JeffCo Historical Society to host Northwest archaeology course

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The Jefferson County Historical Society will host a new online course in October.

“Introduction to the Archaeology of the Northwest Coast from the perspective of Western Washington” will be taught by Gary Wessen, a 2020 recipient of the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation Award for Career Achievement.

The eight-session course, officials said, offers an overview of the pre-contact archaeology of the Northwest Coast, emphasizing archaeological sites and studies in western Washington. Participants will review background subjects including Northwest Coast culture, local environmental history, archaeological resources, and local research history, examine what is known about the archaeological resources and cultural history of the region, and briefly consider several specific archaeological sites, including the site at Ozette.

The course will conclude with a discussion of the present and likely future of the region’s archaeological resources.

Each session will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on successive Tuesdays and Thursdays from Tuesday, Oct. 6 to Thursday,
Oct. 29.

The cost to participate is $85 for members and $100 for non-members; scholarships are also available (email programs@jchsmuseum.com for more information). All sessions will be held via Zoom.

Visit www.jchsmuseum.org to learn more and register.

Wessen holds a master’s and a doctorate’s in anthropology from Washington State University and has operated as an archaeological consultant in the Northwest since 1983. He has 50 years of archaeological fieldwork experience in western North America, having worked in Mexico, California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and southeast Alaska. Most of his experience, however, has been in coastal and lowland forest settings in Western Washington.

To date, society officials said, Wessen has worked with or conducted 10 large-scale excavation projects, 96 small-scale site testing and evaluation projects, and more than 500 archaeological site survey projects.