Grand Valley Magazine Summer 2014 - (Page 24)

Students dig program 50 years of archaeology ﬁnds traces of past by Dottie Barnes The late Richard Flanders established the archaeology field school and anthropology program at Grand Valley. photo courtesy of University Archives 24 Summer '14 Tatiana Kenny, an anthropology major from Belding, screened thick, black dirt for hours, looking for tiny pieces of Native American artifacts. She, along with two dozen other Grand Valley classmates, spent several weeks in May and June participating in an archaeological dig at a farm in Allendale. The class had immediate success, ﬁnding more than 40 pieces in the ﬁrst few days of the dig. The students were part of an experience and program that dates back to the founding years of Grand Valley. Students have traveled around West Michigan and the world for the past ﬁve decades uncovering traces of the past and studying the remains of ancient societies. This fall marks the 50th anniversary of archaeology at Grand Valley. Early Digs The late Richard "Doc" Flanders established the archaeology ﬁeld school and anthropology program at Grand Valley. Flanders, a professor of anthropology at Grand Valley from 1964 until his death in 1989, was known by colleagues and students as an "Indiana Jones-type" and for being charismatic. Flanders is credited with recording more than 200 archaeology sites in West Michigan. "He trained a generation of archaeologists who have jobs all over the United States," said Janet Brashler, professor and curator of anthropology at Grand Valley. "Because of him, Grand Valley made a mark in the archaeology community and the program has a strong reputation. His work was extraordinary." Flanders began excavating what's known as the Blendon Landing area with archaeology students in 1965. Blendon Landing, located on the Allendale Campus, is the historic site where a community of about 200 people settled in the early 1860s. The town had a sawmill and a shipyard, where four ships were built, including the Lumberman. The Lumberman sank during a powerful storm near Milwaukee in 1893. Mark Schwartz, associate professor of anthropology and an underwater archaeologist at Grand Valley, took a team to visit the Lumberman's wreckage in July 2011. The Blendon Landing sawmill and other buildings burned in 1864 and by 1912 it was deserted. Over the years, Flanders and his students were able to uncover several artifacts from the

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Grand Valley Magazine Summer 2014

Table of Contents
Campus News
Fall Arts Celebration
Athletics
Donor Impact
Sustainability
Research
Q&A Karen Gipson
A seat at the table
Students dig program
Deployment to enrollment
Seeing double
Off the path
Arts
Alumni News

Grand Valley Magazine Summer 2014