Mammoth : Additional Information

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 2006
on Wenas Creek Mammoth Field School
Central Washington University

Eligibility

The field school is open to anyone eligible to register for college credits. There are no pre-requisites, but some background in archaeology, geography and/or geology is strongly encouraged.

Schedule

The field school will meet weekdays from June 19 through August 11, 2006. Our first meeting will be Monday June 19 at 8 AM sharp in Room 317 Farrell Hall on the CWU campus in Ellensburg. Thereafter we will meet at 7 AM Monday-Friday. We are starting this early in order to get most of our work done before it gets really hot at the study site. We will finish each day at about 3:30 PM. Please realize that the end of each day will vary, with some longer days and some shorter days. Transportation will be provided by CWU van every day out to the site from campus.

Registration

Your first step is to submit a field school application to the instructor by April 1, 2006. Once you are accepted, you will be sent a Field School Registration form by the Office of Continuing Education. This form must be returned to Continuing Education by May 19 with either

Full tuition and fees are due on or before June 21, 2006. When a student registers for classes a financial obligation to the University is incurred and adjustments will be made according to the current refund policy. Payment by VISA or MASTERCARD is accepted for all tuition and fee expenses for summer quarter.

You will earn credits in two courses: ANTH 493 "Anthropological Field Experience" (6 credits) and GEOG 493 "Field Experience in Geography" (6 credits).

Housing

For out-of-town students, campus housing and dining facilities are available through the CWU Conference Program. You must make your own housing reservations. Please call the Conference Program for more information at 1-800-752-4379.

Field Setting

The study area lies in the Wenas Creek Valley between Ellensburg and Yakima in central Washington. The nearest community is the town of Selah. The site is on the steep valley wall above Wenas Creek, at about 1400 feet elevation. Vegetation is dominated by plants of the sagebrush/bunchgrass community, primarily big sagebrush and wheatgrass. Because of the dry conditions, insect pests like mosquitoes are quite rare, but there could be scorpions, spiders, and ticks.

In the summer, this area is typically hot and dry. The temperatures during the field season may range from about 70 to 100 degrees (F), with most days hot and sunny. A few days may be cloudy, with virga (rain that evaporates before it reaches the ground) or widely scattered showers. Some days could be breezy, blowing around a lot of dust, but most are likely to be nearly still. It is sometimes going to be very hot out there, with little shade (although we will try to have some tent shades this year). It will be important to wear sunscreen and a hat, and drink lots of water. The ability to handle these conditions is important; people who are highly sensitive to heat or sunshine may not be good candidates for the project.

You should realize that we are going to be out where scorpions live. There also could be several other pesky creatures in the area (e.g., rattlesnakes, Black Widow spiders, and/or ticks), but we have not seen any on site. While we have not had problems in the past, you should be aware of these possible dangers.

Field School Activities

For the first week (June 19-23), we will be training with lecture, lab studies, field trips, and perhaps hikes. You will get some background in archaeological field methods, sediments, mammoths, maps, and the regional environment. The first day will be entirely on campus, but we may be in the field or on campus thereafter. You may need to arrive prepared for a day in the field as early as the second day of class.

Our primary field task this summer is recovery of mammoth bones and collection of stratigraphic and geomorphic information to put the bone finds into context. To do this, we expect to excavate a number of 2 x 2 m units using archaeological methods, mapping and collecting all encountered bone fragments. We may use shovels, wheelbarrows, trowels, brushes, and/or fine bamboo skewers for excavation, and shake all of this through 1/8" screens. We know there are more mammoth bones on the site, especially since we left seven large bones in the walls of excavation units at the end of last field season. There also could be artifacts on the site, and we are using methods that would allow us to find these and make solid associations with the mammoth bone. However, there have not yet been any artifacts associated with the mammoth (and there may not ever be), and so this project is technically paleontology rather than archaeology. As we recover bone, we will make use of Butvar consolidant to stabilize the fragments and prevent them from disintegrating. As we excavate the 2 x 2 m units, we will also carefully record the stratigraphy of each, and link this to the already-described stratigraphy of the backhoe trench excavated in 2005. We will also map the geomorphology of the site through field, air photo, topographic map, and GIS methods. Ultimately, we will link the recovered bones to the stratigraphy and associated geomorphology of the site.

Field Clothing & Equipment

Except for a few days the first week, you should bring a pack lunch, drinking water, and field clothes every day. Although we will provide all of the larger and more expensive equipment, you will need to provide your own personal gear. The following items are required:

Shoes:

rugged, durable shoes or work boots. While we will not be hiking, we will be using shovels and wheelbarrows everyday, so sturdy shoes are a must. Flip-flops are not acceptable. Some people are fine with athletic shoes, but I prefer work boots in order to jump on shovels, etc. Hiking boots may be used, but are not preferred because of their lugged soles. Flat soles are better for excavation because they do not leave marks on the excavation surfaces. If you get new footwear for this project, be sure to wear it well before you start the field school or else you will get sore, blistered feet.

Clothing:

adequate clothes for hot and sunny weather, plus extra clothes for wet and/or cold days. I normally wear light long pants (to protect from sun and vegetation), a T-shirt, and a light long-sleeved shirt (to protect from sun or cool weather). In my pack, I bring along a windbreaker/rainshell (even a large plastic bag may do) and a few bandanas. For summer field clothes, I have used cotton or cotton/polyester work shirts, work pants, painter's pants, and even worn-out dress shirts and slacks like those at the Goodwill store.

Hat:

a hat with a brim to protect you from the sun is an absolute must, and I strongly recommend sunglasses as well.

Other Personal Gear:

sunscreen and water bottles (at least 2 liters worth-- I find that used 1-1.5 liter plastic pop bottles work well) If you are allergic to pollen, bee stings, etc, you should make sure to have your necessary medicines.

Lunchbox (optional):

you may wish to bring a small personal-size cooler for your lunch. We will be able to return to the van for lunch every day, so most students take advantage of this possibility. Do NOT bring a large cooler—we have to fit all of this stuff in the van.

Field Gear:

pencils/erasers (I like mechanical pencils with large built-in erasers), small ruler, and clipboard. You will be provided with everything else you need, but you could consider this additional equipment if you would like your own personal equipment:

*trowel

(concrete finishing trowel; Marshalltown 5" pointing trowel or equivalent -- NOT a garden trowel)

*cheap hand calculator.