Social Sciences Newsblog

Archaeology Tours at the Cliff Mine, Clifton

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Berg Will Cliff Mine 2013The 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.

The Cliff Mine Archeology Project Blog

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Susan Martin Speaks June 9 on Prehistory Copper Mining

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Susan MartinArchaeologist 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.

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Alum Marc Sanko in Malta

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Sanko in Malta 2013Associate Professor Mary Durfee reports on a talk given by alum Marc Sanko, History ’11, in Malta. Sanko gave a very successful talk on his Master’s work about Catholicism and the Maltese Diaspora of Detroit at the University of Malta.

Photo, from left: Michelle Jarvie-Eggart, Melissa Martinie, Amanda Morley, and Marc Sanko.

Sanko received his MA at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and will be doing his Ph.D. at the University of West Virginia. Michelle Jarvie-Eggart received her BS in Environmental Engineering, an MS in Environmental Policy (from Social Sciences), and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering all at Michigan Tech.

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Proposals in Progress June 3, 2013

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Associate Professor Carol MacLennan (SS), “Oral History of Torch Lake Copper Reclamation, 1940-1970,” Keweenaw National Historical Park.

Associate Professor Timothy Scarlett (SS), Associate Professor Samuel Sweitz (SS) and Associate Professor Fred Quivik (SS), “2013 Public Archaeology at the Cliff Mine,” Keweenaw National Historical Park.

Associate Professor Audrey Mayer (SS), “Protecting the Great Lakes from Invasive Species: Science to Support Policy,” University of Michigan.

Associate Professor Hugh Gorman (SS/GLRC) and Assistant Professor Adam Wellstead (SS/GLRC), “Evaluating the Role of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in Enhancing the Policy Capacity of Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPS),” University of Michigan Water Center.

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Winkler on Net Migration Patterns

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Net MigrationMigration Patterns Reveal Much about US Population, Research Finds

Richelle Winkler, assistant professor of social sciences, says Detroit attracted fewer young adults in the 1980s and 1990s than did revitalizing cities like Chicago. Then, with the economic recession between 2000 and 2010, more young people actually left Detroit than people of other ages.

“In this extreme situation, the young were more likely to move out,” she says, “because they are more mobile and not as tied to families and mortgages. This kind of shift in the signature [age-based pattern] is rare and indicative of real and profound socio-economic change.”

Winkler’s work is part of a new population-map website, Net Migration Patterns for US Counties housed at the Applied Population Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Dennis Walikainen.

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