Burial Sites Preservation Law Update

Tomorrow is the State Senate's final session to consider the newly modified Burial Sites Preservation Law (AB 118). The Senate's calendar is posted online here: http://insession.legis.wisconsin.gov/senate

The session begins at 11:00 am. There are many bills on the calendar. I don't know when the burial bill will come up, but the calendar suggests that it is early in the list. There is no public comment opportunity tomorrow, but the "public" may watch the proceedings. 

It is possible, though not likely, that a senator could attempt to modify the bill from the floor. If that happened, and a majority of the senate agreed, the bill would die. Any major change would have to go back to committee for a public hearing and committee consideration before it could brought to the legislature for a full vote; that could not be accomplished until after this legislative session had concluded (according to their calendar for this year).

We hope that tomorrow brings no changes and that the bill will pass. After the bill passes tomorrow, it must be signed by the Governor. A formal signing ceremony at some point in the near future is being discussed, but there is no plan in place that I know of. 

WASRA Grant Applications - March 15, 2018

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The Wisconsin Archeology Society Awards Committee is pleased to invite applications from avocational archaeologists and archaeology students for the 2018 WASRA grants. The Society Board has allocated $500 for this program in Fiscal Year 2018. In accordance with the guidelines as posted on the Society web site at http://wiarcheologicalsociety.org/wasra individual awards will not exceed $500 and may be less. Applicants must be Wisconsin Archeological Society members for consideration of the application.
The guidelines detail eligibility criteria and the application process, and they require complete packages submitted in digital format (pdf preferred) to heather.walder@gmail.com by March 15, 2018. The Committee will evaluate all proposals and announce award decisions at the Spring Wisconsin Archeological Society meeting. The guidelines also list obligations of those receiving awards.


For an example of award-winning research, please see this update from the 2017 WASRA recipient, Jeff Painter: http://wiarcheologicalsociety.org/painter-wasra 

Revised WAS By-Laws

The Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Archeological Society (Society) has drafted and approved revised by-laws. The current by-laws require any changes to the by-laws need to be posted on the Society website for 30 days for the membership to review and then voted upon by active members at a meeting. Please click here to view the revised by-laws. 

The Society is holding the Spring Meeting on Saturday April 7th at the Oshkosh Public Museum, which will provide 32 days for review of the revised by-laws. I strongly encourage our members to join us in Oshkosh and cast their vote concerning the revised by-laws. If you haven’t renewed your membership or are very interesting in participating in this momentous occasion of the Society, please renew your membership or become a member of the Society. Please watch for information about the events that will occur at the Spring Meeting.

Call for Submissions - Archaeology Around Wisconsin 2017

The Wisconsin Archeological Society editors are soliciting for Archaeology Around Wisconsin 2017. We have already had one submission before we even asked for them. We always have a great response, and hopefully this year will be no exception. Please submit your individual or your organization’s short articles to vtwinde-javner@uwlax.edu, with authors names and organizations names. If your submission is from independent work, just list yourself as an independent researcher. The guidelines for submission can be found on the front page of the journal in regards to formatting, including photos and tables, but are also listed below. Please make sure the figures will meet the requirements below. Although we have been able to print more color photos in the past few years, due to costs we cannot print all submitted photos in color. So please consider that when submitting your articles and photos, and how your photos will look in black and white. Although some contributors ask to have their figures in color, and we try to accommodate, we cannot always guarantee that depending how the layout of the articles go for the final print version. Also, make sure to send figure and table lists in a separate document.
 
Please submit your articles by Monday, March 19. Late submissions will likely be accepted if there is room in the layout.  If you have a larger size submission, that may be more appropriate for a separate submission as a stand-alone article.
 
Manuscript format: Manuscripts must be submitted electronically via CD or e-mail. PDF files may be submitted for initial review, but final submissions must be in a standard word-processing format (MS Word, rich text format [RTF], or WordPerfect). Manuscript style should conform to the journal style, which follows American Antiquity (Society for American Archaeology, http://www.saa.org/StyleGuideText/tabid/985/Default.aspx) and the Chicago
Manual of Style.
Figures: Submit illustrations (numbered sequentially) as individual files rather than embedding them in the manuscript, and provide a separate list of figure captions. Electronic versions in standard graphics formats (e.g., JPG for photos, TIFF for line drawings) are preferred, with at least 300 dpi resolution at the intended size. If suitable electronic versions are not available, high-quality hard copies may be accepted; please contact the editors first.
Tables: Submit tables (numbered sequentially) separately from the text, in either word-processing (MS Word, RTF, WordPerfect) or spreadsheet format (e.g., MS Excel). Please provide a list of table titles, and make sure table content is clear and concise and will fit on a standard page in finished form.

