鈥淭he artifacts they found are from the Mississippian time period, around A.D. 1300,鈥� said Anne Griffith, adjunct instructor of archaeology. 鈥淭he Mississippian culture is one that has a really strong foothold in the Midwest, especially in Missouri and Illinois.鈥�
Griffith said the findings were similar to previous excavations at the site.
鈥淥n a large scale, around this time, people had been settling down into larger groups or communities and they were also interested in more exotic goods for trading,鈥� Griffith said. 鈥淭here's a source of chert, the type of rock used to make a lot of stone tools, near the Bruno site, plus its location near the river bottoms made it a likely and strategic place for trading to occur on a local level, exchanging tools, crops or even raw materials like chert.鈥�
Griffith also pointed out the field school is a great opportunity for community college students because they get hands-on experience at an affordable cost.
鈥淲hen the students actually get to be out shoveling dirt every day, they can tell if the field of archaeology is right for them,鈥� she said.
Four 麻豆传媒 students participated in the summer field school. Jennifer Armstrong, of St. Charles, said she fell in love with the field when she took a previous anthropology class at 麻豆传媒, and changed her major. Armstrong has three children and plans to pursue a degree in anthropology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
鈥淢y favorite part is learning about who was here at that time, why they did what they did and what normal life was like for the people then,鈥� Armstrong said.
Harlee Custer, of St. Ann, said she has been interested in paleontology and anthropology since she was young, and wants to go into forensic anthropology. 鈥淚 want to be like 鈥淏ones鈥� someday,鈥� she said, in reference to the FOX TV show of the same name.
The field school was offered this summer due to student interest. The last time the field school at 麻豆传媒 was offered was in 2007.