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Professional Archaeologists of Kansas
NEWS RELEASE April 1, 2004
Contacts:
- Dr. Brad Logan, President, Professional
Archaeologists of Kansas, (785)532-2419, blogan@ksu.edu
- Dr. Robert Hoard, State Archeologist,
Kansas State Historical Society, (785)272-8681, x-269, rhoard@kshs.org
- Virginia Wulfkuhle, Public Archeologist,
Kansas State Historical Society, (785)272-8681 x-255, vwulfkuhle@kshs.org
April is Kansas Archaeology Month!
Kansas Archeology Month celebrates the
role of archaeology in studying and understanding the state's historic
and prehistoric past. The purpose is to increased public knowledge
about the past, the science of archaeology, and to involve the public
in protecting our cultural heritage.
In 2003 the Professional Archaeologists
of Kansas (PAK) stepped forward to coordinate Kansas Archeology Month,
taking over this very worthwhile project begun by the Kansas State
Historical Society. This year PAK has distributed nearly 5,000 posters
to libraries and museums, teachers and students across the state. An
on-line calendar of Archeology Month activities, including speakers,
exhibits, and other events, is available on the 2004 Kansas Archaeology
Month page of the PAK website at http://www.ksarchaeo.info.
The theme for Kansas Archaeology Month
2004 is Trails. For thousands of years before Europeans arrived in
what is now the state of Kansas, Native Americans were traveling across
this region on well-defined trails. These routes often followed the
high ground between valleys, crossed streams at the best fords, and
had stopping places with good water, wood, and grass. They traveled
long distances to hunt buffalo herds for meat and hides, to collect
stone to make tools, to trade with other tribes, to visit sacred sites,
and for purposes of war. When Europeans and Americans began to explore
this area they followed the Indian trails. The soldiers, traders,
and settlers who came after the explorers initially used these trails,
but soon began to lay out new trails and roads, to improve fords, establish
ferries, build bridges, and operate stagecoach lines along more direct
routes between destinations. With the creation of Kansas Territory
in 1854 and statehood in 1861 many old trails were incorporated into
territorial, and later state road system. As transportation technology
and construction techniques changed some old routes were abandoned
and others were replaced. New roads, ferries, bridges, railroads, and
highways were constructed to create the transportation network of local
and county roads, and state and interstate highways that now crisscrosses
the Kansas. Through the careful examination of sites and artifacts
left behind by these early travelers, archaeologists learn more about
the routes, the people who traveled them, and events that occurred
along them. These studies provide a better understanding of what life
and travel was like in the past.
Copies of the 2004 poster, an informational
brochure about Kansas trails, an annotated trail bibliography, and
additional trail references can be downloaded in PDF version from PAK's
Kansas
Archaeology Month website.
A school curriculum dealing with prehistoric and historic trails through
the state that meets the Kansas Board of Education Standards for 8th
grade science, United States history, and Kansas history plus 6th grade
geography and world history, is also available on-line.
Please join the Professional Archaeologists
of Kansas (PAK), dozens of other organizations, and individuals, like
you, in a statewide celebration of Kansas' archaeological heritage
this April! PAK is a private non-profit organization composed
of professional archaeologists conducting research in Kansas and students
working toward degrees and careers in archaeology. PAK's goal is to
encourage and facilitate communication and education between professionals,
amateurs, and the general public about the importance and relevance
of the historic and prehistoric cultural heritage of Kansas and the
need to protect and preserve our archaeological resources. PAK also
promotes professional standards in archaeological work and encourages
research in archaeology and related fields that will contribute to
increasing our understanding of the prehistory and history of the state.
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PAK Events
Title: 2012 Annual Meeting of the Professional Archaeologists of Kansas
Date and Time: February 23, 1:00 - 5:00PM
Type of Event: Annual meeting held each spring.
Location: Flint Hills Discovery Center, Multipurpose Room, 315 So. Third St., Manhattan, KS
Cost: free
Contact: Donna Roper droper@k-state.edu
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