"ARCHEOLOGISTS PIECE TOGETHER STORIES OF KANSAS"

Heavy rains last spring in Leavenworth County uncovered what appeared to be prehistoric pottery.  An amateur collector in the area noticed the pottery. He had searched that particular field many times in the past and had found nothing.  With the topsoil washed away, the collector noticed that the site contained more than just pottery.  Burned timbers from a prehistoric house also were exposed. 

"The collector knew he had something extraordinary," said Dr. Brad Logan, University of Kansas Museum of Anthropology.   "He gave me a call.  It turned out to be one of the most exciting finds we've had in the area."  Because the site was in danger of being lost to further flooding and plowing, Dr. Logan quickly assembled a team of professional and amateur archeologists to excavate the site.  Because of the cooperation from the collector, the landowner, and the farmer who allowed access to the site, the information from the site has been saved.

With the study of objects or artifacts, archeologists can piece together histories that preceded written records. To do this, information is gathered from archeological sites-places where artifacts are found-and through scientific investigations.

"We have evidence of people living here in Kansas for about 12,000 years," said Bob Hoard, state archeologist for Kansas.  "The earliest occupants of the state were roving hunters, and they pursued extinct forms of bison that lived here at the close of the ice age.  Between 5,000 - 7,000 years ago a drought affected most of North America. Careful study has revealed that people shifted their focus to hunting a wider variety of animals and they began using more wild plant foods. They brought down animals with spears, which they hurled using spear throwers."  About 2,500 years ago people began making clay pots.  "They used these to cook wild plants and animals, as well as seeds of plants, such as goosefoot and sunflower, which were grown as crops.  They also started using the bow and arrow.  And throughout this 12,000-year period, people were acquiring and trading materials, such as high quality stone and shell from as far away as Yellowstone, New Mexico, and the Gulf Coast."

While the general outline of the past has been determined, there are still many details yet to be filled.  Relationships between groups of people, the spread of new technology, and the effects of early agriculture are only a few of the questions facing today's archeologists.  A piece of pottery might give a clue to help fill a space in the puzzle of the past.  When objects are collected and removed from the site of discovery, the connection with its history is lost. 

"When someone finds a piece of pottery, an arrowhead, or an axe, we suggest they do as they might when fishing-catch and release," Hoard said.  "Look at the artifact; admire its beauty, the labor and workmanship that went into it.  Take a picture.  Make a sketch. Write some notes on the materials it's made of, and then release it.  Put it back.  Leave it there where it's been for a thousand years or more."

Scores of sites are destroyed every year by natural cause.  "A gully washer eats into the creek bank, and a storage pit full of tools and food remains is washed away," Hoard said.  "A field is plowed just a little deeper, and the remains of a 1,000-year-old site and a cooking fire get jumbled up in the topsoil.  Excavation for a new apartment building digs up a Santa Fe Trail camp."

Sites can also be destroyed by individuals.  Since 1903, numerous laws have been passed to protect archeological sites from the removal of artifacts.  Most of the laws protect sites endangered by government-sponsored projects or on government land.  One law, the Kansas Unmarked Burial Sites Preservation Act, protects burials that are not within areas clearly set aside as cemeteries.

When an artifact is found, collectors can record the find on a site form. This helps archeologists learn more about the location of sites from different time periods.  The information can be especially helpful in protecting sites or salvage information if a government-sponsored project threatens to destroy the site.  Location information is not made public.  Site forms are available from the Kansas Historical Society (KSHS) by mail, phone or at the web site www.kshs.org.