Scott W Hammerstedt
I am a member of the faculty at the Oklahoma Archeological Survey, University of Oklahoma. I have worked throughout the US Southeast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic. My major research interests are social organization, monumental architecture, experimental archaeology, ceramic analysis, political economy, settlement patterns, and archaeological geophysics, with a focus on late precontact Mississippian and Caddo people.
My research is based in eastern Oklahoma , primarily in the northeastern and east-central parts of the state. Projects combine reanalysis of existing collections with new survey and excavation work to explore the settlement patterns and social organization of the region. The goals are to develop a fuller understanding of the archaeology of eastern Oklahoma in order to allow meaningful comparisons with data from Mississippian groups to the east.
Address: Oklahoma Archeological Survey
111 Chesapeake St, Room 102
Norman, OK 73019
My research is based in eastern Oklahoma , primarily in the northeastern and east-central parts of the state. Projects combine reanalysis of existing collections with new survey and excavation work to explore the settlement patterns and social organization of the region. The goals are to develop a fuller understanding of the archaeology of eastern Oklahoma in order to allow meaningful comparisons with data from Mississippian groups to the east.
Address: Oklahoma Archeological Survey
111 Chesapeake St, Room 102
Norman, OK 73019
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Papers by Scott W Hammerstedt
Funded by the Oklahoma Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office (OK/SHPO) (Project No. 23-402), this project used non-invasive landscape archaeology techniques to identify and provide information on any remaining archaeological material at the NATTC. Historic maps, aerial photographs, and recently acquired LiDAR elevation data were examined to identify features of interest. High-precision real-time-kinetic GPS devices were used to record feature locations in the field. Three kinds of shallow geophysics were used for survey: gradiometry, ground penetrating radar, and soil resistivity. A total of 17 acres was selected for possible survey, and approximately 10 acres were tested using all methods.
The survey provided two significant results. Although there are no buildings remaining in the project area, there are remnant elements of NATTC infrastructure visible on the surface. These include utilities, paved walkways, gravel driveways, fire hydrants, and soil marks associated with foundations. Secondly, all known buildings within the project area were identified by at least one, and often more, of the different geophysical techniques. The survey demonstrates that there are archaeological remains of the NATTC present within the project area. Moreover, similarly preserved locations across South Base (in which the NATTC was located) are likely to contain archaeological remains dating to this important era and later.
radar, gradiometry, and electrical resistance, we carried out a systematic survey of the site’s Main Plaza to identify
buried prehispanic features that might shed light on Monte Albán’s early history. The most important discoveries include three
buried structures dating between the Danibaan (500–300 BC) and Nisa phases (100 BC–AD 100). We argue that the largest
structure, measuring 18 × 18 m, was probably a temple platform and that all three of the structures were razed and buried by
the end of the Nisa phase at the latest. Furthermore, we contend that these events were part of a major renovation and expansion
of the site’s Main Plaza that occurred during a pivotal period of dramatic sociopolitical transformation in the Zapotec
capital.
channel that runs across the Lower Terrace portion of the site. The anomalies were initially discovered during geophysical survey of the site in 2011 and 2012. Excavations were conducted by crews of graduate and undergraduate students. These included volunteers and students who took part in an archaeological field school conducted by the University of Oklahoma. This report presents the results of the excavations and the analysis of recovered artifacts. The excavations
uncovered two complete and two incomplete buildings with irregular post patterns and very low artifact densities. We interpret these buildings as part of a larger cluster of temporary structures
that stood for a short time on the Lower Terrace near Craig Mound.
materials. Thirty chert (microcrystalline quartz) artifacts were visually sorted and classified according to macroscopic features characteristic of certain chert resources from particular Ozarks geological formations. The elemental concentrations obtained from PIXE analysis underwent multivariate statistical analyses in order to gain insight from the data. The results indicate that PIXE could be a useful tool for assigning Ozarks chert materials to their respective geological formations, and possibly for determining regional or sub-regional provenance.
had with prairie, making this supposition questionable. However, experiments with replica Mill Creek hoes suggest that these tools were capable of converting prairie into farmland.
