details given in Niles Daily Star (www.nilesstar.com/) article on July 2011 Course on Archaeology
Western Michigan University archaeology students and staff will once again arrive in Niles to begin on Tuesday, July 5, 2011 their excavations and research at the site of Fort St Joseph in Niles. WMU professor Michael Nassaney is beginning his eighth season for archaeological excavations and field school activities in the Niles area.
Sixteen students are participating in this year’s program. Ten are women and six are men. Most are full-time WMU students, but some are pursuing degrees at other institutions. In addition to Nassaney there are five staff members, all of whom are pursuing or have earned archaeology degrees.
The students will perfect their digging skills at the Lynn site near the Fort St. Joseph Rock and then move to the fort site after the de-watering process has dried out the soil enough to resume work closer to the St. Joseph River.
This year the students will be housed at Niles High School in order to immerse themselves fully in the life of the community. The students are in the field five days a week from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day; and several nights a week they have lab work after dinner.
This six-hour credit, summer school course is not for someone who does not like to get his or her hands dirty and likes to rush through things. Archaeological excavation is often done with a small trowel and brush and no power tools. A great deal of patience is needed and great attention is paid to the smallest details. Measurements and drawings and photographs are made of each pit and item found. Careful recordkeeping is essential. All dirt removed is wet screened to find minute particles or artifacts that might give the researchers a clue about life at the fort between 1691 and 1781. Items found are then carefully bagged and labeled for study before being returned to the Fort St. Joseph Museum.
http://www.nilesstar.com/2011/07/05/wmu-to-begin-fort-st-joseph-dig-today/
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