Archaeology of College Hill 2011

The Basics:

Each student will complete one of the following projects (~10-12 pages* – exclusive of images and bib), and 2 object biographies (750-1000 words each). *In cases where projects don't take a conventional paper-based format, the page length will be adjusted accordingly, but all projects must include some form of a write-up. Note: All final projects MUST include specific references to excavations / excavated material culture.

Please Note: In cases where projects rely on other institutions' or individuals' time and resources, it is imperative that students arrange meetings with the relevant contact people well ahead of time. Failure to gain access to materials or assistance due to last-minute or late attempts will not be excused. Also, it will be useful to identify the other students in the class who have topics that are relevant to yours, as it may be necessary to consult with one another in the process of developing your own project to the fullest extent.

Allison: Unit 11 Summary

Report on the objectives, methods, stratigraphy, and interpretation of finds from the unit’s excavations. Include date of each stratigraphic layer (using TPQ), scale drawings of wall profiles and features, discussion of any significant finds, and recommendations for future work (or not) in the vicinity.

Valerie: Unit 13 Summary

Sandra: Unit 14 Summary

Katie: Site-wide Stratigraphy

Analyze the contexts and stratigraphy from each unit through Harris Matrices and try to determine if any connections can be made. Connect the contexts from this year to previous years' strata as well to obtain a better picture of the yard's biography over time.

Ian: GIS and volumetric analysis

Organize all of the digitally recorded material into a geodatabase, georeference and digitize plans and section drawings, build 3D polygons of each contexts for volumetric analysis of the finds.

Nick: Three-dimensional recording and presentation

Use Photomodeler software to three-dimensionally document the walls in Unit 11 and possibly other finds. Integrate these models into the site GIS and discuss other possible ways of displaying, sharing and utilizing these three-dimensional for archaeological and public presentation purposes.

Brain: Multimedia presentation

Edit and (re)combine digital and paper-based media collected over the course of the excavations and labwork into a multimedia presentation. The organization of the material (themes, chronology, etc.) is up to you, but the final format should be a well-organized and edited DVD that will be shown to the class on the day of the public presentations. You may use whatever video / photo-editing software you like – iMovie is probably easiest.

Susana: Exhibit of findings – RI Hall (and accompanying wiki presentation)

Based on the findings of this year, update the JBH exhibit in the case in the basement of RI Hall, selecting objects and images that clearly convey the overarching goals and most interesting / significant findings of the class. Because text panels cannot accompany these objects, it will be necessary to create a wiki (on the JIAAW server) that will serve as a more comprehensive guide to the exhibit. This wiki should be referred to in the exhibit. Installation will need to be coordinated with Jessica and Diana Richardson.

Hannah: Artifact analysis of JBH finds

Look at artifact types, dates, functions and origins across this year's and the previous years' excavations to write up a comprehensive analysis of what we've been finding at the JBH. Integrate volumetric measures from this year and location information to look for any differences in spatial distribution of particular types of artifacts.