Academic Affairs. Dean, College Of Liberal Arts And Sciences. Department Of Anthropology (University Of Maine) Records
Scope and Contents
The records mainly contain textual information and photographic material created by Professor Alaric Faulkner and his survey teams. The record group also includes cartographic material, cassette tapes, and some computer discs and audio visual material.
The records series Class Slides includes slides both from presentations and classes Faulkner taught on archaeological techniques and specific sites of archeological interest.
The Archaeological Publications series includes copies of various article, reports, and theses on archaeological surveys in Maine and across the country. There is a mixture of material authored by Faulkner (including publications from his time in the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology) and by colleagues at other academic institutions. There are copies of student papers including on Pentagoet and Castine, mostly from students in Faulkner’s University of Maine class: ANT 374 Laboratory Analysis of Historic Artifacts. There are also some archaeology publications published by groups at the University of Maine.
The record series Administrative Records includes material related to the administration of the University of Maine’s Department of Anthropology, includes a proposal for a graduate study in historical archaeology, details of Faulkner’s appointment as Historical Archaeologist at the University of Maine in 1978, and a report by Faulkner on his activities from 1984-1985.
The various survey record series include: project proposals, crew lists, artifacts sheets, field notes and data, lists of field team members, reports on the results of the surveys to funding bodies and in the case of student's papers for classes, maps & plans, photographs of artifacts, features, and survey teams, facsimiles of research both primary and secondary sources, reference material, publicity material, photographs, and material used in articles and publications.
Dates
- Creation: 1962-2006
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1978-1995
Creator
- University of Maine. Department of Anthropology (Organization)
- Faulkner, Alaric, 1945-2011 (Person)
- Maine Historic Preservation Commission (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This record group is restricted with permission granted through the Maine Historic Preservation Commission; please contact the Special Collections Department for details.
Conditions Governing Use
Information on literary rights available in the Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department.
Biographical / Historical
Alaric Faulkner was born January 12, 1945, in Peterborough, N.H. After graduating from Milton Academy in 1963 and from Harvard University in 1967. He received a doctorate in anthropology from Washington State University in 1972. From 1970 to 1978, he taught anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Faulkner came to the University of Maine in 1978 as the University's first Historical Archaeologist. The role was created to promote historical archeological research and scholarship in Maine, train students in field work and analysis for eventual careers in the field, and assist in the stewardship of historical archaeological sites within Maine and the region. Up until 1984, half of the costs of Faulkner’s position was born by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. From 1984 onwards Faulkner’s costs were paid by the University of Maine. Faulkner would eventually be awarded tenure and would retire with emeritus status in 2008. Faulkner died in 2011 at the age of 66.
The material in this record group document numerous archaeological surveys and excavations carried out by Faulkner, colleagues, and students in particular at Fort St. George and St. George River, Witherle Woods (Castine), St. Castin (Castine) Habitation, Fort Hill (Veazie), Damariscove Island (Boothbay), and Fort Pentagoet (Castine). Faulkner and colleagues also mapped the Canada Road. Faulkner published widely on his work including "The French at Pentagoet, 1635-1674: An Archaeological Portrait of the Acadian Frontier." which he co-authored with his wife and long-term collaborator Gretchen Fearon Faulkner, Director of the University of Maine's Hudson Museum. The following are historical contexts for Faulkner's major surveys (those with their own record series):
Canada Road Survey, this survey began in 1993 and was carried out by Faulkner and Barry Rodrigue with support by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and involved identifying and inventorying new archaeological sites to better understand the 19th century frontier region between Maine and Quebec.
St. George River, there were four surveys carried out here by Faulkner from 1997-2000. The focus of the 2000 survey was the English resettlement which began in earnest in 1720. As part of the 1998-1999 surveys the Richard Foxwell House was excavated by the University of Maine and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. The House is along the St. George River ME 111-03 and was a 17th century trading house owned by Richard Foxwell, a trader from Dorchester, Massachusetts. In 2001, Faulkner carried out a survey of Fort St. George with funding support from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. Fort St. George was the principle installation of the Popham Colony.
Witherle Woods (Castine) survey, these surveys were carried out by Faulkner for the Town of Castine from 2001-2005 with the aim of studying archaeological remains to identify the locations of the defensive features from the 17th through 19th centuries and determine whether any surface indications remained.
St. Castin Habitation survey, from 1984-1996 Faulkner and others surveyed the habitation of St. Castin on the Bagaduce River looking for locations of the settlements there from the late 17th century Acadian and Etchemin Indian village in Castine.
