As fall arrives, so does university, statewide focus on archaeology
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擨n observing October as Archaeology Month, Mississippi State is sponsoring a range of public programs to help educate about the Magnolia State鈥檚 intriguing prehistory.
The Mississippi Archaeological Association, Department of Archives and History and Department of Transportation are co-sponsors of the statewide events. 熟女少妇is responsible for those in the northern part, said Evan Peacock, interim director of the campus鈥 Cobb Institute of Archaeology.
鈥淲e are an extraordinary species whose story is well worth understanding and telling,鈥 Peacock said. 鈥淲e need our citizens to be invested in recognizing the importance of our material past and being partners in helping to preserve it. This is why archaeology month and other public archaeology events matter.鈥
The MSU-led programs begin Wednesday [Oct. 4] at the Starkville Public Library on University Drive. From 4-5 p.m., Peacock will give a presentation titled 鈥淲hy Archaeology Matters (and What You can Do to Help!)鈥 For details, contact library director Ginny Holtcamp at ginnym@starkville.lib.ms.us.
All on weekends, the other events include:
鈥擲aturday, the 7th, 9 a.m.-noon, Starkville鈥檚 Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum. An artifact identification session led by Peacock and 熟女少妇archaeology colleague Janet Rafferty.
鈥擜lso on the 7th, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., a mock excavation is being designed for children at the Cobb Institute of Archaeology on the 熟女少妇campus.
鈥擲unday, the 15th, 2 p.m., Plymouth Bluff Environmental Center near Columbus. 熟女少妇bioarchaeologist Anna Osterholtz will explain 鈥淏odies and Lives: How Bioarchaeologists Reconstruct Health and Behavior.鈥
鈥擣riday, the 27th, 6:15 p.m., Simrall Hall Auditorium (Room 100). Professor George Bey of Millsaps College will describe 鈥2000 Years of Maya Civilization: Recent Research in Northern Yucatan.鈥 In addition to being a sociology-anthropology faculty member, he holds the Chisholm Foundation Chair of Arts and Sciences at the Jackson liberal arts institution.
鈥擲aturday, the 28th, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Ingomar Mounds near New Albany. Peacock and Rafferty will assist with tours and other activities on the 63-acre site where man-made objects dating from approximately 2,200 years ago first were excavated in the 1880s. The site now is owned by the non-profit Archaeological Conservancy.
鈥擜lso on the 28th, at Winterville Mounds State Park north of Greenville, the Department of Archives and History will sponsor Mississippi Archaeology Expo from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Details on the free public event may be found by clicking the Facebook link at or calling 662-334-4684
Peacock said 鈥渁lmost all of the human story is encapsulated solely within the archaeological record, as artifacts in the dirt.鈥
Expressing a belief that no more than 鈥10 percent of the archaeology of Mississippi has yet to be found and recorded,鈥 he added, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 both exiting and worrying for archaeologists.
鈥淓xciting,鈥 he continued, 鈥渂ecause there is still so much for us to discover and try to understand; worrying, because the record is finite and is disappearing every day.鈥
Founded in 1971, the Cobb Institute is a research and service unit of MSU鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences. It also is home to the Lois Dowdle Cobb Museum of Archaeology.
For details about MSU-led events during the Archaeology Month observation, contact North American archeologist Derek Anderson at 662-325-5970 or dta49@msstate.edu.
The complete statewide schedule of events is found at .
熟女少妇is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .听听