Uncovering The Past: UTC’s Archaeology Field School in the National Park
by Sidney McCarty, Americorps VISTA, National Park Partners
Dr. Morgan Smith, UTC assistant professor of Anthropology in the Department of Social, Cultural, and Justice Studies examines the depth of a hole dug by students as part of shovel testing the site.
Every Friday throughout the fall and winter, the edge of Brotherton Field at Chickamauga Battlefield will be alight with the process of historical and anthropological discovery. The University of Tennessee, Chattanooga has partnered with Jim Szyjkowski, Chief of Resource Management, to provide anthropology students the unique opportunity to conduct a cultural resource assessment.
This opportunity is headed by Dr. Morgan Smith, a UTC assistant professor who has a background himself in archeological work with the National Park System. According to Dr. Smith, students will be participating in three phases of study, starting with shovel testing, wherein holes are dug to a pre-determined depth across the field to check for artifacts. This helps the students to determine whether or not the area contains a significant amount of Civil War or pre-historic debris.
After this phase, the area will be swept with metal detectors, and then search will be conducted by ground-penetrating radar. Each of these tests will be conducted according to the regulations put forth by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires that any federal agency take into account the effects of federal undertakings on public land.
Once this assessment is finished, the park will be aware of the potential impact of work in the field and will be able to determine if further projects in the area designed to restore the battlefield to its original condition may move forward. Excitingly, this work, according to Dr. Smith, is exactly the sort of work most of his students will pursue after graduation, meaning that this partnership between UTC and Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is proving fruitful both for the park and the students, who gain real-world experience.
UTC Anthropology student, Brooke Withey, sifts through the dirt pulled from a hole that was dug for a shovel test of the ground.
Upon our first visit with the field school, it was clear that the students, and Dr. Smith, were not only learning from but enjoying the work. Upperclassman and teacher’s assistant Kinsley Kilgore educated us on the importance of proper documentation, while other students such as Savannah Neely continued the process of digging and sifting through the clay. Students work every Friday from 9-5, facing the Tennessee heat and humidity while they record discoveries, and, more often than not, face the disappointment of an empty hole. Despite the often physically demanding nature of the work, each individual we spoke to emphasized the unique nature of the opportunity, and presented well their findings thus far.
Dr. Morgan Smith and teacher’s assistant, Kinsley Kilgore, a senior, examine a dirt sample at the Brotherton Field fence line inside the Chickamauga Battlefield during recent shovel testing activities.
When asked about the importance of the work she was conducting, Kinsley Kilgore related archeological work to the act of participating in history. Between the time the artifact was lost and its discovery, an archeologist may be the only person to touch an uncovered object in thousands of years. To Kinsley, that’s a particular privilege, and one of the strongest draws of the job. Echoing Kinsley’s words, student Sam Fuller emphasized the importance of moving beyond the objects and interpreting the story behind the cultural discoveries.
That work will largely occur for these students, and the park, in the lab, where objects will be observed, identified, and labeled for preservation and study. As the team moves into that process, National Park Partners will continue to follow the field team’s work closely, and celebrate their findings at the end of term.
Watch this space and follow NPP on social media for updates on this exciting collaboration.