Now Accepting WASRA Grant Applications

WASRA flier 2018.png

The Wisconsin Archeology Society Awards Committee is pleased to invite applications from avocational archaeologists and archaeology students for the 2018 WASRA grants. The Society Board has allocated $500 for this program in Fiscal Year 2018. In accordance with the guidelines as posted on the Society web site at http://wiarcheologicalsociety.org/wasra individual awards will not exceed $500 and may be less. Applicants must be Wisconsin Archeological Society members for consideration of the application.
The guidelines detail eligibility criteria and the application process, and they require complete packages submitted in digital format (pdf preferred) to heather.walder@gmail.com by March 15, 2018. The Committee will evaluate all proposals and announce award decisions at the Spring Wisconsin Archeological Society meeting. The guidelines also list obligations of those receiving awards.


For an example of award-winning research, please see this update from the 2017 WASRA recipient, Jeff Painter: http://wiarcheologicalsociety.org/painter-wasra 

Volume 98 of "The Wisconsin Archeologist" Now Available

Available now is the latest volume of our publication "The Wisconsin Archeologist".  Volume 98 consists of a combined double edition (issues 1&2) and includes over 260 pages of new articles  and the perennial favorite "Archaeology Around Wisconsin".

This issue is available for immediate download as a PDF, or via the US Postal Service in print/hardcopy format (while supplies last).

Click either of the above links for images showing the full table of contents.

As always, the cheapest way to receive the "The Wisconsin Archeologist" is to be an active dues paying member of the Society.  Membership categories are listed here and include the ability to easily join or renew online.   In addition to the many other benefits of membership, most levels of membership offer a significant discount on the list price of the journal.  For example, individual membership is only $30 per year compared to the $50 journal cost.   Join or renew today to lock in your discount on volume 99 for 2018!

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Winter Dinner - January 10, 2018

The upcoming Winter Dinner will be hosted on January 10th at the Milwaukee Beer Bistro. The event will begin at 6:30 pm with a cash bar, appetizers and coffee, dinner will begin at 7:00 pm. This years featured speaker, Dr. Melissa Baltus, will be speaking on Neighborhoods of Cahokia - Excavations at the Spring Lake Tract.
Please RSVP by January 2nd. Two options to RSVP include sending registration card and payment to Rob Ahlrichs or paying online here.
Any questions regarding the diner may be directed to Rob Ahlrichs via emailat ahlrichs@uwm.edu.

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Letter From the President

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Dear Wisconsin Archeological Society Members,

The Holiday season is upon us and the Wisconsin Archeological Society had a very active year, for which we are very thankful. The Society received two very generous donations that together are just over $10,000, which we can utilize towards our programs that focus on site preservation, education, and outreach. 

The Society participated in archaeological events throughout Wisconsin. We had display table at the celebration of the Man Mound being dedicated as a National Historic Landmark and presented and displayed prehistoric technology at the Historic Galloway House in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and at the Milwaukee Public Museum Archaeology Day event.

The Society had two successful meetings, sponsored this spring by the Kenosha County Archaeological Society and this fall by the Three Rivers Archaeological Society and Logan Museum of Anthropology at Beloit College. The society is working hard to renew and maintain our relationship with archaeological organizations in Wisconsin that share the same purpose as our own, and we look forward to working with them in the future.

Thank you to our editors (past and present) of The Wisconsin Archeologist and WisArch News and all the authors and contributors that have made the publications so successful. The Wisconsin Archeologist is the longest continuous published archaeological journal in North America, with the first issue published in 1901. The 2017 issue of The Wisconsin Archeologist, which covers the entire year is still in production and will go to the printers in December so expect your journal in the mail early January 2018. The Fall 2017 WisArch News will be in your inboxes very soon.

Most of all, the Society is thankful for our members and their support. Without our members, the Society would not be where we are today. Thank you all so very much!

To everyone, have a Safe and Happy Holidays!!

Sincerely,
Seth Schneider
President
Wisconsin Archeological Society
president@wiarcheologicalsociety.org