By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
When discussing archaeology, most think of remote jungles and uninhabited deserts, but the Kansas Anthropological Association is practicing archaeology close to home, with the annual Kansas Archeology Training Program Field School giving participants experience excavating an ancient homestead just west of Hays.
The excavation, which began June 5, features activities for participants including block excavation of the site, work in a functional field laboratory at Hays Middle School, 201 W. 29th, formal classes in archeology and a certification program.
“Every year, we partner with an amateur organization, the Kansas Anthropological Association, to excavate a site,” said Robert Hoard, State Archeologist, Kansas State Historical Society. “Here we do citizen science. People come, we give them basic training and then they can come out and excavate an archeological site.”
While there are many people working the site, most are volunteers. Gary Hicks is one of those volunteers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MysB5e3x35o
“Our first dig was in 2014, we were looking for new opportunities, to serve our community,” Hicks said. He found the excavations were exactly what he and his wife had been looking for.
“This is a great fit, a great organization, the two digs we have been on have been professionally managed,” Hicks said. “The time is well spent, in terms of research. The education value is well beyond what we thought it would be.”
Volunteers of all ages are helping with the project, including 12-year-old Liam Bevitt, who came with his archeologist father. Bevitt is excited by the work and his discoveries so far.
“I’m starting to get into it a lot,” Bevitt said. “We found burnt bone, burnt earth, bone and flakes.”
While the site may provide a look back into life on the high plains between 500 and 1100 CE, the site was only recorded in June 2013.
“The Kraus site and several related sites were discovered by Charlie Kraus, who farms land owned by Kenneth and Dorothy Kraus near Yocemento. He found a small corner-notched arrow point and a piece of thick cord-roughened pottery,” according to the Kansas Historical Society.
So far, evidence shows a complex society flourishing in western Kansas during this period.
“The treeless western plains of Nebraska and Kansas were inhabited by people who made pottery and used both spear throwers and the bow and arrow. While deer and bison were common prey for them, pronghorn also were important, as were fish and small mammals. They built small temporary houses with round packed-earth floors that left only a faint impression for archeologists to discover. They buried their dead in a variety of ways and settings but often included grave goods of freshwater mussel shells or shell ornaments,” according the KHS.
The site being excavated near Hays is one of several scattered through the High Plains.
“Although few have been excavated, there are numerous Keith phase sites in Kansas — so many, in fact, that a substantial population increase is implied.”
The Hays site may provide additional looks into the life and culture of Keith phase people due to its rarity.
“While many have been recorded, only a small number of intact Keith phase sites remain, and none have been excavated using modern techniques,” according to the KHS.
Work at the site will continue until June 20.
