(Source: MIRS.news, Published 04/11/23) Unearthing the long-dead Office of the State Archeologist was one of the topics taken up during Tuesday’s House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development and Natural Resources hearing.
According to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Michigan’s employed state archeologist was most recently on the staff of the State Historic Preservation Office.
The state archeologist was responsible for archaeology on state land, including recording, investigating, interpreting, and protecting Michigan’s archeological sites and maintaining the official database of recorded sites, both on land and underwater. They also coordinated with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to create exhibits and educational programs.
For decades, the position was recognized as the authority in state government for archeological matters for agencies, legislators, native American tribes, local units of government and the media, said Dean Anderson, the most recent former state archaeologist.
“If you had a question about archeology, there was a pretty fair chance you were going to call me,” he said.
However, Anderson said another state archeologist wasn’t formally appointed after his retirement in 2019, despite the position being a part of state government for nearly 50 years.
The office has been defunct since early 2011, he said, when his predecessor retired and the office was eliminated.
This is because there is no law mandating there be a state archeologist, Anderson said, making it more difficult for local governments, media and the public to seek information and advice about archeological issues.
But more than just bringing back the position, Anderson said bringing the office back permanently by codifying it is necessary to manage the thousands of artifacts in the state archeological collection, which are currently housed in the History Center.
One person can’t fulfill all those responsibilities, he said, “which is why it needs to be an office in this era, staffed by people who meet the professional qualifications for those jobs.”
Currently, there are nine archaeologists on staff that Anderson said are “scattered” across state departments, including the Department of Transportation, state Historic Preservation Office and the DNR. Those archaeologists have specific responsibilities defined by the programs operating in their agencies, he said.
Without a state archaeologist, Anderson said state agencies without an archaeologist on staff could be missing out.
For departments like the DNR that have an archeologist on staff, Anderson said the requirement to obtain a permit before conducting an archeological excavation on state land, combined with the vast amount of land the DNR oversees, necessitates a larger department to coordinate.
The DNR oversees 4.6 million acres of state land, Anderson said, including 38,000 square miles of land bordering the Great Lakes.
Michigan is host to over 20,000 recorded archaeological sites, Anderson said, many of which provide a record dating back to when people first came to Michigan 14,000 years ago.
There is a written record for only the past 400 years, and for the previous 13,600 years, history is accessible due to archaeology, along with tribal oral histories and teachings.
He was joined by Laura Ashlee, a former historian for 30 years with the state Historic Preservation Office, who said state government is at its best when there's collaboration, which she witnessed while working with Anderson and his predecessor, Dr. John R. HALSEY.
The two collaborated with colleagues in the Michigan History Center, the Attorney General's office, the state police, environmental officials, tribes, locals and numerous organizations, she said.
Ashlee said excavations in Michigan have included mastodon bones on a golf course and artifacts from Michigan’s days as a logging industry center that hinted at some families living in camps.
