REDLAND OAKS ARCHAEOLOGY PROGRAM "OVERVIEW"

Process |

Tim Longo

The Redland Oaks Elementary School Archaeology Program emerged from the discovery of a prehistoric artifact found on the school grounds. In 1990, a Scallorn point was found by Tim Longo, the fifth grade student pictured at left, as he played outdoors during recess.

Scallorn

The young man's responsible reporting of this artifact led to the discovery, by professional archaeologists from the Center for Archaeological Research at The University of Texas at San Antonio, of many historic and prehistoric sites in the vicinity surrounding the school. This discovery also lead to great enthusiasm by the student body about the past. Where would the enthusiasm lead?

We decided that we did not want to lose any evidence of past inhabitants. The school, therefore committed to act as curator and educator in order to preserve its past.

Top of Page

In addition to the need to preserve artifacts exposed as the school grounds eroded, the construction of a road connecting Redland Oaks with the adjacent middle school had further displaced archaeological remains. The road cut had unearthed a large volume of soil that we felt probably contained evidence of many episodes of occupation at Redland Oaks. If we allowed the soil to be hauled away, a part of Redland Oaks' past would be lost forever. We made arrangements with the NEISD Central Office and the school's principal, Dr. Ruth Fowler, to store the soil on the campus.

We decided to develop an archaeology program. The students would be given a unique opportunity to learn the basics of archaeology and preservation while participating in hands-on learning and preserving their school's past.

In order to implement the archaeology program at Redland Oaks we had to receive permission from the NEISD School District and the Texas Historical Commission (THC), which grants antiquity permits for the exploration and/or preservation/curation of cultural resources under the Department of Antiquities Protection for Texas (Antiquities Code of Texas, 1987).

**A chance to get some sun and learn about archaeology.**

Once permission was received, our first step was to set up Caretakers of the Past are Students (COPS). This program was designed to educate the student body about their responsibility to preserve the past at Redland Oaks. The second step of the program involved training the fifth grade students in archaeological processes. They learned to screen the displaced soil, record any observable information about the soil and its contents and then washed, sorted, identified, counted, and catalogued all of the recovered materials.

5th graders at work
Kids Screening

The third step involved using the data students recovered to make inferences about the various time periods represented by artifacts uncovered at Redland Oaks. Through the students' experiences of working with displaced archaeological remains, they were able to better grasp the necessity of preserving and protecting archaeological remains. They experienced the frustration of trying to make sense of materials that had been disturbed and therefore were not related to each other horizontally or vertically.

The school won the Archaeological Public Service Award from the Southern Texas Archaeological Association for its commitment to archaeological preservation and its outstanding contribution to the archaeology of south Texas (San Antonio Northeast Sun, 1994; San Antonio Recorder Times, 1994).

Top of Page

COPS is an organization created to promote the preservation of Redland Oak's archaeological remains. The effort was designed to inform students about their responsibility to protect the fragile archaeological record on their campus. It grew however to include the school faculty and staff. COPS are dissuaded from casual collecting of artifacts. They are encouraged to add any displaced artifacts found on the surface of their campus to the permanent school collection. Six years later, thousands of artifacts have been turned in by students, staff, faculty, and administrators. With these pieces of the past we have been able to trace historic and prehistoric evidence on the school campus from approximately 5,500 BC to the present.

COPS turn in artifacts they find lying on the ground on school property. COPS do not dig into the ground to find artifacts because digging can destroy important information about prehistoric cultures.

YOU CAN BE A CARETAKER OF THE PAST. YOUR SUPPORT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES IS DESPERATELY NEEDED.

Top of Page

Page created by Rick and Liz Newcomb in San Antonio, TX
Chamal@texas.net