Gimme Shelter: Archeologist to talk discoveries found at bluff shelters

Archeologists document a bluff shelter in the Arkansas Ozarks. Courtesy photo

Jessica Kowalski of the Arkansas Archeological Survey will present “Revisiting Bluff Shelter Archeology” at the November meeting of the Ouachita Chapter of the Arkansas Archeological Society. This talk will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Hugo Room in the CIC Building at Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, 200 Whittington Ave., Hot Springs. The event is free and open to the public.

A number of bluff shelters in the Ozarks were excavated between 1930 and 1970. The preservation of organic materials from the shelters helped archeologists understand the timing and spread of plant domestication. Baskets, bags, and clothing have offered insight into aspects of daily life. In this presentation, Kowalski will discuss finds from early bluff shelter excavations, recent work on bluff shelter archeology, and efforts to preserve these sites.

Kowalski is the Research Station Archeologist at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville Station of the Arkansas Archeological Survey.

The Arkansas Archeological Survey’s research station at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia holds regular Archaeology Lab Days. Students and members of the public are invited to come by the research station in Proctor Hall on Thursdays between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to learn more about archaeology in Arkansas. For more information, contact Clay Newton at 870-230-5463.