Funded by the Oklahoma Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office (OK/SHPO) (Project No. 23-402), this project used non-invasive landscape archaeology techniques to identify and provide information on any remaining archaeological material at the NATTC. Historic maps, aerial photographs, and recently acquired LiDAR elevation data were examined to identify features of interest. High-precision real-time-kinetic GPS devices were used to record feature locations in the field. Three kinds of shallow geophysics were used for survey: gradiometry, ground penetrating radar, and soil resistivity. A total of 17 acres was selected for possible survey, and approximately 10 acres were tested using all methods.
The survey provided two significant results. Although there are no buildings remaining in the project area, there are remnant elements of NATTC infrastructure visible on the surface. These include utilities, paved walkways, gravel driveways, fire hydrants, and soil marks associated with foundations. Secondly, all known buildings within the project area were identified by at least one, and often more, of the different geophysical techniques. The survey demonstrates that there are archaeological remains of the NATTC present within the project area. Moreover, similarly preserved locations across South Base (in which the NATTC was located) are likely to contain archaeological remains dating to this important era and later.
radar, gradiometry, and electrical resistance, we carried out a systematic survey of the site’s Main Plaza to identify
buried prehispanic features that might shed light on Monte Albán’s early history. The most important discoveries include three
buried structures dating between the Danibaan (500–300 BC) and Nisa phases (100 BC–AD 100). We argue that the largest
structure, measuring 18 × 18 m, was probably a temple platform and that all three of the structures were razed and buried by
the end of the Nisa phase at the latest. Furthermore, we contend that these events were part of a major renovation and expansion
of the site’s Main Plaza that occurred during a pivotal period of dramatic sociopolitical transformation in the Zapotec
capital.
channel that runs across the Lower Terrace portion of the site. The anomalies were initially discovered during geophysical survey of the site in 2011 and 2012. Excavations were conducted by crews of graduate and undergraduate students. These included volunteers and students who took part in an archaeological field school conducted by the University of Oklahoma. This report presents the results of the excavations and the analysis of recovered artifacts. The excavations
uncovered two complete and two incomplete buildings with irregular post patterns and very low artifact densities. We interpret these buildings as part of a larger cluster of temporary structures
that stood for a short time on the Lower Terrace near Craig Mound.
materials. Thirty chert (microcrystalline quartz) artifacts were visually sorted and classified according to macroscopic features characteristic of certain chert resources from particular Ozarks geological formations. The elemental concentrations obtained from PIXE analysis underwent multivariate statistical analyses in order to gain insight from the data. The results indicate that PIXE could be a useful tool for assigning Ozarks chert materials to their respective geological formations, and possibly for determining regional or sub-regional provenance.
had with prairie, making this supposition questionable. However, experiments with replica Mill Creek hoes suggest that these tools were capable of converting prairie into farmland.
The results of these excavations were documented in field journals and photographs prepared by the field supervisors and submitted in a series of quarterly reports to WPA headquarters. These reports contain a wealth of unpublished information summarizing excavations at the mound sites and residential sites, including mound profiles, burial descriptions, house maps, artifact tables, and artifact sketches. Of the excavated mound sites, results from only one, Spiro, have been extensively studied and synthesized in academic literature. The seven additional WPA-excavated mound sites—Norman, Hughes, Brackett, Eufaula, Skidgel, Reed, and Lillie Creek—are known to archaeologists outside of Oklahoma only as unlabeled points on maps of mound sites in the Southeast.
The Ritual Landscape of Late Precontact Eastern Oklahoma curates and contextualizes the results of the WPA excavations, showing how they inform archaeological understanding of Mississippian occupation in the Arkansas Valley. Regnier, Hammerstedt, and Savage also relate the history and experiences of practicing archaeology in the 1930s, incorporating colorful excerpts from field journals of the young, inexperienced archaeologists. Finally, the authors update current knowledge of mound and nonmound sites in the region, providing an excellent example of historical archaeology.