Tennessee Division of Archaeology’s 2014 Research Meeting Slated for January 24-25 in Nashville
The Tennessee Division of Archaeology and Middle Tennessee State University will host the 26th Annual Current Research in Tennessee Archaeology meeting Jan. 24-25 in the Ed Jones Auditorium at the Ellington Agricultural Center in Nashville. The meeting is free and open to the public.
The annual meeting is designed to showcase recent research pertaining to archaeology in the state of Tennessee, while bringing together a variety of archaeological experts to share project work and best practices with peers and conference attendees.
“We encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the latest research and share ideas that will help continue our efforts to preserve and protect Tennessee’s rich and important history,” State Archaeologist Mike Moore said.
Sessions at the 2014 conference offer a venue for the exploration and discussion of ideas with experts and peers. Presentations and posters from university professors and students, federal and state agency archaeologists, and private archaeological consultants will cover a multitude of interesting topics. Those topics will include cave and rock art research, the use of LiDAR and other remote sensing techniques in archaeological research, ancient Native American tattooing, Middle Cumberland crystal production, glass trade beads, early African-American archaeologists, chert sources for late prehistoric sword forms, pottery vessel and marine shell gorget analysis, recent site explorations along the Cumberland Plateau, and research results from Old Stone Fort, Shiloh Mounds, Glass Mounds, Citico, and Fernvale.
In addition to MTSU, universities represented at the meeting include the University of Tennessee, East Tennessee State University, University of Memphis, University of the South, Volunteer State Community College, University of Arizona, University of Georgia, George Washington University, Texas A&M University, and University of California, Berkeley. Representatives from Cultural Resource Analysts Inc., TRC Inc., Tennessee Valley Archaeological Research, National Speleological Society, and Bruker Elemental will provide their expertise on such topics as Spanish contact metal beads, Knox County historic site work, and archaeological analysis of several Tennessee River sites in Alabama.
To learn more about the 2014 Current Research in Tennessee Archaeology meeting, please contact Mike Moore at Mike.C.Moore@tn.gov or (615) 741-1588 (ext. 109); or Kevin Smith at Kevin.Smith@mtsu.edu or (615) 898-5958/2508; or visit the Tennessee Archaeology Network at http://capone.mtsu.edu/kesmith/TNARCH/CRITA.html (a preliminary program for the conference is available on this site).
As part of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the Division of Archaeology is responsible for surveying the state to identify and record archaeological sites; excavating prehistoric and historic sites and protecting and preserving such sites; conducting research and encouraging public cooperation for site preservation; publishing archaeological findings; and working with other state agencies for the protection and management of archaeological sites on state lands.
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