Idaho State University - Wickiup Yearbook (Pocatello, ID)

Page 25 text:

,f- ' .t-L Nt- f ., AA.V 4 ,. in fini . . , . ,pn i W K I 1 I 'fi . , I Jq,,wv1ff,'-I 4-' .14-A I ? gf, I 'A ryhgdkir 'Ill Forensic Director, William Corbin, and a Northwestern Speech official look over Pocatello as they discuss plans for the annual intercollegiate debate tournament to be at ISU during next year's Thanksgiving Vacation. ISU was selected for the tournament over several other western schools. Idaho State hosts many such conventions and festivals during the year. , r M v, Q Winners in the annual newspaper and yearbook contests gather after the closing session of the Idaho State High School Press Association convention. Such a convention is sponsored each spring and fall by the ISU Journalism Department.

Page 24 text:

uv' Law enforcement oflicials from throughout Idaho visit Idaho State University for a training session ISU! Popular Convention Site Growing more popular each year as a convention site is the Idaho State University campus with its bountiful meeting rooms 2 and facilities. High school and college students utilize the facilities as do government officials and industrialists. Visitors to the ISU campus arrive almost daily wearing name tags for workshops, meetings and conventions. Often, Idaho State students are allowed to attend these educational gatherings. Largest in terms of visitors is the annual University or Campus Day event when al- most 2,S 00 high school seniors gather at ISU to inspect the facilities and get a glimpse of college life. Science fairs, youth legislatures, debate tournaments and journalism conferences also attract large crowds. x Campus visitors view exhibits erected for a convention at ISU 20

Page 26 text:

Archeologists Find Ancient Culture By Pat Sharp Archeologists at Idaho State University have uncovered re- mains of a Nez Perce Indian culture dating back 7,500 years. Robert Butler, research associate in the ISU Museum, di- rected the excavation of the Double-House Project in the Rocky Canyon drainage area seven miles south of Cottonwood this past summer. Aiding him were Marshall Taylor, Larry Swisher, Jack I-Iaymond, Richard Howard, Kirk Pool, Ron Cole and Dennis Bruns. An earlier project, the Weis Rock Shelter, was started near the same area in 1961. The shelter was first occupied about 5,500 B.C., according to Butler, who explained that Nez Perce tribes lived in rock shelters before moving to villages. The Double-House excavation consists of two separate layers. The lower house, slightly oblong, was first occupied about the first century, A.D. It was abandoned in the late 17th century, said Butler. The newer level is actually a combination of two houses, the larger slightly oblong and the smaller, round. There are indications that a third house once existed as part of the village. The larger house might have sheltered 20 to 30 people-most likely members of the same family-and the smaller, 10 people, Butler said. At the deepest point, the two layers were separated by a layer of fine sand three to four inches thick. The houses which once stood at these sites were A-frame structures covered with mats made of tule cattails. This type of dwelling existed at the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition, Butler said. Beads Collected Artifacts collected at the Double-House excavation include bone needles, awls, beads and gaming implements. The latter are small objects, some of which are marked, which the Nez Perce used in a game-one team hid the objects in their hands and the other team gambled on who held the marked pieces. Also uncovered were stone arrowheads, spear heads, knives, scrapers and food grinding implements. Together the Weis Rock Shelter and the Double-House excavation are called the Cottonwood Project. It provides a cross-section of the prehistory of the Nez Perce in that area, Butler said. Farmers in the region have reported that small bands of the tribe existed through the first quarter of the 20th century. Nez Perce tribes came from the coastal ranges in the Pacific Northwest. They followed the western Cordillera fmountain rangesj to the Columbia Plateau 11,500 years ago and settled at The Dalles, Ore., then some 7,500 years ago spread eastward toward the Rockies. Those who settled on the Camas prairie retained the same culture as the Nez Perce at The Dalles. The Nez Perce arrived at The Dalles with a remarkable array of tools, Butler said. They had antler wedges which were used to split wood-the earliest woodworking tools known in the New World. This indicates that the Nez Perce were well adapted to the lightly-forested areas, he continued. The tribes, he said, were expert fishermen, hunters of deer and elk and gatherers of camas root. Nez Perce Ate Roots Camas roots were actually the bread of the Nez Perce, Butler said. The tribes used the roots, or bulbs, in making a flat loaf comparable to bread, in making soup and in other Researchers from Idaho State University are shown during various phases of unearthing fragments from an ancient Indian culture. At left, Ron Cole examines a finding. Center photo shows Cole and Jack I-Iaymond saving an object uncovered. Kirk Pool, right, records data about the discoveries.