region

• Date: Saturday, October 18, 10 am
  Place: Seminary Depot, Seminary, MS
  Event: Archaeology Roadshow - Bring your artifacts and learn about the archaeology of the region.
  Contact: Becky Stowe, 228-591-1116 ext 102 or Janet Smith, ponder97@bellsouth.net, Covington County Genealogical & Historical Society

• Date: Thursday, October 23, 5:30 pm
  Place: Veterans Memorial Museum, Laurel, MS
  Event: Camp Shelby and the Great War, History and Archaeology, MS National Guard archaeologist, Rita McCarty, will present a talk on the origins of Camp Shelby and its use during the First World War. The talk will discuss the archaeological study of Camp Shelby and the numeorus artifacts recovered through excavation at the camp.
  Contact: Rita McCarty, MS National Guard, 601-558-2596

• Date: October 29-31 and November 3-5
  Place: De Soto Ranger District, De Soto National Forest
  Event: "Finding the Fairley Plantation," John Fairley and his family (consisting of adult children, their spouses, their children, and sub-adult children) came into the area of south Perry County around 1818. He built a house and ran a large scale farming operation with slaves just off the main trail/road running through the area at the time. The Forest Service with the assistance of volunteers through Passport-in-Time, will have a survey project in the area of the possible location of the Fairley house. We will use screens/shovels, metal detectors, and try our hands with dowsing rods.
  Contact: Robert Reams, US Forest Service, 601-270-4852

• Date: Thursday, October 31, 8 am - 12 pm
  Place: Poplarville Elementary School Nature Day
  Event: Nature and Archaeology Day
  Contact: Ed Jackson, Univ. of Southern Mississippi, 601-266-4306

Gulf Coast Region

• Date: Saturday, October 4, 10:30 am
  Place: The new Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum, 115 1st Street, Biloxi, MS 39530
  Event: Meeting of the MS Archaeological Association's Gulf Coast Chapter
  Contact: Tom James, thomasreubenjames@gmail.com

• Date: Saturday, October 18 and Sunday, October 19, 8 am
  Place: Cedar Lake Island
  Event: Volunteer excavation - come to help us learn more about the Cedar Lake Island, the location of the historic L.N. Dantzler Lumber Company's Cedar Lake Mill, which was in operation from 1919 to 1927.
  Contact: Tom James, thomasreubenjames@gmail.com

• Date: Saturday, October 25, 9 am
  Place:Biloxi Lighthouse Tours
  Event: Guided Tour - take a tour of the Coast's most iconic landmark. Learn about the history of the lighthouse as well as the city.
  Contact: Tom James, thomasreubenjames@gmail.com