Last week Betsy Rutz, the Marquette Regional History Center Educator, explained what archaeology is.  Since the study of archaeology is so vast, it is easy to get overwhelmed with all the disciplines under that umbrella.  On Saturday October 19th, from 12:00pm to 3:00pm the Marquette Regional History Center is hosting a fair to celebrate International Archaeology Day.  People will be representing some of the many diverse fields in the world of archaeology.  Indiana Jones won’t be here and we won’t have any dinosaurs (except the T-Rex puppets in the gift shop), but the fair will be educational and exciting because you get to be the archaeologist.  Two of the many opportunities being offered on Saturday are viewing pictographs found in the Copper Country and learning about how legends, stories and myths could be real.

            Myths, legends and story have some core elements that they follow.  They explain how things came to be, teach lessons and values, unify a group or define a group’s identity, explain social or religious rituals and most importantly entertain.  Cultures all over the world have their own mythology and by reading some stories archaeologists can learn about the people of that area.  Some of the best known myths come from Greece.  One Greek myth is about the story of Medusa.  Medusa was the daughter of Gaia and Okeanos and was gifted with great beauty.  Medusa also lived in the far north, where the sun didn’t visit.  She asked the Goddess Athena for permission to visit the south so she could see the sun.  Athena denied the request.   Medusa got extremely angry for being denied the opportunity to see the sun.  So, she started telling people that Athena was jealous of her beauty and that is why she couldn’t visit the south.  At hearing this, Athena got angry and punished Medusa by turning hair into snakes and cursing her by making her so ugly that whomever looked into her eyes would turn into stone.  What can one learn from this Greek myth?  What does the story say about the people of Greece?  These are the types of questions archaeologists ask themselves when on the hunt for answers about peoples of the past. 

            Sometimes archaeologists don’t have stories to use as a clue about ancient peoples.  Imprints from ancient peoples can be found in the form of art, tools, cookware and weapons.  Recently the Marquette Regional History Center received a donation of pictograph reproductions made by the Copper Country Ancient Sites Conservation group.  Pictographs are a form of hieroglyphics.  The donations replicate pictographs found in the Copper Country and have archaeologists baffled about one pictograph in particular.  The “Ship” has elements of Mediterranean vessels and Bronze Age maritime art, but there is no evidence to support the theory that peoples of the Mediterranean came to get copper from the Keweenaw during the Bronze Age.  That leaves the questions of how did this image end up in the Copper Country, who made it and why.  There is another theory that a mischievous college student made it to get archaeologists excited about a “find”.  But lichen found around the pictograph was studied and it indicates the age of the pictograph is at least one hundred years old or older.  The “Ship” is surrounded in mystery.  Could you discover something about this historic clue that would help archaeologists investigate a current theory...or give them a new one to research?

            As the Marquette Regional History Center celebrates archaeology with countries all over the world, we welcome the public to join us on Saturday October 19th, from 12:00pm to 3:00pm during the International Archaeology Day Kids’ Fair.  There will be something for all ages. The fair activities are included with the price of admission.  For more information call, (906) 226-3571.

When you hear the word archaeology, what do you think of?  Indiana Jones comes to mind, active adventures leading to amazing discoveries.  This fictional portrayal of archaeology may not be the every day example, yet at least it is in the correct branch of science. Archaeology does not mean the study of dinosaurs. That is paleontology.  It does not mean the design of buildings. That is architecture. Archaeology is: finding out about past human behavior by studying the material evidence left behind. Incredible evidence and artifacts left behind have recorded human history. We have learned so much from archaeology and stand to learn fathoms more. Right here in Marquette County and the U.P. we have outstanding artifacts being found to this day. In conjunction with the internationally celebrated day, we at the History Center will be holding an all-ages fair on Saturday, October 19th for International Archaeology Day! From a Roman banquet in Honolulu to a similar fair much like ours in Cambodia, folks all around the world will be recognizing the human stories left behind by small and large material evidence.

At our fair here in Marquette, we will have an array of booths in our gathering hall. Displays and activities will fill these booths, run by volunteer experts and general history fans alike.  Attendees will be able to see local artifacts both old and “new” and hear the stories behind them, learn about local sites and identifying, play games and challenge puzzles, make their own pictograph, win prizes, enjoy the extensive museum galleries and even take a short trip to a local “site” to learn more. 

Please join us on Saturday, October 19, 2013 from 12:00pm-3:00pm at the Marquette Regional History Center.  Fair included with the cost of admission.  

Halfway between Norway and the North Pole lies a desolate island named Spitzbergen, which is the largest island in the Svalbard Arcepelago.  The area was documented in Icelandic texts as early as 1194 c.e., but was not “officially” discovered until 1596 c.e. by Willem Barents.  As Europeans began whaling and trapping in the 1600s, the discovered Svalbard became an area of intrigue.  Explorers and scientists gave in to the curiosity of the desolate island to search for precious information.  Two individuals that explored Spitzbergen were J.M. Longyear and Frederick Burrall.
            J.M. Longyear was a businessman and land looker who believed in preserving natural resources while utilizing the properties the resources held.  Mr. Longyear felt as if “there has always been a strong fascination for me in forest and wood life”, and perhaps this is the attitude that compelled him to set up a coal mining operation in the Arctic. 
            On July 14th, 1901 J.M. Longyear spotted the island and remarked, “it was a grandly desolate, sublime, weird landscape, utterly barren and unlike anything I had ever seen.”   Mr. Ayer and Mr. Longyear began to develop the coal investment plan in 1905 and had William Munroe acting as supervisor on Spitzbergen.  There were few coal mines that operated on the island, which was odd seeing as how the area had an abundance of coal that sometimes would lay on the surface.  Coal shipments started in 1907.
            In 1908, Mr. Frederick P. Burrall was named the general manager of the Arctic Coal Company.  Mr. Burrall kept a diary and took photographs of his travels from the United States to the mining operation in Spitzbergen.  While traveling on the S.S. William Munroe, Fred Burrall took photographs of seals, whales, polar bears and icebergs that hindered water  travel.  Mr. Burrall documented how many tons of coal would be loaded onto ships and calculate the cost per boatload.  There were days where Mr. Burrall would be stuck at the office doing paperwork because of heavy storms and often documented these days in his diary.  Not all of Fred Burrall’s diary entries pertained to business.  On July 11th, 1909 a 4th of July celebration was held at Spitzbergen.  There were foot races, potato races and many other festive activities.  When Mr. Burrall was back in the United States, he would write about nights at the theatre with Mr. and Mrs. Longyear.