Shovel Bums Continue Stewardship

by John McHugh

Throughout August and September the Blessed Sacrament School “Shovel Bums” archaeology club  has been committed to stewarding rock art at sites 42UT1455 and 42UT1454, near Utah Lake.  During Thursday classroom lessons the 3rd through 8th grade students learn the rudiments and  jargon of Southwestern Archaeology, especially its chronology, diagnostic artifacts, and associated  prehistoric Native American rock art. On Fridays the Shovel Bums take to the field to apply what  they have learned.  

Thursdays’ club meeting focuses on some kind of important aspect of archaeology or anthropology.  Students then discuss the concept with the club’s supervisor, teacher-archaeologist, John McHugh,  and their peers. Club meetings usually conclude with some kind of art or crafts project. On  September 26th students made split-twig figurine replicas reminiscent of those found at Archaic  Period sites throughout the Southwest. Because this is a complex project, it was essential to have  some of the older Shovel Bums help their younger classmates. 8th grade Shovel Bums, Helene  Mabanza and Nomar Santana, joined up with 7th grade Shovel Bum, Isabeau Martin, to patiently  and lovingly give the younger Shovel Bums a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a split-twig deer or bighorn sheep. 

On Fridays the Shovel Bums go into the Field to steward rock art in the Lake Mountain area; with  any important findings relayed to the BLM archaeologist of that region, Mike Sheehan. Mr.  McHugh has students fill out an IMACS rock art attachment form for every petroglyph at the site,  which the students enjoy doing. Considering how much most children love drawing, it is  interesting that students find the sketching of the rock art to be the most difficult part of filling out the  IMACS forms.  

Moreover, considering the dedication Steve and Diana Acerson and the rest of the members of  URARA demonstrated in protecting rock art by getting target shooting prohibited near Lake  Mountain rock art sites, it is exciting to note that the Shovel Bums have found little evidence of any  new shooting in the Lake Mountain region; which allows all URARA members to breathe a sigh of  relief.  

On the Friday, September 27th field trip the Shovel Bums happened upon two small petroglyph panels that may have been overlooked in previous surveys. Mr. McHugh will be looking to see if they can be found on any site form. One was a “plant” or “corn” motif found by 8th grade Shovel Bum, Matthew Mills. The other was a curved petroglyph discovered by Emma Ashby, who is part Ute. The Shovel  Bums joked that Emma’s great, great, great (say “great” 30  more times) … grandfather may have made this panel,  which she fortuitously stumbled upon a thousand years later.  

From October 3rd through 5th the middle school-aged Shovel  Bums will be viewing and stewarding rock art and performing  archaeological survey with Vernal BLM archaeologists under the tutelage of Dave Christensen. The students are extremely excited about this opportunity. Finally, on October 18th the  Shovel Bums will travel for a day-long field trip to Fremont Indian State Park, where they will be viewing rock art and  performing sundry museum duties for archaeologist and Fremont Indian State Park Museum curator  Elizabeth Nagengast-Stevens. 

original article published in the October Monthly Newsletter of URARA, the Utah Rock Art Research Association