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Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Hawkeye State Archaeological Society of Iowa gathers in Mount Pleasant
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
On Saturday, Jan. 18, dedicated collectors, artifact dealers and the public gathered at Mount Pleasant High School. This annual meeting gives everyone an opportunity to visit with collectors and enjoy artifacts not commonly seen. Brent Japsen of New London organized this year’s meeting. Approximately 20 exhibitors participated. Rare and unusual artifacts were beautifully displayed. Artifacts were also available for sale. Books, journals and publications are also available for sale.
The mission of the Hawkeye Archaeological Society is to promote the hobby of Indian artifact collecting and the study of archaeology. The Society is also a member of the Central State Archaeological Societies, Inc. Both are nonprofit organizations. The mission of the Central State Archaeology Society is to develop a better understanding among professional and non-professional collectors of archaeological material, students, museums and institutions of learning, and to further this understanding by providing a means of publishing articles of interest by both professional and amateur archaeologists.
All the organizations have close affiliation with the office of their State Archaeologist. In Iowa, archaeologists identify and study the sites, artifacts, and physical remains that make up the past 13,000 years of human settlement. Collectors help identify sites of inhabitation or burial and report them to the office so professional studies can be made. Collectors spend hours walking fields and stream beds finding individual items. The majority of these have no known association with an inhabited area. Identification of these objects can be challenging.
The Hawkeye Society observed its 50th Anniversary in 2020. Sadly, the celebration was muted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first collector’s meeting was held at Van Buren High School in 1969. Five hundred visitors enjoyed viewing the collections from 40 collectors. The story of the Hawkeye State Archaeological Society of Iowa is published in a Central States Archaeological Journal, Volume 67, October 202, Number 4.
The State’s archaeological collections are held at the University of Iowa’s Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA). The collection currently has over 4 million archaeological objects from 14,000 sites in Iowa. Objects curated at OSA include chipped stone tools, ground stone, ancient pottery, modified bone and shell, and Historic Indian and Euro-American artifacts. Our accessions span all archaeological time periods in Iowa: Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, Late Prehistoric, and Historic. The State Historical Society of Iowa also houses several of its named collections at the OSA.
Iowa is rich in artifacts and fossils. The legislature and citizens of Iowa have refined the rules of collection and preservation. It is unknown how many mounds and sites were destroyed by early farmers and uneducated collectors. These practices have been reversed with great success. Stories and locations are being preserved by all who enjoy this hobby.
