Enhancing Visitor Experience and Appreciation of Mount Rainier Archaeology through Excavations at Sunrise

Project ID: J8W07100001

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Partner Institution: Central Washington University

Fiscal Year: 2010

Initial Funding: $115,000

Total Funding: $115,000

Project Type: Education

Project Disciplines: Cultural

National Park: Mount Rainier National Park

Principal Investigator: McCutcheon, Patrick

Agreement Technical Representative: Burtchard, Greg

Abstract: The Department of Anthropology at Central Washington University (CWU) will collaborate with National Park Service (NPS) staff from Mount Rainier National Park (MORA) in a field-school based program of archaeological data recovery research, public interpretation, and site stabilization at a site on the southeastern flank of Sunrise Ridge. Site 45PI408 (the Sunrise Borrow Pit Site) was discovered in 1990, and archaeological tests completed between 1997 and 2001 by a previous CWU field school documented abundant chipped stone tool remains and intact features dating to at least 4,000 years ago. The present project will build on this earlier work and provide a more complete understanding of site morphology, function, and temporal range. This project will enhance visitor experience and appreciation through guided interpretative tours during the field seasons and dissemination of project results using interpretive displays at the Sunrise Visitor Center. Data recovery excavation at site 45PI408 will take place over a three-year field season that is preceded by research design planning in FY2010; analyses and report preparation will occur in FY2014. Fieldwork at the site will include educational and training components involving university students, park visitors, MORA staff, and other practicing professionals. The final report will consolidate known information regarding the site and other MORA archaeological properties, and will present findings in a manner that promotes better understanding of long-term human use of Mount Rainier NP. This information, supplemented by materials recovered from the site, will be disseminated to Sunrise Visitor Center for use in exhibits to further enhance the interpretive value of the site and the results from this project.