JULY 23, 2005

From: Scott Beld
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005
To: Oxbow Archaeologists
Subject: Riverbank Testing (20MD263 - Sias River East) - July 23, 2005

Hi Oxbow Archaeologists,

Nik, Greg, and I made it out to the riverbank on Saturday. We continued to excavate the 60 West trench and opened a 2m x 2m unit (OS-46W, 0S-47W, 1N-46W, 1N-47W) on the line I gridded out last week 13 meters east of the 60 West trench. I’ve started to switch the site designation in our field notes to the state site number instead of “Riverbank testing.” In May Barb Mead sent me the state site number – 20MD263 – and the name that Lois Wang gave the site – “Sias River East.” Lois surface collected and recorded the site in the 1970’s. She recovered some Late Woodland pottery, 2 spokeshaves, a quartzite teshoa (scraper), 70-80 flakes, fire cracked rock, and some cut deer bone on the surface. We’ll use the state site number in our field notes now that we’re expanding our excavations.

Nik and Greg excavated the surface level (0-5 cm) of the new 2x2 (see Photo 1). They found a couple barbed wire fragments, a few bone fragments and flakes (Bayport and Upper Mercer cherts), and a fragment of an scraper made from Upper Mercer chert (see Photo 2).

Greg and I continued to take the 60 West trench deeper – we’re at 160 cm in two units. About 155-160 cm we encountered a pale brown sand layer (labeled “sand” in Photo 3). We haven’t found any cultural material in this trench below the A2 horizon so far (in the 85 West trench we found some F.C.R. at the top of the A3 horizon and a small retouch flake just below the sand layer). In 85 West the sand layer was not as deep (about 145 cm below the surface) and patchy. The sand layer in 60 West is quiet continuous and slopes to the east and south.

This Wednesday we’ll plan on working at the Resource Building (washing artifacts and flotation). Next Saturday, we’ll excavate at Sias East (20MD263).

Hope to see you at the site.

Scott

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Scott G. Beld, Ph.D.
Research Associate II
The University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology
1109 Geddes Road
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1079
Phone: 734-764-0489 (UMMP Main Office)
734-763-9253 (My Office)
Fax: 734-936-1380
Email: sbeld@umich.edu
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