Thank you to everyone who came out to the conference in February! The following are a few select photos from the conference. We are grateful to all all the presenters who came from far and wide to provide wonderful discussions, and to Jodi Barnes for her excellent keynote presentation and participation in panel discussion on avocational archaeology.

Jodi Barnes providing her keynote speech on public archaeology in Arkansas. We were thrilled and honored to have her at this year’s conference!

Lamar Nelson, longtime ASSC Foothills Chapter and society member, presenting on the Fisher Site. Also indicated that this was his 30th conference in a row that he has attended!

Ernest Helms providing a fun, thoughtful account of his time at the Kolb Site and as an avocational archaeologist.

We loved having Coastal Carolina at the conference! Grateful for Coastal Carolina professors Carolyn Dillan and David Palmer for their support and excitement.

PhD student and new ASSC board member Katherine Parker presenting her topic, “Preliminary Modeling of Clandestine Liquor Distillation Sites in the Francis Marion National Forest.”

State Underwater Archaeologist Jim Spirek presenting “Jettisoned: Recovery, Discovery, and History of the CSS Pee Dee Armament.”

Al Goodyear providing a presentation on projectile point typologies in the early Archaic period.

Nena Rice accepting the Archaeologist of the Year award on behalf of Tony Harper, who passed away last September. Harper made many tremendous contributions to supporting archaeology in the state of South Carolina and will be greatly missed.

Exciting panel featuring avocationals and full-time archaeologists preparing for the discussion on avocational archaeology in South Carolina.

The panel was moderated by archaeologist and ASSC journal editor Joe Wilkinson.

Graduate students working on archaeology projects in South Carolina: the deadline for the 2020 program is March 20, 2020. Please visit our How to Apply page for information on how to submit an application.

About the Program
The Archaeological Society of South Carolina sponsors a Graduate Student Grant-in-Aid program to provide assistance to deserving graduate students furthering the cause of South Carolina archaeology. The Executive Committee appoints a qualified person as Chair of the current year’s Grant-in-Aid Committee. It is the Chair’s duty to appoint a review committee of two other qualified individuals to review student applications. The results of the committee’s selection are presented to the Executive Committee for approval. The amount available to grant under this project will vary by year.

8:15-9:00              Registration

8:45-9:00              Administrative Announcements; Welcome and Introduction by President Keith Stephenson

Morning Session
“Avocational Archaeology: The Role and Contributions of Avocational Archaeologists”

9:00-9:20              The Fisher Has A Good Cache: After 10 Years of Excavations, the Fisher Site 38BR1373 Reveals its First Cache, by Lamar Nelson (Avocational Archaeologist, Foothills Chapter, Archaeological Society of South Carolina)

9:20-9:40              Unlocking the Locks, Phase II, by Drew Ruddy (Avocational Archaeologist, Archaeological Society of South Carolina)

9:40-10:00           The Kolb Site (38DA75) Experience, by Ernest Helms (Avocational Archaeologist, Archaeological Society of South Carolina)

10:00-10:20         The Joy of Avocational Archaeology in South Carolina: A Personal Odyssey, by Robert C. Costello (Avocational Archaeologist, Archaeological Society of South Carolina, and USC Sumter)

10:20-10:40        PreContact Native American Pottery in the Robert Costello Collection, Santee River, South Carolina, by Christopher Judge (Native American Studies Center USC Lancaster) and Robert C. Costello (Avocational Archaeologist, Archaeological Society of South Carolina, and USC Sumter)

10:40-1100          Break

Keynote Presentation

11:00-11:45         Public Archaeology 2020: Arkansas as a Case Study, by Jodi A. Barnes (Arkansas Archeological Survey, University of Arkansas)

11:45-12:00         Presentation of Awards

12:00–1:30          Lunch

Afternoon Session

1:30-2:15              Panel–Avocational Archaeology: Methods, Contributions, and Concerns for the Future
Moderator: Joseph E. Wilkinson
Panelists: Lamar Nelson, David Gordon, Jodi A. Barnes, Nate Fulmer, Christopher Judge

