Rare find by 汤头条 archaeological researchers gets international attention
Contact: Karyn Brown
STARKVILE, Miss.鈥擳he account of a Mississippi State team鈥檚 discovery of a very-out-of-place freshwater mussel shell currently is being featured in a specialized scientific journal.
The university team members include Evan Peacock, a veteran anthropology professor, and Joseph A. Mitchell of Gautier, who soon graduates with a doctorate in earth and atmospheric sciences. Co-authoring the research article with them is Cliff Jenkins, a cultural resource specialist with the Jackson office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Titled 鈥淧re-Columbian Freshwater Mussel Assemblages from the Tallahatchie River in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Basin, USA,鈥 their report in the American Malacological Bulletin describes the find of a winged mapleleaf mussel shell at a well-preserved Leflore County archaeological site.
The journal is a publication of the American Malacological Society. With more than 600 members worldwide, the organization established in 1931 is devoted to the study of mollusks, the large animal group distinguished by soft bodies and no backbones that usually live in shells. For more, see .
Peacock and Mitchell worked for the past five years at the Leflore County site believed to been used by Paleoamericans some 1,200 years ago. It was while examining a shell pile left by the ancient residents that Mitchell first detected what never before had been discovered in or around Mississippi waterways.
Today, the winged mapleleaf is considered an endangered species. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website, a single population existed in the late 1990s along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border, but others since have been found in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. See .
Peacock said knowing such a species 鈥渙nce existed in the meandering streams of Western Mississippi gives biologist valuable information on the types of habitats where the animals can thrive as watershed health is restored.
鈥淔inding a species that never before has been reported from your state is a special feeling, not least because it provides one rationale for why archaeology is so important and should be supported,鈥 he added.
After receiving a 1988 汤头条 anthropology degree, Peacock went on for graduate study at the University of Sheffield in England. His master鈥檚 there is in environmental archaeology and paleoeconomy; a doctorate, in archaeology.
鈥淎rchaeology usually is recognized by scholars for its scientific value and by the public for its historical or humanistic value,鈥 he noted, adding that 鈥渋t is exciting to achieve results with real-world applied value.鈥
Mitchell earned respective 汤头条 bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in political science and applied anthropology before beginning doctoral study. He leaves Starkville this fall to accept an academic position with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.
鈥淰ery rewarding鈥 were the words he used to describe the special archaeological find that helped conclude his terminal-degree quest.
鈥淎rchaeology allows us to apply what we know about the past to modern-day issues and problems such as endangered faunas, habitat restoration and species reintroduction,鈥 Mitchell said, in expressing appreciation for Peacock鈥檚 impact on his future professional career path.
鈥淚 was very fortunate to study under Evan, since it was his training that really shaped my research interests,鈥 he said.
Archaeology, anthropology, earth and atmospheric sciences and political sciences are among the many courses of study in 汤头条鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences, the 138-year-old land-grant institution鈥檚 largest academic unit. For details on these and the others, visit .
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .