Anthropology | Summer Field School

The Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study

May 17-July 2, 2011

2011 Application (Deadline: May 7)

2011 Brochure

Sample Syllabus, 2010

American University and the Department of Anthropology are pleased to invite students to participate in the 2011 Great Dismal Swamp Archaeology Field School. The Field School will take place in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) located in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina (near Norfolk, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach, VA, and Elizabeth City, NC). This summer’s course represents a continuation of the Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study (GDSLS), an initiative started by the Project Director, Dan Sayers, in 2002. We will be working closely with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the stewards of the Refuge, and maintaining and developing interactive dialogue with the broader public. A main research focus for the GDSLS in 2011 will be on further developing our understanding of the impacts of historical processes of colonialism (1600s), slavery (1700s), and development (1800s) on the swamp, and, on the internal dynamics of resistant and generally self-reliant maroon communities in the swamp interior (comprised primarily of African-Americans who permanently fled slavery as well as Indigenous Americans). Because so little is known about Indigenous American settlement and lifeways in the Great Dismal Swamp prior to 1600, some focus may be on excavation and recordation of precontact (pre-1600) deposits.

While subject to modification, the general course schedule represents a rigorous, challenging and fun program. Prior to engaging in fieldwork in the swamp, we will meet as a class at American University for at least one full day of intensive field preparation. We will then spend approximately 5 ½ weeks doing archaeological fieldwork in the Refuge; this will include daily (M-F) excursions into the Refuge (generally 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in field) to sites in North Carolina and Virginia. During field work weeks, we will probably also visit other field schools as well as some public historical interpretation sites (e.g., Colonial Williamsburg, James River Plantations, etc.) on scheduled days and unexpected rain out days. We will then wrap up the course on campus at AU for the final few days which will include laboratory analysis and engaged discussion of preliminary analysis of field finds.

The Project Research Team will include course participants, the Project Precontact Specialist, the Project Geophysical Archaeologist (tentative), two Teaching Assistant Crew Chiefs, Project GIS Mapping Specialist (tentative), the Project Director, and occasional consultants and short term volunteers. Students can also expect visits to our work areas by USFWS personnel, interested members of the public, and possibly media reporters and documentary filmmakers.

As one of the only active extensive excavation programs that focuses on maroons in North America, the GDSLS Field School will provide students with unparalleled opportunities to help piece together Diasporic resistance community histories that have great contemporary significance and resonance in public, academic, conservation/preservation, and government sectors.

Student Experience Opportunities and Benefits

Students will have ample opportunities to gain solid experiences and training in a variety of aspects of archaeological fieldwork including, but not limited to, the following:

· Archaeological Pedestrian Survey and Excavation Methods
· Research Design Development
· Research Photography, Mapping, and Data Recordation
· Global Positioning System (GPS)
· Laboratory Dating and Soil Sampling Techniques
· Total Station and Precision Survey
· Remote Sensing and Geophysics (tentative)
· Precontact- and Postcontact-era Artifact Identification
· Interdisciplinary research methods
· Remote landscape navigation
· Methods of cultural resources conservation and stewarding
· Being a contributing part of a research team
· Public interaction and interpretation

In gaining such experiences, students will be paving the way to their future employment in public, academic, and private archaeology research. Students who are not planning on a career in archaeology will also find the experience of learning the methods and practices of archaeology and working as part of a research team in a vast natural setting to be rewarding and beneficial. Participating students will play key roles in helping the GDSLS to continue to generate one of the most detailed archaeological data sets available in the United States that pertains to resistant maroon communities and Precontact inhabitation of the Dismal Swamp.

Field School Registration, Logistics, and Costs*

Generally, students should register through American University for ANTH 630 for 3 or 6 credit hours. Costs will include tuition as well as a Field School fee that is not to exceed $600. We will be staying during workweeks on property outside of the Refuge (probably camping near a crew house) but within a reasonable distance for daily travel to and from sites. On weekends, participants will have the option of staying at the crew campsite and house. More details regarding costs and the logistics of accommodations, transportation, and food are provided in field school documents (accessible through links on this page or from the Project Director).

Please contact the Project Director if you have any questions or concerns about the costs, logistics, and/or details of the program.

Admission into the 2011 Field School is by permission of the Project Director and students wishing to be considered for participation should submit a completed Field School Application to the Project Director by mail no later than May 7, 2011 (no email applications allowed because of required participant signature). Students are further advised not to wait until the last minute to submit their applications. Applications are available on this page or can be obtained from the Project Director.

Please send applications and direct any Field School-related questions to:

Dr. Daniel O. Sayers
Department of Anthropology
Battelle-Tompkins Bldg
American University
Washington DC 20016
sayers@american.edu
202-885-1833

* In developing this program over the next few months, many aspects of the 2010 Field School detailed here and in course documents are subject to change. Those interested in participating are urged to periodically check this page for alerts to any such changes. Those who have submitted applications will be notified of changes directly by email or telephone.