Shovel Ready: Archaeology and Roosevelt's New Deal for America

5. Project 1047: New Deal Archaeology in Iowa

5 Project 1047 new deal Archaeology in iowa John F . Doershuk and John L. Cordell new deal funding for iowa archaeological projects permanently transformed the essential character of archaeology in the state, pushing research in a new direction and to a new level of intensity from its 1920s surface-only orientation .first federal emergency relief Administration (ferA) and laterworks Progress Administration (wPA) funds were put to work through Project 1047 for the excavation of sites (figure 5.1) that were expected to be representative of iowa’s “rich and complex archeology” (iowa state Planning board 1934:154). the methods utilized in these 1930s digs lacked many of the excavation controls and documentary procedures that evolved in later decades and that are now viewed as standard archaeological practice. nonetheless , these federally funded excavations of ancient village sites and burial mounds generated remarkable data of lasting significance. indeed, the intensity of the archaeological field effort supported from 1934 to 1939 by new deal funding in iowa went unmatched for several decades. tellingly, when substantial excavation efforts were eventually once again initiated in iowa during the mid-1950s and thereafter by professional archaeologists, the targeted sites were either locations new deal archaeology had previously explored—such as the Kimball site in northwestern iowa or the hartley terrace site complex in northeastern iowa—or related sites such as wittrock or Phipps (Anderson 1975,1985;bryson and baerreis 1968;henning et al.1968; mcKusick 1973, 1979;ruppé 1955).this tendency appears to reflect recognition by these researchers of the importance of the earlier work as well as the need to address research questions prompted by the existing body of data. modern large-scale cultural resource management (crm) efforts in iowa during the past several decades have—not surprisingly—led to the accumulation of far more archaeological material recorded in far greater detail than resulted from any new deal–funded project. however, despite the hiatus in figure 5.1. locations of all archaeological sites investigated in iowa through ferA and wPA funding, 1934–1939. chapter 5 / 91 field activities following the end of 1930s federal support and despite the fact that new deal funding in iowa did not lead directly to the establishment of well-organized, financially sound, institutionally based archaeological research programs, there is little doubt that the legacy of new deal archaeology continues to be of fundamental importance in iowa. new deal funding for Project 1047 in iowa could not have become available at a more propitious time.Although the summer of 1934 proved the hottest on record for iowa, so archaeological excavation conditions were more than challenging, especially for relative newcomers to such endeavors, the time was absolutely right from an archaeological research perspective because the achievements of the iowa Archaeological survey, and its director dr. charles r. Keyes (figure 5.2), effectively peaked in the early 1930s. to put 1934 to 1939 new deal iowa archaeology into proper context requires a brief digression into the history of the discipline in the state. historical overview of early iowa Archaeology Publications documenting early archaeological inquiries in iowa first began to appear with some regularity beginning shortly after the civil war. former state Archaeologist of iowa duane Anderson (1975) has labeled this the “Pioneer investigations” period of iowa archaeology, commencing in his schema around 1870 and lasting to 1920.while dominated as elsewhere figure 5.2. inset portrait: charles r. Keyes (1949), supervisor of iowa ferA- and wPA-funded archaeological projects, 1934–1939. excavation image: ellison orr (1938), assistant supervisor and primary field archaeologist of iowa ferA- and wPA-funded archaeological projects, 1934–1939 (courtesy of the state historical society of iowa, iowa city). 92 / doershuk and cordell in the country by “treasure hunters, romantics, and curiosity seekers” (Anderson 1975:71),important exceptions including frederick starr,t.h.lewis, and durenward were evidence that archaeology as a nascent scientific discipline was beginning to find a foothold in iowa (Alex 2000:17; lewis 1899; starr 1897;ward 1903, 1905). Another former state Archaeologist of iowa, marshall mcKusick, has framed the early beginnings of iowa archaeology slightly differently, choosing to distinguish the period from 1841 to 1881 as the era of the “iowa mound explorers,” followed by the period “scientific origins,” which he brackets from 1881 to 1897. mcKusick’s next identified stage of development for iowa archaeology is the “new fieldwork methodology 1903–1914,” during which a handful of individuals, including the aforementioned ward...