February CCASM Meeting

February 19, 2026 (7 PM) 

When History Gets Real: 
Archaeology in the Middle School Classroom

Julia Berg and Sarah Mason will explore how archaeological evidence can make the past tangible and meaningful for students in grades 6–8.  They will also highlight classroom strategies that use artifacts, sites, and material culture to engage students, elevate voices often missing from textbooks, and foster a sense of responsibility for protecting the past.

Julia Berg and Sarah Mason
Middle School Teachers and Educational Consultants

 

Julia and Sarah, who live on the Eastern Shore, will be presenting via Zoom.  For now we plan to meet in person in La Plata and have a hybrid meeting. but closer to the meeting date we may need to change to Zoom only.  Hopefully this snow/ice will be gone by then.  A Zoom link will be sent to CCASM members who can not attend in person.  Non-members will need to email ccasm2010@gmail.com by February 17 to request the link.

If we are able to meet in person to view the presentation - 
Location: La Plata Police Department Community Room, 101 La Grange Ave, La Plata, MD (map) Parking is on the north side of the building (but not behind where the police cars are), on the street, and in the lot across the street.

Inclement weather policy: If the evening activities of the Charles County Public Schools are canceled due to inclement weather, CCASM meetings and/or activities will also be canceled or else be conducted via Zoom if a link has already been set up.
Call the 24-hour information line [301-934-7410 or 301-932-6656] to hear if there are any closure announcements. If there aren't any closure announcements, then CCASM activities will proceed as planned. 

Jan 2026 ASM Ink Article

The January 2026 Archeological Society of Maryland Newsletter (ASM Ink) contained the following article about CCASM, but it lacked captions on the photos.  (Yes, there are photos toward the end.)
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The ASM Chapter in Charles County
Carol Cowherd 

I was asked to write something about the Charles County Chapter of ASM, so here goes.

Since we are also the 501(c)3 non-profit organization Charles County Archeological Society of Maryland, Inc, I will refer to us as CCASM.  CCASM like the other ASM Chapters is made up of people with the desire to learn about local archaeology and/or history and to interact with others also interested in learning.  Our members include a mix of avocational archaeologists, one professional archeologist, and several newer members with no previous experience in archaeology.  Most of our members live in Charles County, but we also have members from other parts of Maryland as well as in other states – South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New York.  Since CCASM was incorporated in 2010, our membership seems to stay in the low thirties with the number of active members currently being around ten. 

But what does CCASM do? 
Our main priorities are meetings, outreach activities, and volunteering for archeology projects in the field and in the lab. You can check out almost everything we have been doing for the past fifteen years by going to the CCASM blog ccarchsoc.blogspot.com/ . 

Here is a brief overview.
CCASM meets monthly September through April on the third Thursday of the month in LaPlata and has a potluck meeting in May. We have been lucky that many archeologists in Southern Maryland as well as others have agreed to talk at our meetings. One of our members lets us use his Zoom account so the speaker does not always have to travel to LaPlata. This also allows members who cannot attend in person to hear the talk. I should mention, we are still learning to conduct Zoom meetings. 

For outreach CCASM attends at least four events during the year. We have four displays and a number of hands-on activities so we can tailor the display and the activities to use at a given event. Three of the displays are felt covered, and we can modify or change what’s on the display easily. Also the number of activities keeps growing. Here is a photo from the Charles County Public Schools History, Industry, Technology, and Science (HITS) Expo that occurs in March of each year.

CCASM at 2025 Charles County Public Schools HITS Expo

And, of course, many of our members like to volunteer in the lab and in the field. CCASM members as a group (and sometimes individually) have volunteered with a number of archaeologists for various grants. CCASM members mainly volunteer with Esther Doyle Read, the County Archaeologist for Charles County Planning and Growth. Esther holds a Monday Public Archaeology Lab in Historic Port Tobacco in two buildings owned by the Society for Restoration of Port Tobacco and leased by Charles County Tourism. Most Mondays volunteers process artifacts retrieved from Charles County sites. Some Mondays and weekends volunteers are in the field on various Charles County sites investigating the site or doing rescue archaeology or documenting graveyards. Actually, being able to volunteer locally has contributed to CCASM membership. Most people volunteering for Monday Lab tend to join CCASM.

Washing at Burch House

Cataloging at PT Courthouse

In the Field

In 2024 the Charles County Historic Preservation Commission presented CCASM with a Preservation Service Award in recognition of outstanding achievement in and support for furthering the aims of historic preservation in Charles County.
There are a few other things I could add, but that is all for now. If you want to contact us, the CCASM email is ccasm2010@gmail.com.

2026 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-Mar)

CCASM has been working with Charles County at the ongoing Public Archaeology Lab since 2015.  The lab is for processing artifacts recovered from various archaeology initiatives in Charles County -  including artifacts from investigations of sites on County properties, artifacts recovered from savage archaeology in the County, as well as artifacts recovered around the 1970's before the Port Tobacco Courthouse was reconstructed.  Esther Read is the archaeologist in charge.

Location: Courthouse (2nd floor; use South Wing door) and Burch House (both inside and outside) in Historic Port Tobacco Village  map 

  Next dates: 
  Note: (We try to post the latest schedule as soon as we get it - may not get until Monday morning. 
            Being in the field depends on the weather - if it's not raining and not too hot or too cold.)
       
