UWM Field School Begins Excavation at Koshkonong Creek Village

Week Three of the 2021 UW-Milwaukee Archaeological Field School

During the third week the students in the archaeological field school conducted Phase I archaeological surveys to relocate an existing archaeological site and setting up an excavation area at the Koshkonong Creek Village site near Lake Koshkonong in Jefferson County. An excavation block measuring 4.5 meters (14.8 feet) wide by 16 meters (52.5 feet) long was setup within an agricultural field. Within the excavation block 2 meter (6.6 feet) by 2 meter (6.6 feet) square units were established in a checkerboard pattern. Students are learning methods and techniques of conducting controlled horizontal and vertical excavations within the excavation units.

We would like to thank the Weisensel family for allowing the UW-Milwaukee field school to conduct the research excavations within their agricultural fields at the Koshkonong Creek Village site.

 

Figure 1. Schematic of the excavation block with 2 m x 2 m square excavation units. Excavations in the units filled with black were started this week and will continue into next week.

Figure 2. Students and staff working in the excavation area at the Koshkonong Creek Village site.

Figure 3. Field School students Carly Rusch, Erica Phillips, and Emily Hanson are conducting excavations with shovels and trowels within the excavation units.

Figure 4. Field school student Arik Scapellato using his trowel to clean surface of his unit floor to expose the edge of a large pit feature.

Figure 5. Field school students excavating the units and sifting the excavated dirt through ¼” inch mesh screen looking for artifacts.

Figure 6. Broken triangular projectile point recovered from the screened dirt from Excavation Unit #1.

Figure 7. View of Koshkonong Creek from the edge of the roughly 8 meter-high bluff.