Students Dig into the Past at Archaeological Field School
Four SUNY Oneonta students have spent the last month digging into the past and honing skills for the future during the Pine Lake Archaeological Field School, now in its 21st year.
A collaborative effort between SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College, the Archaeological Field School introduces students to the basic methods archaeologists use to identify, excavate, record and interpret archaeological sites. SUNY Oneonta provides most of the equipment, while Hartwick provides the place – Pine Lake Environmental Campus, located in West Davenport, NY.
Lost and Found
Tucked away in a field nestled between Pine Lake and Charlotte Creek, students work each day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., sifting through excavated dirt and searching for evidence of ancient hunter-gatherer communities in an area believed to have been a gathering place for Native American people thousands of years ago. The school, which began May 29 and runs until June 28, drew students from Adelphi University, St. Lawrence University, and out of state college students from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Anthropology Professor Renee Whitman
This is the only prehistoric field school in the region, according to SUNY Oneonta Anthropology Professor Renee Whitman, who started the field school in 2003 and co-directs it now. It’s also one of the only field schools where students spend time in the field and in the lab, processing found artifacts, analyzing and completing data entry. Students also use the same database system as the New York State Museum to gain an understanding of the curation process.
“You become an archeologist here – you’re really doing it,” said Whitman. “Students learn everything they need to know in order to work in archaeology, setting up units, mapping, recording, the lab component, data entry, report writing, sometimes exhibit design, all of it!”
Over the years, Archaeological Field School students have found hundreds of artifacts that give us a glimpse into the past, from 4,000-year-old cooking hearths to fire pits, with some artifacts dating back to about 8,000 years ago. Students have also found hundreds of flakes of chert (a type of rock used to make tools and weapons), pieces of pottery, nutting stones and a full projectile point, known to most as an arrowhead. Past Archaeological Field School students have found quartz that was not local to the region, indicating that it had been traded.
Archeology “Boot Camp”
Professor of Anthropology Namita Sugandhi
Field school students learn skills that can be applied to all kinds of disciplines. Many are anthropology majors, but the program is open to all and often attracts students studying history, geoscience, biology, geography, chemistry and other fields. Even if a student isn’t interested in going into the field of archeology, they leave with basic skills applicable for every career option.
“It’s a bit like boot camp,” said Hartwick Assistant Professor of Anthropology Namita Sugandhi, who co-directs the four-week session alongside Whitman. “It teaches students work ethic, how to work with others and independently, and how to be observant and detail-oriented. But it’s also an amazing opportunity to build connections. There’s no cell service out here, so everyone becomes incredibly close.”
Students begin their excavation by marking out small sections of undug land at Pine Lake that are approximately 5 feet long by 5 feet wide. Digging 5 to 10 centimeters deep at a time, students collect the dirt and flatten out their excavation site, then record any findings and sift through the dirt they collected for any artifacts. By the end of the field school, students dig as deep as 80 centimeters, and have found thousands of artifacts since the beginning of the field school in 2003, according to Whitman.
Mia Vinson
“This excavation in this section is deep enough now that we’re going 5 centimeters at a time so that whatever we find, we can really detail it,” said rising anthropology junior Mia Vinson, who has found flakes and a cobbled tool this year. “I've gotten to get my hands dirty and touch everything. I love it!"
When they’re not in the field or the lab, students cook and have meals together, have the opportunity to fish or kayak, hang out and stay in cabins at Pine Lake. The SUNY Research Foundation provides $500 in grants to the SUNY Oneonta students to help defray the costs of attending the Archaeological Field School.
Tyler Higham
“I’ve always wanted to pursue a career in archaeology ever since I was a kid,” said Tyler Higham, a rising senior at SUNY Oneonta who hopes to pursue archaeology outside of the U.S. “A lot what I’m learning here are crucial things that you need to learn to actually be an archeologist. They teach you everything here, and they’re equally engaging and friendly with the students. It’s a really good experience.”
Class of 2013 alumnus Kasey Heiser majored in anthropology and attended the field school as a student in 2011. After graduating, he earned his master’s degree in anthropology at Binghamton University and, like many other field school alumni, has worked in Cultural Resource Management or CRM (required archaeology before construction can begin to mitigate impact) since then. Although Heiser wasn’t there this year, he has returned to Pine Lake almost every year to serve as a field assistant.
“The field school taught me so much, from how to work with others to the basics of what I needed to know for CRM,” Heiser said. “Now, working with FEMA and other organizations on grant applications and other projects, whenever there is a historical aspect, I’m the one who gets asked those questions.”
