I receive mailings from T&T Archaeological Consulting which previews upcoming “Prehistoric & Historic Artifact Auctions”. The latest mailer details “The Dr. John Ryan Collection”, and as usual, items on the block make the PMOP collection look rather wanting. Of course there are probably phonies in the mix, but for the authentic ones . . . what an impact these relics must have had on their discoverers.
When my next door neighbor came to me with this carved bone art, he assumed it was something I had inadvertently left under his deck (which had been my deck during the great dig of 2002). In spite of ringing no bells, I have to think it has something to do with the Palisades Museum of Prehistory standing about twenty feet away. Did somebody salt the area? Is my neighbor pulling my leg? Does the piece have any function?
Three figures carved into bone's distal ends - loon, walrus, demon head
shoes for life! (pelt changes recommended every 18 months)
Above is a sample found by a Maryland man – a Piscataway type of projectile point that was never finished. The piscataway points I have seen (until now) have been white quartz or dark cherts. Here is an aborted quartzite point showing arrested development. Towards the signature tear drop shape, the point appears to break during the thinning process – you can see the boulder rind still in tact. I’ve seen other non-diagnostic, ovate-based points, but this one appears to scale as a traditional Piscataway type point.
As the mosquito season comes to end, some of my efforts this year were broadcasted on WAMU yesterday Oct. 11, 2011. The only quibble I have with the story is this line:
But Dupin says the traps only captured a few Culex mosquitoes, which are the main vectors for West Nile, and no Asian Tiger mosquitoes, which also spread the disease.
Are Culex really the main vectors for West Nile?? The overwhelming predominance of the Asian Tiger mosquito, the WNV human cases in the Palisades, and no WNV detected in the Culex variety would suggest that the main vector is the Asian Tiger.
The draft goals for DC’s 2015 Historic Preservation Plan is on the web and open for comment. Below is an excerpt under “Promoting appreciation of our heritage”
Make archaeology visible
Washington’s landscape has been a place of human occupation for thousands of years, and the physical evidence of this history is a fascinating part of the District’s heritage. Unfortunately, archaeological artifacts often go unnoticed when they are underground or conserved in collections. There is now substantial progress toward making the wealth of DC archaeology more accessible and better understood as a public resource.
These efforts should continue, and by 2015 they should culminate in the establishment of a District of Columbia archaeological curation facility that makes collections available for research and public enjoyment.
To compare with the DCHPO plan of 2008-2012, there is this excerpt under Protect and Improve Understanding of District Archaeological Resources
Treat archaeological artifacts as significant public property. Ensure that all data and artifacts recovered from archaeological excavations are appropriately conserved and stored in a facility with proper environmental controls.
ACTIONS:
* Assemble collections currently stored in various locations into a single unified collection.
* Establish a facility for the proper conservation and storage of artifacts, archaeological materials, and related historic documents owned by the District. Ensure public access to these materials and promote research using the collections and records. Investigate and consider city-owned and shared facilities with another local institution such as universities or the federal government.
So the 2012 “single unified collection” goal sounds like it will be arriving later, perhaps in 2015. As my Spanish friend like to say; “Sorprendeme.”
I contacted the CDC about the status of WNV in the District and they returned an email with a link to DC’s West Nile Virus monitoring website. I had contacted Maria Hille last week who said there had been no cases reported in Ward 3. The District asks medical officials “to assist” (physician’s alert document ) DC and report cases of WNV. Hopefully the paperwork does not deter medical cooperation.
Reported cases of mosquitoes testing positive for WNV is here. There is no date on the document other than the year. Notice how DOD installations have higher counts of WNV positive. It’s because they have different traps that capture the dreaded and ubiquitous Asian Tiger Mosquito.
WNV cases in humans for 2010 can be found here. Little correlation exists between mosquito and human cases.
The latest victim of West Nile Virus in the Palisades is a longtime supporter of the museum and lives but a few blocks away. He has lost lots of weight and has been suffering since from Aug. 3. He continues to be in serious condition.
I heard there were already two deaths in DC attributed to West Nile Virus and will try to confirm that with authorities.
To date, no mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile Virus in the Palisades. But . . . my human neighbor next door has. If you are wondering why the city monitoring program has yet to discover WNV mosquitoes, perhaps the answer can be found in the blog’s previous post.
My neighbor says he was bedridden for a week. Now after three weeks he continues to battle fatigue. He initially thought it was a case of the flu, but when a rash erupted around his midsection, he went to the doctor. The blood tests came back positive for West Nile Virus.
As mentioned earlier on this blog, I am hosting a DC West Nile Monitoring mosquito trap on the museum grounds. An observation of the trap was recently confirmed by the DC workers charged with collecting the mosquitoes – their traps do not (or rarely) catch Tiger Mosquitoes. The baited slurry attracts the less populous Culex variety. For about 12 hours, I switched the trap to a baited bucket of stinky socks and shoes. Voila, the monitoring program now has many samples of Tiger Mosquitoes in the net.
Until the program switches bait, they are obviously missing the predominant mosquito of our area – Asian Tiger Mosquitoes.
At left - baited bucket with shoes and socks. At right is the DC slurry bait (fermenting rabbit food).
