Across the Border – An Archaeological and Environmental Discussion of the Sandhills Physiographic Province: A View from North and South Carolina.”

Across the Border – An Archaeological and Environmental Discussion of the Sandhills Physiographic Province: A View from North and South Carolina.”


August 20, 2011

In conjunction with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Fort Bragg Cultural Resources Program, and the National Forests in North Carolina, The North Carolina Office of State Archaeology is pleased to announce the symposium, “Across the Border – An Archaeological and Environmental Discussion of the Sandhills Physiographic Province: A View from North and South Carolina.” Scheduled for August 20, 2011, from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm. The conference will be held at Weymouth Woods State Park in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

The symposium will present the state of current research and provide suggestions for future studies for this unique physiographic region. Topics for discussion include prehistoric and historic settlement and subsistence practices, paleo-environmental studies, and military sites archaeology. If you plan on attending please contact either John Mintz at 919-807-6555, or john.mintz@ncdcr.gov or lawrence.abbott@ncdcr.gov to register

USC Lancaster Hosts Catawba Pottery Show and Sale August 27th

USC Lancaster Hosts Catawba Pottery Show and Sale August 27th

Visitors will have the opportunity Saturday August 27th to view and purchase examples of one of South Carolina’s oldest art forms as potters from the Catawba Indian Nation show and sell their creations on the USC Lancaster campus. Hosted by the USCL Native American Studies Program, this event will fature works by established and emerging potters from the Catawba Nation in Rock Hill, SC. Pieces ranging from small, inexpensive collectibles to large ceramic vessels and effigies, all handmade by Catawba artists, will be available for purchase. Arts and crafts by Native American artists from other South Carolina tribal groups will also be available.

Catawba Indian pottery, while less familiar than its Southwestern counterparts and many other traditional American Indian art forms, is recognized by scholars as, possibly, the oldest continuous ceramics tradition east of the Mississippi. Early European explorers in the Carolinas encountered Native Catawba, or Iswa, making pottery from clay gathered from the river which today bears their people’s name, as their ancestors had done for generations, and as their descendents continue to do today. Collectors recognize this pottery as a unique and significant art form that balances tradition and artistic innovation.

This artistry will be on display at the USC Lancaster event, which starts at 10:00 am and runs until 3:00 pm in the Carole Ray Dowling Center on the USCL campus. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Brittany Taylor, Curator of Collections, at 803-313-7036 or by email at taylorbd@mailbox.sc.edu,; or Stephen Criswell, Director of Native American Studies, at 803-313-7108.

2011 Fall Speakers Series for Beaufort County Historical Society

The Beaufort County Historical Society is pleased to announce their Fall Speaker Series. All meetings are held at noon at the Beaufort Yacht & Sailing Club, Meridian Rd., Beaufort, SC . The public is welcome and encouraged to attend at no charge.

Please RSVP to Nancy Gilley at 843-524-7969 for an optional light lunch catered by Debbi Covington will be served at 11:30 for $10.

Sept. 22th- Joseph McGill will discuss the 54th Massachusetts Troops

This program is funded by The Humanities Council SC speakers Bureau: Humanities Out Loud.

Nov. 10th- Kristine Dunn Johnson will speak on her book No Holier Spot of Ground: Confederate Monuments and Cemeteries of South Carolina and the history of the Beaufort US National Cemetery.

The Beaufort County Historical Society is the oldest association in Beaufort County dedicated to the study and preservation of history. A member based organization, the society was established in 1939.

For further information contact: Pamela Ovens-President

sail@singlestar.us or call 843-785-2767

www.beaufortcountyhistoricalsociety.org

Mark Your Calendars! October 29 is ASSC Fall Field Day!

24th Annual Archaeology Field Day

Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011

The 24th Annual Archaeology Field Day sponsored by the Archaeological Society of South Carolina will be held at Lynches River County Park in Florence County, SC on Sat. Oct. 29 from 10 AM-4 PM. It is free and open to all. Bring your artifacts for identification in the Artifact ID Tent. This event will focus on various aspect of archaeological research being conducted in South Carolina, particularly the Johannes Kolb site located on the Great Pee Dee River in Darlington County, SC. Offered will be an array of living history demonstrations, exhibits, educational hands-on activities, and poster presentations and lectures that span the entire prehistoric and historic occupations throughout time in South Carolina. Bring the whole family!

Watch this space for more information in the months to come.

ASSC Hilton Head Chapter Fall Speaker Series begins Sept. 20th

ASSC Hilton Head Chapter Fall Speaker Series begins Sept. 20th

Hilton Head, SC: The Archaeological Society of South Carolina, Hilton Head Chapter will host the next meeting Tuesday, Sept 20th at 1 pm at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn featuring Nena Powell Rice of SCIAA (South Carolina Institute of Anthropology and Archaeology). The meeting is free and open to the public.

