Today marks the beginning of Mississippi Archaeology Month as announced by Gov. Haley Barbour.
Mississippi’s archaeological history is well preserved, said associate anthropology professor Evan Peacock.
“Mississippi has an extensively rich archaeology record,” he said. “This is as good as it gets in North America, but unfortunately some of it is being destroyed.”
Peacock added that Archaeology Month could help deter the destruction of some of the state’s history.
“Archaeology Month is designed to entertain the public but also to inform them. The more that they know, the more they will try to preserve archaeological sites,” he said.
Mississippi had many residents in prehistoric times, Peacock explained. He also said that much of the evidence of that has been preserved.
Mississippi has many records of the Native Americans who lived in this area, said Jack Elliot, who works with the curation lab in MSU’s Cobb Institute of Archaeology.
“There are thousands of Indian archaeological sites around the state. People have been recording them for a period of decades,” he said.
In the basement of the Cobb Institute building, The Lois Dowdle Cobb Museum of Archaeology contains artifacts from the Middle East, the Southeastern United States and other areas.
All events that are part of Archaeology Month are organized by coordinators from five regions and are designed for the general public. There are several events for the public in this area, said Jennifer Seltzer, coordinator for the northeast region, which includes Starkville.
“We have many events scheduled throughout October that we feel will educate the public about archaeology,” Seltzer said.
A primitive technology demonstration at the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge located south of Mississippi State’s campus will be held Saturday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Peacock and former Mississippi Department of Transportation archaeologist Kevin Bruce will present the demonstration.
William Dancey, an anthropology professor at Ohio State University, will present “Archaeology at the Crossroads: The Enigmatic Hopewell of Eastern Woodlands Prehistory” Wednesday. The public lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the Simrall Auditorium.
The Cobb Institute will host an open lab day featuring tours and demonstrations in its building Oct. 30.
“The open lab day allows us to show people who are interested all of the things that happen after excavation,” Seltzer said.
Students can see other planned October events throughout the state at http://www.mdah.state.ms.us/mam2004.html.