  Monday,    Jan 26   (11am - 3pm) Lab  Snow Day
  Monday,    Feb   2   (11am - 3pm) Lab  Parking Lot not plowed
  Monday,    Feb   9   (11am - 3pm) Lab
  Monday,    Feb 16   (11am - 3pm) Lab
  Monday,    Feb 23   (11am - 3pm) Lab

Tin-glazed Sherd

Monday January 19 we once again divided up.  Claudia and Malinda continued to work on more recently recovered artifacts at Burch House.  Denise, Elsie, Carol, and Linda were at the Courthouse working on artifacts recovered at Port Tobacco around 1970.  Carol and Linda continued cataloging BF1-BF refined earthenware.  Denise and Elsie completed cataloging all the BF1-BF glassware!! Yay!  Look back through the blog to see how long they have been working on this.
The artifact of the day probably should have been the last BF-BF1 glass artifact catalogued, but instead we chose this tin-glazed rim sherd.  The almost pastel bands were unusual.

Monday January 12 after a long holiday break nine volunteers met at the Port Tobacco Courthouse.  Of course, we had to catch up on what we had been doing.  Then Esther started planning for weekend dates when we might have public archaeology events and also suggested other clean-up projects for the Port Tobacco Village.  After lunch we split up and got to chose which activity we would like to do.  Evie, Claudia, Malinda, and Kathy went to Burch House to finish processing the few remaining artifacts at Burch House.  Carol and Denise stayed in the Courthouse and continued the processing of refined ceramics recovered from BF1-BF.  Ned, Elsie, and Tim joined Esther to walk the shoreline from the causeway to the place where years ago a wooden casket had eroded into the river.  They wanted to mark the location as a reference for an upcoming river restoration project this spring.    

2025 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Oct-Dec) -- 2025 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Sep) 
  -- 2025 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Apr-Jun) -- 2025 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-Mar)  
2024 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Oct-Dec) --2024 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Sep) 
  --2024 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Apr-Jun)  --2024 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-Mar)
2023 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Dec) --2023 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-June)
2022 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Dec) --2022 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Feb-Jun)
2021 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Mar-Dec)
2020 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Sep-Dec) --2020 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-Mar)
2019 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jul-Dec)   --2019 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-June)
2018 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Dec) --2018 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-June)
2017 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Dec) --2017 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-June)
2016 Public Archaeology Lab Days (July-Dec) --2016 Public Archaeology Lab Days (Jan-June)
2015 Public Archaeology Lab Days

 

Changing Fish Exploitation in the Chesapeake

James Gibb

At the January 15 CCASM Meeting Jim Gibb discussed observations from a soon to be published paper (numerous authors) on the changing fish exploitation in 17th- through 20th-Century Chesapeake Bay.  Four of the sites were sites Jim had worked on, and he discussed how and why the animal remains (not just fish) found showed what people were eating changed over time.

The "fish" research was based on data (102,825 identified fish remains) from 252 assemblage—dating to the 17th through early 20th centuries.  Statistical analyses indicated that the Chesapeake’s fisheries diversified beginning in the 18th century, with migratory and freshwater fish taxa becoming increasingly important.  At the same time, assemblages became more taxonomically homogeneous, reflecting the emergence of a locally adapted regional fishing tradition.

Locations/Dates in Study

 
This research was funded by a grant from the H2020 European Research Council (951649) awarded to Dr. James H. Barrett. Contributors: Thomas C.A. Royle (Lead author), Danielle L. Buss, J. Ryan Kennedy, Erin H. Kunisch, Susan Trevarthen Andrews, April M. Beisaw, Hayden A. Bernard, Joanne Bowen, Gregory J. Brown, James G. Gibb, D. Brad Hatch, and Henry M. Miller.  

James G. Gibb is a Smithsonian Research Associate, is associated with Gibb Archaeological Consulting, and is a founding member of CCASM.

Once again this was a hybrid meeting with most of the people and the speaker attending in person.  Thanks to Jim for allowing us to use his Zoom account, and thanks to Peggy and Natalia for providing the hotspot.   

Before the Meeting Started

Attendance: 14  (3 via Zoom)

Archeology Bingo 2025

Prizes 
on top of Bingo card

At the CCASM December 18 meeting we continued our tradition of having an archaeology game rather than having a speaker.  This year we played Archeology Bingo.  Instead of calling out letters and numbers the caller described an artifact that could be found in Maryland.  If your card had a picture of that artifact, you placed a marker on it.  And you were also encouraged to help your neighbors identify pictures on their cards.  (Nobody needed help identifying the oyster shells.)  And like Bingo when you got five in a row, you had Bingo and got to chose your prize. 

Ned provided the prizes.  He had knapped hearts and a few points from bottle glass.  We played multiple times starting over every time someone got a Bingo.  It turns out all attendees had at least one Bingo.  Below is a photo of all the winners holding up their prizes.  

Winners holding up their Prizes

Attendance: 9  

CCASM obtained information for this game  from the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference Student Committee at the 2019 MAAC Conference.