We toured the latest dig of the social sciences department’s industrial archeology program at the Cliff Mine recently.
They continued to work on the town of Clifton, across the road from the main industrial site.
We started out at what they think was an old slaughterhouse, complete with animal bones, as MS student Rob Anthony filled in the details for us.
Read more at TechAlum Newsletter, by Dennis Walikainen.
This weekend offers the last chance this summer for free guided walking tours of the archaeological dig at the historic Cliff Mine and Clifton town site.
The tours are led by faculty and students in Michigan Tech’s industrial archaeology program. The Saturday and Sunday tours leave from the east end of Cliff Drive, about one mile from the small town of Phoenix, near the junction with US-41. Tours start at 10 a.m. and begin about every 30 minutes. The last one begins Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Read more at Tech Today, by Marcia Goodrich.
Mining in Northern Climes: Whose Decision is it?
A Michigan Technological University researcher is looking at the Sápmi region of Scandinavia and the possible impacts of new iron mines on the human and reindeer populations, in addition to ecological concerns. – See more at: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/june/story92219.html#sthash.c2TWvP6l.dpuf
“Local communities feel that they need more input into the decisions about the mining and the reindeer,” says Nancy Langston, a social sciences professor just ending her nine-month stint in northern Sweden. “Whether it is the Sámi (the indigenous people of northern Scandinavia who often make their living as reindeer herders), commercial fishermen or people living along the local rivers, they feel that they should have a voice in land use decisions.”
Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Dennis Walikainen.
Final Open House Weekend for 2013
Prepared for your visit to the Cliff?
Remaining public tours scheduled for 2013
FIeld School, Week 3: Getting Started in Clifton
Field School Week 3: Where to Dig? And Why?
June 17, 2013: Sunday’s Open House
June 16th: Father’s Day Open House
June 15, 2013: Rainy Open House Morning
Field School Week 2: Mapping and Context
Tech archaeologists hosting free tours of Cliff Mine site
The free tours start this weekend, beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, with the last tour starting at 3:30 p.m. both days. Tours, which leave from the east end of Cliff Drive, about a mile from the town of Phoenix, near the junction of U.S. 41, will also be held June 22-23 and 29-30, the final two weekends of the seven-week field school program.
People are welcome to stop by and ask questions between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday as well while the teams work on the site.
“It’s critical to us that the public be involved in this. We’re not doing this just for ourselves,” said Sam Sweitz, Michigan Tech associate professor and co-principal investigator and instructor at the site, along with Tim Scarlett. “Yes, we want to train students so they can go on and be good archeologists, but that idea of sharing this site and sharing the knowledge that we gain from this site with the public is critical to what we’re doing here.”
Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Stephen Anderson.
Tech archaeologists hosting free tours of Cliff Mine site
The Michigan Technological University Industrial Archaeology Field School is in its fourth year excavating sites near the Cliff Mine – the first profitable copper mine in the Keweenaw – and students in the program are once again preparing to guide the public on tours of the historic site.
The project has continuity through the leadership of Sweitz and Scarlett, and through several graduate students who have pursued theses and dissertations based off work at the site. Lee Pressley, a Ph.D. student in Tech’s industrial heritage and archaeology program – the only such program in the country – for example, is in her second year studying food systems, local farming and consumption patterns at the site.
Read more at the Mining Journal, by Stephen Anderson.
The public is welcome to free tours of the 2013 archaeological dig at the historic Cliff Mine and Clifton town site on the weekends of June 15-16, 22-23 and 29-30.
The tours are led by faculty and students in Michigan Technological University’s industrial archaeology program. The tours leave from the east end of Cliff Drive, about one mile from the small town of Phoenix, near the junction with US-41. Tours start at 10 a.m. and begin about every 30 minutes. The last one will begin at 3:30 p.m.
The team will provide maps with self-guided trails for people who wish to explore on their own. “We’re cutting new paths through the woods this week and will put historic photos and maps around to help people see the site,” said project co-director Sam Sweitz.
“We’d like to be able to look at the map of rose bushes, for example, and see how the different plants overlap with residential buildings,” said project co-director Timothy Scarlett.
Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Marcia Goodrich.
Archaeologist Susan Martin to speak on prehistory copper mining June 9
Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (KUUF) will continue the monthly forum series on mining in the UP with a presentation by Susan Martin, Michigan Tech University professor emerita of archaeology, at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, June 9, 2013.
Martin will speak on prehistory copper mining in this region. The early Native Americans lived primarily by fishing, gathering and hunting. They had great knowledge of the physical properties of materials they used.
Read more at Keweenaw Now.
Professor Emeritus Willie Melton (SS) delivered introductory remarks to the Presidential Address, “Sharp Right Turn: Globalization and Gender Equality,” during the 76th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society, March 27 through March 30 in Chicago. The address was delivered by Midwest Sociological Society President, Linda Lindsey.
From Tech Today.
Emma Norman (SS) participated in Stanford University’s Young Environmental Scholars Seminar Series. The topic for the Roundtable was, “‘Divining Water’: Locating the Socio-Political Contexts of Water”
From Tech Today.
Assistant Professor Richelle Winkler (SS), “Geographic Analysis of Age-Period-Cohort Dimensions in Michigan Deer Hunter Participation,” Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
From Tech Today.