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Register for the 2013 Field School
If you have any questions about the field school please contact David Moore at:
(828) 771-2013; email: dmoore@warren-wilson.edu.
You may register for college credit or for non-credit participation.
The non-credit registration form is available here:
2013 Non-Credit Seeking Registration Form (not for college credit)
The for-credit registration is available here:
Registration for the Archaeology Field School, ANT 340, is tentatively scheduled during the Spring Class Registration period (Non-Warren Wilson College students, please contact David Moore for more information). The course will be counted as a Fall Semester 2013 class but class activities will take place Monday-Friday, June 3-June 28, 2013. The deadline for Non-Warren Wilson Students is May 1, 2013. Students may register for up to 6 credit hours. Each one-week (40 hour) field session equals 1 credit hour. Click here to fill out the registration intent form.
Please read over the field school information below.
Archaeological Excavation of a Sixteenth Century Spanish Fort in Morganton, North Carolina
June 3-June 28, 2013
Participation open to the public
No Experience Necessary
Field School Weeks
June 3-7
June 10-14
June 17-21
June 24-June 28
About the Berry Site
Following the conquest of the Aztecs in Mexico and the Inka in South America, Spain looked to "La Florida" for more land and riches. Hernando de Soto and his army traveled from Florida through North Carolina in 1540 on their way to the Mississippi River. In 1566, Juan Pardo left the Spanish town of St. Elena on the South Carolina coast and traveled into North Carolina in search of an overland route to Mexico. Scholars have debated the routes of Soto and Pardo for years but archaeological investigations at the Berry site (31BK22), north of Morganton in Burke County, provide evidence that both of these Spanish expeditions passed through the Catawba River valley.
The Berry site is a large (nearly 12 acres) Mississippian site that dates to the Burke phase (15th and 16th centuries A.D.) and is believed to represent an ancestral Catawba Indian town. We believe this site to be the location of the native town of Joara, at which Pardo built Fort San Juan in 1567 (20 years before the English "Lost Colony" at Roanoke). The 2013 archaeology field school will concentrate on a one-acre area where 16th century Spanish artifacts and the remains of five burned buildings have been located. We believe these structures may represent the remains of the Spanish compound, Fort San Juan. Pardo also renamed the Native settlement Cuenca, after his hometown in Spain. Quenca and Fort San Juan represent the earliest European settlement in the interior of what is now the United States. Participants in the 2013 field school will work to map and excavate the area around one of these burned buildings.
You may view images from the 2001-2012 field schools at the Berry site at our web page: www.warren-wilson.edu/~arch/fieldschool
Dr. David Moore and Dr. Chris Rodning will lead the Summer 2013 archaeology field school at the Berry site. David Moore conducted investigations at the Berry site in 1986, 1995, 1997, and 2001-2010. He has directed numerous field schools since 1978 at the Warren Wilson site (31BN29) and other sites in western North Carolina. His book entitled, Catawba Valley Mississippian: Ceramics, Chronology, and Catawba Indians, has been published by the University of Alabama Press. David received his MA and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and served as the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology's Western Office archaeologist for 18 years before becoming a full-time faculty member at Warren Wilson College.
Registration Information
This is your opportunity to explore archaeology. You will learn how to identify stone tools, pottery, and other artifacts, and your participation in the field school will help to reveal new evidence of the interactions between 16th century Native Americans and Spanish invaders in western North Carolina. No previous archaeological experience is necessary, but enrollment is limited. Enrollment is available for a non-credit participant fee of $300.00 per week and you may enroll for 1-4 weeks (If you desire college credit, please use the "for college credit" form below). Tuition for college credit is $607.50 per week (one credit hour).Children aged 14-15 years may enroll if accompanied by an enrolled adult. Children 16 years of age and older may enroll on their own.
Working on an archaeology site is a unique experience. It is educational and exciting. However, we urge all participants to be aware that working conditions are variable. All activities take place outside (unless lab work is scheduled on rain days), and we recommend that participants wear appropriate work clothes. We also recommend hats to protect against sun exposure. Participants may bring lunches and snacks to the site (There is always water on site; you are welcome to bring any other non-alcoholic beverages.). The work schedule is Monday - Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. You will be bused from the Field House to the Berry Site daily. You can also transport yourself should you so choose as there is parking near the site. All equipment and supplies are provided. Portable toilets are provided on site.
David Moore and those students enrolled for academic credit, will stay at the Wall Center for Archaeological Research in Morganton (about a 20 minute drive to the site) during the field school. The Wall Center is the home of the Exploring Joara Foundation, a non-profit organization formed in 2007 to support the field school and to create a regional public archaeology program. The Center is a newly converted 4600 square foot office building which now includes dormitory space for 23 students and staff, along with office and lab space. There is a large kitchen and dining area and we will have a designated open room for hanging out. There are two large dorm rooms for up to eight people and four smaller rooms for up to 4 people. Bunk beds and mattresses will be available for everyone. However, you will need to bring your own linens and towels. All dorm rooms are gender specified. You will be assigned a room by field school staff. It is possible there will be room at the Wall Center for non-credit participants as well. There is a weekly $50.00 housing fee. This fee includes the cost of dinners Monday – Thursday. Please contact David Moore if you wish to consider staying at the Wall Center. If you need additional information about local accommodations, please contact David Moore.
Field school enrollment is limited. To reserve a spot please return the appropriate registration form along with a $25.00 non-refundable deposit. Full payment must be received by May 1, 2013. Registrations made after May 1, 2013 for any remaining spaces must be accompanied by full payment. Please include names of each participant.
Warren Wilson College Scholarships:
Limited partial scholarship funding is available for all Warren Wilson College students with a 2.5 grade point average or above. To be eligible for scholarship funds, you must submit the Archaeology Scholarship Application Form to David Moore by April 20 and register for the field school during the April registration period.
We will be glad to answer any questions you may have about the field school. Please contact David Moore at (828) 771-2013; email: dmoore@warren-wilson.edu.