Bone Bank Archaeological Research

As temperatures dropped, the always wet and dirty water-screening job became more of a chore. Stirring the water-soaked excavated soil to dissolve the clods was sometimes best done with shovels.

Don Bialkowski marks the target excavation depth in Unit 5C, L.7, using the laser level receiver that is on the orange rod. When Prof. Patrick Munson lent his hand to help with rescue excavations, he came up with the idea of using the pointed end of the rod to auger down to the target elevation. The archaeologist can then excavate down to the bottom of the augered holes and even out the bottom of the unit at the precise depth.

Because of rain over much of Indiana and Illinois, the Wabash River was rising during our last 2 weeks of work. We monitored river levels with a stake placed in the river bank at a known depth.

Bone Bank 2001, aerial view of South Blocks 1 and 2.

South excavation Blocks 1 and 2 were backfilled on October 26, 2001, as the river continued to rise. The same day, WNIN, the National Public Radio station in Evansville, aired an interview about the Bone Bank project (to listen to this, click HERE! - Windows Media Player Required.)

The excavated collection has been packed and delivered to Indiana University, Bloomington, where washing, cataloging, and analysis have begun. Report writing will follow.