General Info:
Alabama Archaeological SocietyAn exhibit at the newly renovated Moundville Museum, which attendees will tour at the upcoming Winter Meeting ( see meeting information at left, photo courtesy of Richard Kilborn ).Saturday, April 02, 2011, Old St. Stephens: The Alabama Archaeological Society will sponsor a Field Trip to assist University of South Alabama Archaeologist George Shorter in his ongoing excavation work at the site of the Globe Hotel at Old St. Stephens. Volunteers are encouraged to come out and assist in the excavation work in and around the cellar of the main building and the slaves' yard. Both of these areas have produced many interesting artifacts. No experience or equipment necessary and all ages are welcome. We will begin at 9: 00 AM and finish by 4: 00 PM. Bring your lunch and whatever you want to drink. Water will be provided. A Map and other information about the Old St. Stephens Park can be found at http: //www.oldststephens.com For any questions, contact Richard Kilborn at rlkilborn@charter.netThe town of Old St. Stephens was an important settlement on the frontier of a new nation ; the site of a Spanish Fort, an American Fort, the Choctaw Trading Post, a Federal Land Office, Alabama's Territorial Capital, and the first capital of the state of Alabama. The first American flag was raised over the region in 1799 at the fort. Old St. Stephens is one of the most important historical and archaeological sites in Alabama.AAS is looking for a new web editor! The AAS web site is written in HTML with CSS ( hand-written ). We would like to improve the commerical side of our site so members can pay dues, make donations, and order past issues of the journal or T-shirts from the AAS site. If you would like to become more involved in the archaeology of Alabama by providing web support to the AAS, please contact the AAS president, Steven_Meredith. If you have questions for the current web editor, please contact Mary_Spanos.The September AAS dig at the Upper Salt Works. Over 30 AAS members participated on September 18 and 19 at the AAS excavation field trip to the Upper Salt Works. On both days we excavated an area of the site occupied in the Early Paleoindian ( Clovis ), Middle Archaic, and Late Woodland periods. On Sunday we continued excavations on the prehistoric components while some of us worked on excavation units in the ruins of a Civil War salt furnace. Thanks to Ashley Dumas and Steven Meredith for organizing this trip. The artifacts and records will be curated in the University of West Alabama. The dig was part of ongoing research on Salt production in Southwest Alabama and Paleoindian settlement in the Gulf Coastal Plain. See a video of the dig on YouTube.Guidelines for authors for the Journal of Alabama Archaeology. The Journal of Alabama Archaeology remains the primary forum for the publication of papers on the prehistoric and historic archaeology of Alabama, however papers on related topics in the Southeast are welcome. Papers from students, amateur, and professional archaeologists are solicited. The guidelines and style guide for authors, a PDF file, is available to download.A Confederate cannon from the CSS Alabama is finally coming to Alabama. The Confederate sloop, the CSS Alabama, never made it to Alabama, but one of it's cannons is currently being restored and will soon be on display at the Museum of Mobile. For more information, read the Post and Courier article. Also, see the University of Alabama's Hoyle Museum online digital collection of images of the CSS Alabama.Distinguished Southeastern Archaeologist, Frank Schnell, dies at age 69. Archaeologist Frank T. Schnell, Jr., 69, died on January 18, 2010. According to an article on theColumbus Ledger-Enquirer Web site, his wife Gail said he fell from a ladder in their home in Bradenton, Florida. The Columbus native was known for his deep knowledge of area history and culture, much of it gleaned from extensive field work on prehistoric Indian