In 2008, KU continued its ongoing archeological research in Republic County, Kan., at the site of a late 18th- and early 19th-century village occupied by the Kitkahahki band of the Pawnee tribe. Private funds help support the work at the site. All photos courtesy of Mary Adair.
The Morgan family, Pawnee tribal members, made preparations for a blessing ceremony before excavations started.
Former state archaeologist Tom Witty (left) and current state archaeologist Bob Hoard discuss excavation strategies before the field season begins.
The Pawnee Indian Village Museum at the site was constructed in 1967 over the remains of an earthlodge.
Circular depressions at the six-acre site outline the remains of more than 25 earthlodges. During occupation, the village contained an estimated 50 earthlodges.
Before breaking ground, researchers identified the location of an earthlodge and set a grid of 1x1 meter units, marked by pink and orange flags, for excavation.
Sod is stripped off, placed in a protected area and put back after excavations are complete and the area has been back-filled.
Members of the 2008 KU Field School just before the start of excavations.
The monument commemorates the location of the 1806 visit by Zebulon Pike in which the Spanish flag was lowered and the American flag raised. Although research has documented that this event occurred at a different Pawnee site, the monument remains here.
Principal Investigator Mary Adair (second from left), co-PI Jack Hofman (center) and Field Director Donna Roper (right) visited a reconstructed Kansa earthlodge in Atchison County, Kan. With them are Mark Raab, UMKC (far left), and W. Raymond Wood, MU.
One of the earthlodges at the Republic County site excavated by KU under the direction of the late Carlyle S. Smith in 1949.
This earthlodge was excavated in 1965 by the Kansas State Historical Society under the direction of Tom Witty.
Excavations involve the careful recovery of artifacts, lodge debris and all evidence of the former Pawnee occupation.
KU students participate in the excavations as part of their course training in the Kansas Archaeological Field School.
The two women standing at left are volunteers who focus on maintaining the records taken in the field.
Field strategies are sometimes decided during excavation. Virginia Wulfkuhle (left) and Bob Hoard (right), both with the Kansas Historical Society, discuss options with Jack Hofman of KU.
KU Ph.D. student Alison Hadley worked as an assistant director with the field school.
3-6 Two KU students in the center of the photo, James Krpan and Les Hardin, compare field techniques.
Remains of a burned earthlodge are often identified by charred timbers, as seen in the upper part of this photo.
A portion of a small decorated ceramic vessel was recovered close to the floor of the lodge.
KU Students Jeff Ryan and Wesley Gibson(right) begin exposing the central hearth. The hearth was a significant part of the lodge, providing heat, a location for cooking, and a venue for social gatherings.
KU students Jordan Jennings (left) and Wesley Gibson work on an excavation unit as visitors (upper right) receive a tour of the site.
After the hearth is exposed, KU students Pam Boulware and Jordan Jennings receive instructions from field director Donna Roper on how to record a profile of the feature.
KU students Pam Boulware and Jordan Jennings complete the plan view and profile drawings of the hearth. The hearth is easily recognized by a combination of a dark circular stain and an underlying concentration of orange-colored fired earth.
During the final days of excavation, KU students, assisted by Jimmy Horn (left) of the Pawnee Nation, complete as much work as possible before the area is back-filled.
On a typical day, as many as 50 to 60 people can be involved in the excavations. KU Field School students work alongside amateurs participating in the Kansas Archaeological Training Program.
KU students Alex Norton (left) and Lydia DeHaven discuss excavation techniques.
Graduate student field assistant Alison Hadley (right) gives instructions to KU students.
Each day, water was trucked to the site so all of the excavated soil could be waterscreened.
The yellow bags at right contain dirt recovered below the sod of each excavation unit. All sediment from the house fill was waterscreened through a pair of screens with 1/4-inch and 1/16-inch mesh.
KU student Theresa Royston waterscreens as part of her training in archaeological excavation.
Waterscreening recovers many small artifacts and debris that would otherwise not be seen or recovered during excavation.
Waterscreening continues with the help of Les Hardin (left), John Miller and James Krpan, as more yellow bags accumulate in the background.
Bob Hoard, Beth Good and Mary Adair (right) discuss the fabric mesh used with the flotation machine. A more gentle technique than waterscreening, flotation also uses water to separate cultural remains from soil.
KU students pose for a photo at the flotation station.
Survey equipment is used at the site to record the exact location of all recovered artifacts. Field school assistant director Brendon Asher teaches Pam Boulware how to use the equipment.
KU student John Miller holds the prism rod on an exposed artifact. The rod helps record the distance of the artifact from the datum and the depth of the artifact below the surface.
Principal investigator Mary Adair (seated at left) and KU student John Miller work to create a plan map of the exposed timbers before they are excavated.
Stacey Lengyel of the Illinois State Museum prepares burned soil on the floor of the lodge for archaeomagnetic dating.
After the burned soil samples are coated with a plaster substance, Lengyel records the magnetic north reading on each sample.
At the end of each day of excavation, the exposed area is covered with plastic. The white buckets are filled with dirt and placed on the edges of the plastic to hold it in place. A storm is approaching in this photo.