Published: September 30, 2008 10:05 pm      

Museum plans archeology month activities

In celebration of October as “Archeology Month” in Texas, the Sam Houston Memorial Museum has planned two activities geared at teaching both adults and students about the world of archeology.

These events, sponsored by the Texas Historical Commission, will highlight current archeological work in Texas and feature input and presentations by several prominent archeologists.

According to Sandy Rogers, collections registrar for the museum and organizer of the events, the activities are geared toward enlightening people to the true nature of what archeologists do.

“People are fascinated with archeology, they just have the wrong concept of archeology,” Rogers said. “They have the ‘Indiana Jones’ concept, which is fun, but most archeology is very different from what you see in the movies.”

The first of the two events will be a presentation, sponsored by the museum’s collection department, on Oct. 9 at the Katy & E. Don Walker Education Center.

Archeologists Jeff Durst, field director of the Fort St. Louis Project, one of the most exciting archeological undertakings seen in Texas, will be the guest speaker.

Durst will give a presentation outlining the entire two year excavation of the project, which was once a colony founded by French explorer Robert La Salle in 1685. The site is located near Victoria.

Among the things uncovered at Fort St. Louis are a set of eight iron French cannons, buried by the Spanish, as well as the remains of three French colonists killed in a Karankawa Indian attack in 1688.

The excavation also yielded thousands of Spanish artifacts from the Presidio La Bahia, a Spanish site built over the remains of the French colony in 1722.

In addition to the presentation, Durst will display and describe several artifacts recovered from the dig.

Durst’s presentation is open to the public and free of charge.

“People don’t realize that it’s so easy to get involved in archeology,” Rogers said. “All you have to have is enthusiasm and $30, and you can join the Texas Archeological Society, so we encourage everyone with interest to come hear Mr. Durst speak, because it really is a fascinating presentation.”

In addition to the presentation by Durst, the museum, along with volunteers from the Texas Archeological Society, will host an archeological fair for the fourth-grade classes of Samuel Houston Elementary on Oct. 17.

Students at the fair will participate in spear throwing, pottery making, hot rock cooking, flint knapping and artifact identification, among other activities.

“We try to instill in the kids a real understanding of what archeology is,” Rogers said. “We teach them that we’re learning about past cultures by the pieces they left behind.”

Both events will feature input and information from representatives of the Texas Historical Commission and the Texas Archeological Society.

Rogers hopes that through these events, the THC can dispel some of the myths surrounded archeology.

“Many people believe that if a site is found on private land that the state may take possession of the property,” Rogers said. “This is not true. Private property is private. The THC would like an opportunity to record the site but has no authority to seize property. We hope that we can educate the public about these matters so that we can allow everyone to participate in archeological discovers and continue to uncover more of our past.”

Anyone with questions about the events or the THC is urged to contact Rogers at (936) 661-9882.