In preparation of the celebration of Archaeology month in October, Rice will discuss Discovering South Carolina Archaeology: 16,000 Years of Cultural Occupation

Nena Powell Rice will deliver a general synopsis of the archaeology of South Carolina during the past 16,000 years or more focusing on technological change through time. She will have a series of slides (with power point) that address the time periods defined by archaeologists in South Carolina, i.e., Paleoinidan, Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian, protohistoric, colonial, American Revolution, etc. She will then relate each time period and technological change with specific projects that Institute archaeologists focus their research on, and give examples of how folks can get involved or volunteer on these projects. She will also address a large variety of programs offered during the 20th Annual South Carolina Month in October 2011.

Bio

Nena Powell Rice received her AA in Liberal Arts from Sullins College in 1973, BA in Anthropology from Southern Methodist University in 1975, and her MA in Anthropology from the University of Denver in 1990. She has conducted archaeological field and laboratory work in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, and South Carolina. Nena has been at the Institute for over 26 years and has served in several areas. Currently she is Director of Outreach/Development, South Carolina Archaeology Month Coordinator (20 years), Acting Librarian, and staff to the Archaeological Research Trust Board. She is also the editor of the SCIAA magazine, Legacy. She works closely with the Archaeological Society of South Carolina. Nena has traveled extensively and has led trips to Europe, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Middle East, and China, including several tours to Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala, two tours to Peru, a tour to the American Southwest, Costa Rica, Ecuador, two tours to Turkey, Jordan and Egypt, and Greece and Cyprus. Future tours are planned for Almafi Coast of Italy and Sicily, the Pantanaal in Southwestern Brazil, and Spain and Morocco.

Upcoming Events:

Sept. 20- Nena Rice of SCIAA will speak at 1 pm

Oct. 18- Colin Brooker the expert who supervised the stablization of the ruins on Dataw Island, will discuss "Worldwide Tabby Architecture"at 1:00 PM.

Nov 15th- Chica Arndt of CGAS (Coastal Georgia Archaeology Society) will discuss the Mary Musgrove site in Savannah at Historic Honey Horn at 1 pm

Dec. 6th Christmas Social will all be at 7 pm at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Historic Honey Horn, Hilton Head

For further information: George Stubbs- 843-363-5058 www.assc.net

"THE BEAUFORT BASKET"BY JERY BENNETT-TAYLOR

"THE BEAUFORT BASKET"BY JERY BENNETT-TAYLOR

Celebrating South Carolina History

Through the Arts

The York W. Bailey Museum at the historic Penn Center proudly presents the debut exhibition of "The Beaufort Basket" by sweetgrass basket maker Jery Bennett-Taylor on Saturday, July 16, 2011. This will be the first in a series of exhibits celebrating Gullah traditional art in South Carolina. The gallery will also preview the film, "Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art", a companion to the national traveling exhibit by the Museum of Art, at 12 noon. The exhibit opens at 1:00 p.m. followed by a lecture and demonstration by Ms. Taylor from 2:00-4:00 p.m.

This exhibition of ten original pieces is the first revival in Beaufort of the 300-year old native island coiled "work" basketry once practiced by generations of slaves who transported the craft from Africa. This museum-quality collection was inspired by the 150-year old "Penn School baskets" that were formerly made by the men using the fibrous bulrush plant found in the marshes. This exclusive collection of original bulrush baskets in various sizes, also includes a rare and unique "Marsh Tackey" sweetgrass basket that has never before been shown publicly.

Ms. Taylor has used a certain weaving technique reminiscent of the native island style, which has separated her from other basket weavers. She says that she has tried to capture the "soul" in the ancient baskets of her ancestors to re-create an authentic representation. This exhibit will also compare original heirloom baskets from the Penn School Collection with Ms. Taylor’s reproductions.

The Penn School’s history of Sea Island basketry goes back to the early 1900’s when its founders added the craft to the school’s curriculum and later instituted a mail-order catalog business to raise revenue for the school. A recently published account of the 300-year documented history of the origin of African basket making in America is beautifully illustrated with photographs from the Penn School Collection in the book Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art, published by the Museum for African Art.

Jery Bennett-Taylor is widely collected and is regarded as a master weaver in the circle of native Mt. Pleasant basket makers. Born in the Christ Parish Church community of Mt. Pleasant, she has been making baskets since she was five years old and is the third generation of basket weavers in her family. A resident of Walterboro, she is currently the only practicing basket maker in the St. Helena Island community. A highly recognized artist, Jery Taylor has presented workshops in many museums and has exhibited baskets in the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. Over the past three years, she has also become a self-taught folk artist and her paintings, which will also be exhibited, capture the essence of Gullah life growing up on Boone Hall Plantation.

Own a piece of history today; these baskets will undoubtedly appreciate in value. All baskets will be sold to the public. The exhibit closes on August 26, 2011. For more information, contact the York W. Bailey Museum at (843) 838-2474 or visit the Penn Center, 16 Penn Center Circle West, St. Helena Island, SC 29920. Museum admission is $5-adults; $3-children under 17 years old. Penn Center is a 501©3 non-profit organization.

June 17: COSCAPA meeting

The next COSCAPA meeting will be held on Friday, June 17 at 10:00 am at SC Archives and History.