Students at Oklahoma State University are unearthing the remains of an 18th century Native American village that contains artifacts of early American French traders. The Bryson-Paddock site is located along the Arkansas River near Newkirk.
"This summer program gives our students first-hand experience in the techniques of surveying, remote sensing, lab processing, and mapping techniques," said Stephen Perkins, an assistant professor of sociology at OSU.
"In addition to the learning experience the students have a real opportunity to uncover items from the past that are important to our Native American history and the history of Oklahoma," he said.
The dig is part of the summer 2008 Archeological Field School which is a collaboration of the OSU Sociology Department and the Oklahoma Archeological Survey at the University of Oklahoma.
Excavations of the 18th century Wichita village were first conducted in 1926 and have been taking place periodically since. According to historians, it is one of the earliest Wichita sites in Oklahoma that had extensive contact with Europeans.