Archaeology training program to begin in June

Marion County residents are invited to attend an Archaeological Excavation in Ellis County, Kansas

Volunteers are invited to participate in the 2013 Kansas Archeology Training Program (KATP) Field School June 1-16, at the presumed location of the Billy Dixon trading post (14EL311) south of Hays in Ellis County. Also known as Whisky Ranch, this site presents an opportunity to investigate the history of immediate post-Civil War era Ellis County, and to advance understanding of the buffalo hunter culture.

The annual field school is an opportunity for the public to work alongside professional and vocational archeologists. No experience is necessary, just a desire to learn. Volunteers can participate for a couple of days or the entire 16 days of the project. Participants assist archeologists in surveying for sites, excavating sites, and cleaning/cataloging artifacts in the lab. Archeology technique courses are also offered and can be taken for college credit. Registration fee for the field school is $20 for members of the Kansas Anthropological Association or Kansas Historical Foundation. Nonmember fee is $80. Children must be at least 10 years old and accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. After May 1 the participation fee increases to $30 for members and $90 for nonmembers. Registration is required for access to the excavation site, which is restricted to project participants only.

For more information call Virginia Wulfkuhle at (785) 272-8681, ext. 266. The registration packet and related information is available on the historical society’s website at www.kshs.org/14622.

A full schedule of evening programs will be free and open to the public at Fort Hays State University and other venues in Hays; the schedule is posted on the KHS website (scroll down and click on embedded link “About KATP 2013”; then scroll down to “2013 KATP Evening Programs”).

The 2013 Field School is sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society, Kansas Anthropological Association, Ellis County Historical Society, and Fort Hays State University Departments of History and Geosciences.