Finding Aid, White Springs Site (22IT537) 1979-1986

Summary

This collection is referred to as, "White Springs Site (22IT537) 1979-1986.” This name is consistent throughout the finding aid, the file folders, and the box labels. The extent of this collection is five (5) linear inches.

The White Springs Site (22IT537) 1979-1986 archival collection was contained within acid-free boxes and in acid-free folders within the larger Shell Bluff collection. These collections are permanently housed at the Cobb Institute of Archaeology, University of Mississippi. These boxes were packed with newspaper to keep the files upright; this material was removed after ensuring that it did not relate to the document collection. In addition to the four linear inches of documents in separate folders identified as relating to the White Springs Site (22IT537), additional documents were removed from folders within the Shell Bluff Site (22LO530) document collection and incorporated into White Springs Site document collection, so that the final dimension was five linear inches. In this collection there were: field notes (both hand written and typed), unit and feature level field records, grid paper sketches of dig sites, photograph records listing roll numbers and frame contents, black and white photographs, and typed reports. The document collection includes a good record of the burial analysis that was performed, in the form of Post Cranial Bones Laboratory Analysis forms and supplemental burial sketches and photographs. Although the sketches and photographs were created in the field, it was decided to leave these in situ, out of respect for the original order and intent, and also to help researchers review the mortuary analysis. Some of the field records were photocopies of field book pages that were dated to 1968. This is outside the chronological scope of the project. These may have been old field notes by Judy Bense that were used as background, but they were incorporated with the 1979 field notes in a way that did not allow them to be pulled out and moved to a Background Records series.

The report records include the report by Mark DeLeon, which was intended to close the contract for field work at White Springs, and to summarize data to that point. This report was printed without a date of publication, leading to some confusion about whether it was published in 1979 or 1980. A quick search indicated that the date of publication has been listed as 1980 elsewhere. Processing archivists elected to retain this date of publication. A report on the geomorphology of the site is also included, as it was provided by a subject matter expert as a report chapter. The report by Futato, which summarizes the analysis done on both White Springs and Shell Bluff, can be found in the Shell Bluff collection, asset number 0050_1927. The paper copy is available through the Cobb Institute, but is on file separately at that institution. The collection was processed by Mark Crawford, principle processing archivist, and also by Christopher Borasky, Caroline Bradford, Ryan Brewer, Edward Covington, DeJesus Gardner, and Marquita Kitchen. George Bauser, Jonathan Beaver, Ryan McLay, Benjamin Nay, William Montgomery, Adam Price, and Christopher Welch digitized documents and photographs.

Overall, the collection was in good condition. Coffee, dirt, rust from staples, and sticky, yellowish stains left from aging adhesive tape were found on the documents, but data was preserved through cleaning and mending. Tape was removed with a hot spatula, and any remaining adhesive residue that could not be cleaned was covered with tissue tape to protect documents. Documents were flattened by humidification or by mechanical flattening, cleaned, and mended. Approximately twenty-five (25) metal contaminants were removed.

There were forty-three (43) oversized documents in this document collection. Oversized documents included legal-sized documents found in folders of primarily letter-sized documents, large maps of the excavation site, and charts detailing mortuary patterns and burial data. These documents were scanned and stored digitally, then removed from original folders and placed in oversized storage. A few oversized maps had tape that could not be removed without damaging the paper itself, so it was left in place. These maps were interleaved with acid free tissue paper.

There were twenty one (21) photographs removed from this document collection, the majority of which were black and white, 8” x 10” prints. The collection included fifty-eight (58) photographic records (Photo Records) with no associated photographs or negatives. Conversely, a few images were preserved without a record of roll or frame number, or with no provenience information. Every effort was made to reconcile information when possible. In the case of photographs with roll and frame numbers attributed on the reverse, dates from the photographic records were applied to the photographic log information file and to the scanned asset description for that image.

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): US Army Corps of Engineers Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections, St. Louis District

Principal Investigator(s): Futato Eugene; Robert Gilbert

Landowner(s): US Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District

Sponsor(s): US Army Corps of Engineers Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections, St. Louis District

Repository(s): Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State University

Prepared By(s): Veterans Curation Program

Submitted To(s): US Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District

Notes

General Note: These digital materials were processed by the Veterans Curation Program (VCP). Included in this tDAR project are the artifact catalog, finding aid, original investigation report, oversized material spreadsheet, photographic material spreadsheet, select archival photographs, select artifact photographs, and scanned asset key. Additional digital materials held by the VCP include: additional artifact photographs, archives database, box inventory, box labels, burial site information, calendars, correspondence, daily activity summaries, document folder listing, initial data collection, laboratory forms, maps, notes, oversized document labels, photo records, progress reports, records removal sheets, sketches, task reports, and trench profiles. For additional information on these materials, refer to the finding aid.

File Information