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MVAC e-News for
May 2021
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MVAC Notice
As part of the effort to slow the coronavirus spread, MVAC is doing the following until further notice: 
  • MVAC staff are telecommuting, and the building is closed to visitors.
  • We will still be working on contract archaeology projects and will conduct contract fieldwork if possible.
  • MVAC 2021 events are on hold.
For the latest information on future events, check our website and Facebook page.
 
Feel free to contact us by email or leave a voicemail on our office number—we’ll receive them remotely and reply as soon as possible. In the meantime, stay safe, and stay healthy!
MVAC Lab Video – Reference Collections
Cynthia A. Kocik, MVAC Research Intern, takes a look at MVAC’s reference collections, sets of positively identified specimens and examples, used to help identify and sort artifacts from excavations.
Bill Gresens’ Archaeology Book Review for May 2021

Twenty Years of Archaeology in Fiction by Bill Gresens
Bill Gresens 20-year look-back at the "greatest hits" from MVAC book reviews.
MVAC's New Web Address
MVAC’s new web address is: https://www.uwlax.edu/mvac/
MVAC News
Student research and donated artifact collections
Collecting artifacts is an enjoyable hobby for some of our members, even during a global pandemic.  Fresh air and a field of unexpected discoveries can make for a pleasant afternoon of fine physical distancing. Done responsibly, by sharing knowledge of what has been rediscovered, collecting can extend our understanding about past lifeways of Native peoples in the Driftless Area, both for interested community members and for students here on campus. A recent donation has been helping UWL archaeology students develop their own research goals and the skills needed to identify past tools and technologies.  
Throughout MVAC’s 40-year history, many collectors have shared their information by allowing staff to photograph their finds and record where they were discovered. Some local collectors, and some families of collectors who are no longer with us, have donated the cherished results of these lifelong projects to MVAC. 
 
Two such collectors were Albert (Skip) and Janice Klein, who graciously allowed MVAC staff to photograph their collection in 1990. Years went by, and in 2015 Skip passed away at the age of 85.  His wife Janice contacted us recently to see whether we would accept some of their collection as a donation, for long-term curation.  We are grateful for her concern about the future care of the collection, and for considering entrusting that responsibility to MVAC.
MVAC works closely with the UWL Archaeology and Anthropology program to further undergraduates’ learning and research. The Klein collection was received in a simple box and needed to be cataloged. Senior Lecturer Connie Arzigian has had several students working on inventorying the items.  Already they are separating out Woodland from Oneota pottery and projectile points from end scrapers.  They are also learning to identify post–European contact artifacts such as musket balls and fragments of white clay pipes.
 
Working with collectors such as the Kleins is a win-win situation for everyone. The Klein family knows their collection will be safely curated at a local institution dedicated to preserving and understanding the region’s heritage. For MVAC and UWL, the collection helps us educate students and add to our knowledge of the area.
 
Top: Louden Ferguson examining some of the lithics from the collection
Middle: Decorated pottery, including Early and Middle Woodland grit-tempered cord-marked sherds and Oneota shell-tempered pottery
Bottom: Wide range of artifacts, from historic pipe fragments and lead musket balls to Oneota pottery
Archaeological Terms, Artifacts, and Specific Sites Snippets

New information added to MVAC’s website in April:
Twenty Years in the Trenches:  Archaeology in Fiction – Video – Bill Gresens
Link to view videos
Second Fort Crawford – Button - Scripted or Foliated “I” Button
Link to view post
 
Meier Farm – Oneota Vessel
Link to view post
Midway Village – Pipestone/Catlinite Pipe
Link to view post
Pammel Creek – Oneota Rim Sherd
Link to view post
Regional Event

Archaeological Examination of the War Eagle Shipwreck – via Zoom 
La Crosse County Historical Society
May 13, 2021, 7 pm
 
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