The 1980s expanded community and student involvement in local excavations and research. The decade began with possibly the most popularly known excavation in the Manhattan area, the Holidome excavation. This project engaged community volunteers with K-State students led by Dr. O’Brien over one weekend in salvaging archaeological remains endangered by construction a new hotel! K-State students also helped Ft Riley piece together a part of its history through excavation and analysis of the post's early military hospital privy. And finally, students got to learn and apply others approaches to how we can learn about past societies through materials remains, in this case, through study of a sample of headstones at Manhattan's Sunset Cemetery.
In Fall 1980, Brock Hotel Corporation began building a new Holiday Inn called The Holidome in the southern part of Manhattan. During construction, ancient and historic artifacts were uncovered. Hearing of these discoveries, Dr. O'Brien approached the company about conducting archaeological investigations of the area. In what is called a "salvage" excavation, efforts to excavate the site took place over the course of one weekend! Within a short amount of time, a team comprised of students, faculty, and community members saved the archaeological data they could find during a short period of time from destruction.
In 1984, Fort Riley requested assistance with archaeological investigation of part of its early history. This involved excavation of the Fort Riley Privy, a historic latrine associated with the first major hospital at the army base near Manhattan and Junction City. Through this project K-State students learned methods applied in the recovery and analysis of historic material remains. In addition to this valuable training, the students provided insight into health and life at this post during the Frontier Army period (1855-1887).
During the fall of 1988, Dr. Jerry Moore taught the Fall Archaeological Field and Laboratory Methods course as a visiting assistant professor of archaeology. Moore first instructed students in test excavation techniques and flotation at a site in northern Riley County. Following that endeavor, he helped students interpret social and cultural behavior of early Manhattanites through a detailed systematic study of historic headstones at Manhattan's Sunset Cemetery.
K-State Archaeology Through the Decades: 1990s