Fort Hill in Veazie study, from 1987-1988 Faulkner led a University of Maine field study in Veazie to investigate suspected prehistoric and historic archaeological resources on a proposed site of a wastewater treatment facility including at Fort Hill along the shore of the Penobscot River.
Fort Pentogoet in Castine survey, Faulkner led surveys of an early Acadian site from 1980-1985 to determine how much of the fort still remained. The 1982, 1983, and 1984 surveys were primarily funded by an $85,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities and also smaller amounts from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission who had also supported the 1980 and 1981 surveys.
Damariscove Island survey, from 1979-1980 Faulkner surveyed the Island with financial support from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and the Nature Conservancy. The purpose of the survey was to locate and identify historical sites and included extensive research on marine resources and the history of the Island in particular the Poole Family.
The survey on Arrowsic Island of sites used by Clark and Lake Company in the 17th century was carried out by Faulkner and students in 1981-1983. The University of Maine also housed artifacts recovered by Harold Brown of Bath Marine Museum.
Extent
20 boxes (20 linear feet)
9 map drawers
7 boxes (Photograph boxes)
1 box (Large photograph box)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The Records Group is broken down intellectually into the following record series: 1. Alaric Faulkner's Class Slides 2. Archaeological Publications, 3. Administrative Records, 4. Canada Road Survey Records, 5. ME 432-002 St. George River & Fort Survey Records, 6. ME 084-026 Witherle Woods (Castine) Survey Records, 7. ME 084-008 St. Castin (Castine) Habitation Survey Records, 8. ME 446-05 Fort Hill (Veazie) Study Records, 9. ME 084-3 Fort Pentagoet (Castine) Survey Records, 10. ME 046-1 Damariscove Island (Boothbay) Survey Records, 11. Maine Site Records, and 12. ME 015-1 Clark & Lake/Arrowsic Survey Records. Faulkner's major surveys have their own record series because of the quantity of material and for ease of identification, other surveys which are less documented are both intellectually and physically arranged together in the record series "Maine Site Records" by geographic location.
Physically the material is arranged by subject, which for the most part is the geographic location of the survey, the exceptions are photographs, slides, and maps which for ease of storage are filed by material type and secondary arranged by geographic location. Material was separated and divided into multiple sub-folders where necessary and rehoused into archival quality storage.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The records were transferred to Raymond H. Fogler Library's Special Collections Department by Gretchen F. Faulkner with the approval of Gregory Zaro, Associate Professor and Chair of the University of Maine's Department of Anthropology. Accessions #2016-0616 and #2017-03-30 included site records stored by the Department of Anthropology in South Stevens and some material from the home of Gretchen F. Faulkner. Accession #2016-12-07 included maps and plans stored by the Department of Anthropology in South Stevens.
Appraisal
The processing archivist appraised the records and destroyed duplicate and damaged copies of items and blank sheets. Material not considered appropriate for permanent retention in Fogler Library’s Special Collections were destroyed, including: financial information regarding surveys, miscellaneous correspondence, conference booklets, travel claims and expenses, reference material regarding archeological techniques and non-Maine sites, applications from students to be part of field teams, and material not related to Maine including Jamestown, visits overseas, and Faulkner projects carried out prior to his employment at UMaine, particularly in Newburyport, MA.
Accruals
Accruals from the University of Maine Department Of Anthropology are anticipated.
General
Box number 9 was skipped.
Processing Information
Processed by Matthew Revitt, July-August 2017, Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department. Processing involved a collection survey and intellectual arrangement into series and the creation of this finding aid. Material was rehoused into appropriate archival containers and the boxes and folders numbered and titled using information from ArchivesSpace.
Source
- Faulkner, Gretchen Fearon (Person)
Genre / Form
- Articles
- Artifacts
- Black-and-white photographs
- Clippings
- Correspondence
- Field notes
- Photographs
- Records
- Reports
- Site plans
- Slides (photographs)
Geographic
- Canada -- History
- Castine (Me.)
- Castine (Me.) -- History
- Damariscove Island (Me.)
- Fort Hill (Me. : Fort)
- Maine -- Antiquities
- Maine -- Boundaries -- Québec (Province)
- Maine -- History
- Maine -- Maps
- Pentagoet Fort Site (Castine, Me.)
- Saint George (Me.) -- History
- Veazie (Me.)
- Witherle Woods (Castine, Me.)
Topical
- Title
- University Of Maine. Department Of Anthropology Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Matthew Revitt
- Date
- January 19, 2017
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Raymond H. Fogler Library University Archives Repository
5729 Raymond H. Fogler Library
University of Maine
Orono ME 04469-5729 United States
207-581-1686