An Official Website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
Kentucky: The Archaeology for Everyone
Davis Bottom: Rare History, Valuable Lives
Historic Archaeology: Beneath Kentucky's Fields and Streets
The Adena People: Moundbuilders of Kentucky
WPA Archaeology: Legacy of an Era
Ancient Fires at Cliff Palace Pond
Saving a Kentucky Time Capsule
Kentucky: The Archaeology for Everyone Video (opens in new window)
This video presents highlights on what scholars have learned about Kentucky’s rich cultural heritage through the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Hosted by Dr. Gwynn Henderson, this presentation features discoveries made at Cliff Palace Pond, a fascinating rock shelter in Boone National Forest, as well as findings from several other sites across the Commonwealth.
Copyright 2016 by the Kentucky Organization of Professional Archaeologists, the Kentucky Heritage Council, and the Kentucky Archaeological Survey. Produced by Voyageur Media Group, Inc.
Davis Bottom Video (opens in new window)
Davis Bottom, established in 1865, is one of about a dozen ethnic enclaves settled primarily by African-American families who migrated to Lexington from the 1860s to the 1890s in search of jobs, security, and opportunity. Located in a narrow, swampy valley about a mile south of downtown Lexington, the neighborhood is named after Willard Davis, a land speculator and civil rights advocate who became the Attorney General for the State of Kansas. Over the past 150 years, residents have made this small, tight-knit neighborhood a hidden model for racial diversity and community cohesion. Today this enclave is facing a challenge with the construction of the Newtown Pike Extension, a roadway that has displaced many residents. This part of history is now being documented as part of The Davis Bottom History Preservation Project.
Copyright 2013. Produced by Voyageur Media Group, Inc.
Historic Archaeology Video (opens in new window)
This documentary film examines what archaeologists are learning about the daily lives of Euro-American settlers, slaves, laborers, and immigrants during the 1800s. This one-hour documentary travels to historic sites across the Commonwealth, blending interviews with video, artifacts, archival photographs, and original animation. The documentary is presented in four segments based on archaeological periods: Frontier, Antebellum, Civil War, and Industrialization. Each segment features key scientific discoveries made by some of the state’s top archaeologists over the past decade.
Copyright 2010. Produced by Voyageur Media Group, Inc.
WPA Archaeology: Legacy of an Era Video (opens in new window)
American history and archaeology converge in this film, which examines the economic, scientific, and cultural impacts of a massive work relief program conducted across Kentucky during the Great Depression. The WPA archaeology program was much more than the jobs it created: it laid the foundation for today's understanding of Kentucky's diverse prehistoric American Indian cultures. Some of America's best and brightest young archaeologists supervised the WPA's projects, which gave badly needed employment to an army of workers.
Copyright 2002 Kentucky Heritage Council. Produced by Voyageur Media Group, Inc.
The Adena People Video (opens in new window)
The ancient Adena Culture of Kentucky and surrounding states is renowned for its massive burial mounds and exquisite artworks. But the lives of Adena people are shrouded in mystery because only three habitation sites have been found. Where did they live? Apparently, modern farming has destroyed most of their archaeological traces. In this video, Dr. Berle Clay examines the search for rare Adena settlements, which could tell archaeologists much about the lifeways of American Indians who lived in Kentucky over 2000 years ago.
Copyright 2000 Kentucky Heritage Council. Produced by Voyageur Media Group, Inc.
Cliff Palace Pond Video (opens in new window)
This video documents how two sciences, archaeology, and paleoecology, came together in a research project that confirmed archaeologists' ideas about the changing land-use patterns of the First Americans along the western edge of the Appalachian Mountains. Archaeologist Cecil Ison takes viewers to a spectacular site on the Daniel Boone National Forest where soil core studies show how American Indians used fire to manage the environment for over 3,000 years. This understanding of ancient practices will help guide forest management for the future.
Saving a Kentucky Time Capsule Video (opens in new window)
Discovered in the 1980s, the dozens of prehistoric mud glyphs (drawings) deep inside Crump’s Cave have been subject to vandalism, despite the best efforts of the private property owner. This video, the third in the Kentucky Archaeology series, documents these precious and fragile artworks and the labor of dedicated volunteers to construct a metal gate to protect them. Archaeologists Valerie Haskins and Dan Davis lead viewers on an unforgettable journey to see these rare legacies from Kentucky’s original inhabitants.
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