ASNJ Presentation

Recently, I was delighted to present a crunched down version of my thesis to the Archaeological Society of New Jersey. I've recently joined the organization and I will be taking over the management of their website. I have quite a few goals in the upcoming year, such as figuring out how to synch our website with Facebook so that every time we update the page- a notice is dropped onto our facebook account for our viewers. I'd like to increase our hits and expand our member base.

I was invited to present on my topic at the last minute, one of the pre-scheduled speakers could not attend. My talk was from 2PM to 2:30PM. I gave a bit of an overview about my project, introduced my typology and provided a few closing conclusions. The presentation was well received and I was very pleased to have such positive feedback. It's good to know that there is an interest in equine archaeology. As an equestrian and archaeologist, I believe I bring a few different perspectives to the table on this subject matter. I would like to expand my interests to include all of equine archaeology in the Mid Atlantic. I want to look at more hardware types, read up on any potential horse burials and research early veterinary practices. I believe there would be a lot of interest in this subject matter. For now, I will take some time off to relax and reflect on my work. I will admit that I'm just a little burned out from the thesis writing process.

My thesis is ending!

The end of the semester is quickly drawing to a close. It seems that my writer's block has been lifted and I've been writing like a mad-woman. Allow me to offer some advice, don't ever wait until the final hour to start writing the bulk of your conclusions. So treacherous!  I plan to take some time off from writing and researching at the conclusion of my program. I will be working on EquiDig during the interlude.  I also need to distribute copies of my thesis to the parties that assisted me with my research- there are so many people and institutions to thank!

Stay tuned, I'll be back in the future....

A Bit of Bits!

I recently learned of a collection of bridle bits I haven't had a chance to look at. They're located at the office of New York Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.  I had the opportunity to meet with Michael Roets and Paul Huey, who were extremely helpful in providing me access to bridle bits and related field notes. The trip was about 3 1/2 hours from Long Branch, NJ. I left directly after work, then spent the day in Albany collecting data. I had a great time and was very happy to learn of the assemblage. I'm pleased to say that some of the specimens strengthened one of my arguments I've been working on in my thesis for the past several months.  I can't wait to add the information to my results!

RGA

I am pleased to announce that I will begin working for Richard Grubb & Associates on a part-time basis in January, once I return from my winter break. I will be working at least twenty hours a week. I will be in training wheels for a while.  I have completed a class in GIS at the graduate level and I completed a GIS based internship with the Archaeology Department of Mount Vernon, two summers ago. I am really looking forward to learning how to utilize the full potential of this program! It's difficult to take many classes in GIS, mainly because a lot of the classes are naturally geared towards environmental science.  This makes sense, considering what Esri does.  That said, it has been difficult for me to work with GIS inan archaeological setting- so this will be fantastic. I will not only learn how to enhance my GIS skillset but I will begin to learn when it is appropriate to use certain functions in GIS.  I am extremely grateful to have this opportunity and I can't wait to start working! Happy New Year!

Thesis Prospectus and Progress

I presented my thesis prospectus a couple of weeks ago.  It went REALLY well! I'm very pleased. I am developing an artifact seriation and typology of bridle bits for the Middle Atlantic region. I will present a poster on my project in March at the 2013 Middle Atlantic Archaeology Conference in Virginia Beach, Virginia. For my prospectus, I provided an outline of things to come:

-- Theoretical approaches to artifact analysis
-- A review of previously made seriations and typologies
-- An investigation into the significance of the equine during the Contact Period
-- A final analysis of the bridle bit as a tool and witness to the past

I first became interested in horse furniture while I was working at Ferry Farm. I presume my interest stemmed from my passion for equestrian activities. Horse furniture in archaeology evolved from a natural blending of my two passions: archaeology and horses. I conducted a great deal of research at the National Sporting Library and Museum in Middleburg, Virginia. I believe I mentioned this in a post from the summer but I can't express how wonderful it was to have the opportunity to work with this facility.

I am expected to graduate in May of 2013, so I will need to crank out the chapters as efficiently as possible!  I still have several places to visit, which will be a little stressful. I'm looking forward to viewing the finished product!  I hope that I can add to it in the coming years.

Richard Grubb & Associates Internship

For my second "class" this semester, I will be completing an Internship with Richard Grubb & Associates. This CRM firm is located in Cranburry, New Jersey. I will work eight hours a week with the firm throughout the duration of the semester. While participating in the internship, I will accomplish the following tasks: pedestrian survey, data entry, conduct deed research, assist with PhaseI excavations and I will shadow a PI during a monitoring project. I'm looking forward to the experience!  I have a final project, which is to write up a Phase I report.  Not to worry, I won't be digging.  Instead, I will conduct all of the historical research pertaining to the house I'm living in right now.  I'll have to collect maps associated with the property and chase the deeds as far back as I can go. In addition to completing my internship, I recently started working two part-time positions.  The first is with a local pottery studio, just a little job to make some cash. The second job is with Monmouth University.  I will be working under the supervision of Dr. Rich Veit and I will be cataloging artifacts excavated from a prehistoric site in New Jersey.  The collection was excavated in the 1970's from Turkey Swamp State Park and it appears that a catalog was made at one time.  Unfortunately the artifacts and documents fell to the wayside, I'm not sure of the circumstances.  The park has requested that the artifacts be returned.  Before they leave, I have to catalog the artifacts.  They've already been washed, sorted and labeled.  Most of the artifacts have a detailed artifact tag with them, which should make the cataloging process a little easier.   I'm excited to  work with so many prehistoric artifacts!  New Jersey has many different lithic materials compared to my part of Virginia, so this will be a great learning experience. Can't wait!

A New Semester!

This semester is sure to go by fairly quickly. Over the next six weeks, I will be easing into my last required course- Historical Archaeology. The class is taught by Dr. Rich Veit and is sure to be both educational and entertaining! We will be covering a lot of different topics. I'm excited because two of the books are connected to Virginia, my home state. Go Virginia! We are reading the following:

• In Small Things Forgotten, by James Deetz
• A Guide to Colonial Artifacts of America and Martin's Hundred, by Ivor Noel Hume (There should be a symbol above that "O" but I can't find it in blogger... Thank you blogspot. Fail.)
• Everyday Architecture of the Mid-Atlantic, Looking at Buildings and Landscapes, by Gabrielle M. Lanier and Bernard L. Herman.
• "I, too, am America" Archaeological Studies of African-American Life, edited by Theresa A. Singleton
• Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of Little Bighorn, by Douglas D. Scott, et al.
• Digging New Jersey's Past, by Richard Veit
• Laboring in the Fields of the Lord, Spanish Missions and Southeastern Indians, by Jerald T. Milanich
• The Archaeology of American Capitalism, by Christopher N. Matthews

We have several other articles that will supplement the course as well. I'm looking forward to the reading list- I've only read two of the titles on this list prior to the class.

For my second class, I will be completing an internship with a local CRM firm. (Local as in, the firm is in New Jersey. I actually have to drive about a hour away to get there but that's alright.)

In addition to class, I will be preparing my prospectus presentation. I'm currently scheduled to present my prospectus in October. The date is still TBA.