2:15-2:35              Geochemical Characterization of Charleston Brick Production with pXRF, by Carolyn Dillian (Coastal Carolina University), David Palmer (Coastal Carolina University), Eric Poplin (Brockington), and Charlie Philips (Brockington)

2:35-2:55              Studying the Early Archaic Period in South Carolina Using Existing Projectile Point Typologies, by Albert C. Goodyear (South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology), Andrew A. White (South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology), and Joseph E. Wilkinson (South Carolina Department of Archives and History)

2:55-3:15              SUBMERGED: Underwater Archaeology in South Carolina for 8th Graders, by Ryan Bradley (South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology’s Maritime Research Division)

3:15-3:35             Break

3:35-3:55             Preliminary Modeling of Clandestine Liquor Distillation Sites in the Francis Marion National Forest, by Katherine Parker (University of Tennessee)

3:55-4:15              Jettisoned: Recovery, Discovery, and History of the CSS Pee Dee Armament, by Jim Spirek, (South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology’s Maritime Research Division)

4:15-4:35              Archaeology in the Congaree Creek Locality, Lexington County, South Carolina, and the Early History of the Archaeological Society of South Carolina, by David G. Anderson (University of Tennessee)

4:35-4:55              From Slavery to Empowerment: Update on Pro-Social Archaeology at Historic Brattonsville and Beyond, by J. Christopher Gillam and Richard J. Chacon (Winthrop University)

4:55-5:15              ASSC Business Meeting

5:15-5:35             Concluding remarks by President Stephenson

We’re excited to announce that Dr. Jodi A. Barnes will be our keynote speaker for the 2020 Annual Conference!

Jodi A. Barnes is an Associate Research Professor and Research Station Archeologist with the Arkansas Archeological Survey, a unit of the University of Arkansas system. She earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology from American University in Washington, DC and a Graduate Certificate in Women and Gender Studies and B.A. in Anthropology from the University of South Carolina.

After completing a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of South Carolina, she worked as the Staff Archaeologist for the South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Her current research focuses on the archaeologies of health and foodways at 19th century Hollywood Plantation and the material life of Camp Monticello, a World War II Italian prisoner of war camp. She is the editor of a thematic issue on the intimate archaeologies of World War II in the journal Historical Archaeology (2018) and The Materiality of Freedom (2011) and co-editor of Managing Cultural Resources: Global Context, National Programs, Local Actions (2008).

Presentation: Public Archaeology 2020: Arkansas as a Case Study
Jodi A. Barnes, Arkansas Archeological Survey

As the first formal public archaeology program in the United States, the Arkansas Archeological Survey “mutually assist[s] and cooperate[s] with the Arkansas Archeological Society in furthering the purposes of public archaeological education.” Founded in 1868, state legislation encourages the two organizations to work together. From the Annual Training Program, the certification and stewardship programs, the Endangered African-American Cemeteries Initiative, Archeology Month, and on-going programs at the ten regional offices, Arkansas archeologists involve the public in citizen science — collecting data, advancing scientific knowledge, and preserving the past. In this talk, Dr. Barnes will provide an overview of the history of Arkansas archeology and the ways advocationalist archaeologists have shaped the organization with recommendations for the future of public archaeology.

Plan your day with us!

Event Schedule
Hourly Fire Demonstration with Fuz Sanderson
10:15 AM – Bobby McLeod Musket Fire Demo*
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM – Archaeological Tour of the Fort Congaree Site with Archaeologist James Stewart**
11:30 AM – 12:00 AM – 12,000 Years of History with Scott Jones
12:45 PM – Bobby McLeod Musket Fire Demo*
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM – Civil War Battlefield Tour**
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM – 12,000 Years of History with Scott Jones