Field Trips: Field trips give members opportunities to experience specific aspects of archaeology such as visiting important field sites or museums. You must be a member in good standing to participate in field trips and sign a release waiver
Field Projects: Field projects are often conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. The projects allow members to work with professionals on historic preservation projects such as archaeological excavations and surveys, rock art recording, and historic structure reconstruction.
Field Projects: Field projects are often conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. The projects allow members to work with professionals on historic preservation projects such as archaeological excavations and surveys, rock art recording, and historic structure reconstruction.
Past Field Trips
Fields and the Alvord Desert:
Recently, Archaeologist Scott Thomas of the BLM led ASCO members to a marvelous rock art site and two extensive paleo camp sites in the hills and desert near Fields, Oregon. The following images and descriptions courtesy of Mary Webster:
Recently, Archaeologist Scott Thomas of the BLM led ASCO members to a marvelous rock art site and two extensive paleo camp sites in the hills and desert near Fields, Oregon. The following images and descriptions courtesy of Mary Webster:
The Pueblo Mountains, where BLM archaeologist Scott Thomas led us, were extremely beautiful - green hillsides with lots and lots of wildflowers.
Phlox was present in white, pink, and lavender varieties. There was also an abundance of Larkspur and
Wild Roses scattered throughout the hills and gullies.
Wild Roses scattered throughout the hills and gullies.
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Scott, on the right, was very patient with all our questions, as usual. First he took us to a remote petroglyph site. The images depicted are from 7,600 to 1,000 years old.
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Scott was surprised when we discovered that two of the glyphs were in the shape of fish. This could support the idea that there was once water flowing through near the site.
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The mammoth image is incredibly rare and the BLM is excited to have one in their jurisdiction.
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Later that day, we visited a site only a few miles from the petroglyphs where ranch hands had begun building a fence and noticed several artifacts on the surface. They stopped work on the fence and contacted the BLM office. To survey this site, ASCO members spread out in a line and walked the area, calling an archaeologist over to us whenever we found an item of diagnostic importance, like an arrowhead, a spear point, a knife or a scraper. The number of items we found indicated that the site should be explored further by scientists.
The find of the day was a complete Spear Point made from Moss Agate - so beautiful!!!
The next day, out on the Alvord Desert, we did a similar survey of a known site.
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Here we are “in line” awaiting further instructions before starting.
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At one point, Scott spotted a man with a bucket and drove over to talk with him. He told Scott he was “collecting rocks” and asked what our group was doing. Scott replied that we too were “collecting rocks.”
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The Steens mountains from the SE side.
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We found two leopard lizards and 2 gopher snakes, but luckily no rattlesnakes, which surprised Scott.
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A wash, an Alkali mud pattern, and Alkali patches on top of dried mud in the Alvord Desert.
Tracks of a bird, a deer, and a coyote were also found in the hardened mud.
Tracks of a bird, a deer, and a coyote were also found in the hardened mud.
Submitted by Mary Webster & Stephanie Marks
Cascadia Cave:
On September 4, twenty ASCO members motored over the mountains to visit an outstanding Native American site on the South Santiam River, near Cascadia. The site is located adjacent to the Cascadia State Park. It consists primarily of a rock shelter, the wall of which is covered with many petroglyphs that have been carved there through the millennia. Our members were joined by several archaeologists from various districts of the Willamette National Forest.
The tour was led by Tony Farque, the archaeologist from the Sweet Home District of the WNF. Tony has made it his mission to learn as much as possible about this site. The shelter is located on what was a main east west route used by the Native Americans to travel between the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon. He explained that several groups have determined what various symbols depict, persons that did the carvings and why. All in all it was a most interesting experience – and it didn’t even rain.
On September 4, twenty ASCO members motored over the mountains to visit an outstanding Native American site on the South Santiam River, near Cascadia. The site is located adjacent to the Cascadia State Park. It consists primarily of a rock shelter, the wall of which is covered with many petroglyphs that have been carved there through the millennia. Our members were joined by several archaeologists from various districts of the Willamette National Forest.
The tour was led by Tony Farque, the archaeologist from the Sweet Home District of the WNF. Tony has made it his mission to learn as much as possible about this site. The shelter is located on what was a main east west route used by the Native Americans to travel between the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon. He explained that several groups have determined what various symbols depict, persons that did the carvings and why. All in all it was a most interesting experience – and it didn’t even rain.
Submitted by Dick Bryant
Lost Dunes:
ASCO's trip was facilitated by Pat, and led by Scott Thomas, BLM Archaeologist, who discovered the site back in 1980 while surveying to seed the land for cattle grazing.
ASCO's trip was facilitated by Pat, and led by Scott Thomas, BLM Archaeologist, who discovered the site back in 1980 while surveying to seed the land for cattle grazing.
It was occupied off & on from ~ 1320 AD to 1500 AD by Shoshone people who followed bison herds into SE Oregon, probably from Idaho and northern Nevada.
Submitted by Mary Webster
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