Southeast Ohio’s long history and richness is celebrated every year in October, which is deemed archaeology month by the state.
But for the first time, archaeology, the study of past humans through the artifacts and architecture they’ve left behind, is front and center at the Athens County Historical Society and Museum, 65 N. Court St.
The museum is hosting a lecture series this month with one speaker — historians, professors and the like — coming in each Wednesday.
“The lectures are based on the archaeology and history of both Athens and Southeastern Ohio,” said Lynne Newell, special projects coordinator at the Athens County Historical Society and Museum.
The lecture series began last week with Dawn Walter Gagliano of Hocking College’s archaeology department as the special guest speaker. Dr. Paul E. Patton, an anthropology professor at Ohio University, will speak Wednesday.
Gagliano spoke about the archaeology of extractive industries in Southeastern Ohio, which at one time included the mining of coal, clay, salt, iron, ore and gas.
“When people think about mining, they usually think about coal mining, but there are a lot of extractive industries that played a part in building Southeast Ohio,” said Gagliano.
She said that companies like the Ohio Land Company explored Southeast Ohio in 1787, keeping well-documented maps and other documents that talked about coal and salt deposits in this area.
Even though archaeologists seem to have a vast amount of information on the history of Southeast Ohio, Gagliano said that we don’t always have the whole story.
Examples of these untold stories exist through pictures and documents that don’t include women or children.
“In the late 1800s and early 1900s, census data shows that half of the towns in the area were made up of women, yet these women are not shown in pictures,” said Gagliano.
This is why the Hocking College Archaeology department works to extricate everyday bits and pieces that reveal the background of towns, their populations and their individuals.
Museum director Ron Luce agreed on the importance of piecing together the background of a town, especially discovering how the town was laid out.
“You can look at a picture but it gives you no sense of direction of the layout of a town,” Luce said.
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Archaeology Month Lecture Series:
October 9: How the “Hopewell” Built Their World
- Dr. Paul E. Patton, Anthropology Professor, Ohio University
October 16: Possible Astronomical Alignments of Ohio’s Earthworks
- Tom O’Grady, Astronomical Assistant, Ohio University
October 19: Paleo Games
- Ohio University Anthropology Club
October 23: Salt, Southeast Ohio’s First Industry and the Rise of a Historic Cultural Tradition; Early Woodland Lithics exhibit opening
- Dr. Annette Ericksen, Hocking College Archaeology
October 30: Hopewell Settlement Patterns Around Circleville, Ohio
- Dr. Jerrel Anderson, Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History,
Parkersburg WV
Each series will run from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Athens County Historical Society and Museum located at 65 N. Court St. with the exception of the Paleo Games which will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Stroud’s Run.
