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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 1994)
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Huntley, Inc. 313 B. South College Ave. College Station, TX 77840 409-846-8905 Texas Residents add 8.25% Sales Tax Shipping: $10 2nd Bay UPS TOTAL Page 2 • Th e Battalion FRONTIERS Monday • December) Monday A&M archaeology dept, discovering more than just bones, arrowheads By Katherine Arnold The Battalion While students dig through the library for research materi al, archaeologists at Texas A&M have to dig a bit deeper for their research. Archaeology is within the de partment of anthropology. The department was started in 1971 by Dr. Vaughn Bryant, who is currently professor and head of anthropology. The program is considered young compared to other well-es tablished departments within the University, Bryant said. But the Texas A&M department of anthropology was recently named in the top 10 most im proved anthropology depart ments in the United States. "We study the interactions be tween humans and their past,” Dr. Alston Thoms, acting direc tor of the Center for Environ mental Archaeology, said. “We teract with American Indian tribes in the area. Texas A&M archaeology stu dents are currently working in the Medina Valley south of San Antonio. The actual site is buried 30 feet below the surface. Re searchers have been able to find artifacts from 9,000 years ago. Archaeologists usually do not choose their sites, Thoms said. “Anytime there are plans to build on federal land, the land must be surveyed first to make sure an important area of study is not lost to the construction of roads or buildings,” Thoms said. Discoveries are not always revolutionary, Thoms said. “If you’re looking for the equiv alent of the discovery of King Tuts tomb in Texas, it’s just not going to happen,” Thoms said. “But we gain important informa tion from what we do find.” Bryant devotes much of his research to the study of prehis- "We study the interactions between humans and their past. We can look at things such as resources used and how primitive cultures coped with change." — Dr. Alston Thoms, acting director of the Center for Environmental Archaeology can look at things such as re sources used and how primitive cultures coped with change.” The department has several areas of specialty. Environmen tal archaeology is an important part of any archaeology depart ment, Bryant said. “Environmental archaeology is designed to teach students to do more than dig,” Bryant said. “We look at the environment of the site, the sedimentation and how the site was formed.” Other areas which archaeolo gists specialize in include: zooarchaeology, which tells an thropologists what animals cul tures hunted and domesticated; paleoethnobotany, which exam ines plant life, wood samples and dietary patterns of our primitive ancestors; or nautical archaeology, which examines ar tifacts found in bodies of water. Texas A&M is the only uni versity in the world that offers a Ph.D. program with a specialty in nautical archaeology. The archaeology department was the co-sponsor of a field school last year. Students dug at sites in the northern Rocky Mountains, and were able to in- toric diets. “The remains and artifacts we find tell us a lot about the diets of prehistoric cultures,” Bryant said. “For example, we know that no culture ever had more than 20 to 25 percent of calories come from fat. The average American consumes 40 to 45 percent fat calories.” Prehistoric cultures also con sumed less salt and sugar than we do, Bryant said. “Our prehistoric ancestors were very healthy,” Bryant said. “Even the elderly had a great deal of stamina and strength.” Much of the information gath ered through archaeological study is used to add details to history, Bryant said. “We are able to reconstruct historical records with the infor mation we find,” Bryant said. “Sometimes we make a discovery that can be used to set the record straight.” Gathering this type of infor mation and using it for research shows how much archaeology has grown, Bryant said. “Archaeology isn’t just look ing for arrowheads anymore,” he said. Santa Says... Open until 8 p.m. every Thursday until Christmas, with 6 p.m. Christmas light tours! Don’tgo home without taking a piece of the Brazos VaJJey with you. Afessina Hof Winery has gifts for eveiyone on your "good"list, along with free Texas Countiy Christmas tours to put you m the holiday spirit. Ties and slippers are old hat... Visit Messina Hof for gifts that can 7 Jose. (409)77$- WINE CONTACT LENSES ONLY QUALITY NAME BRANDS (Bausch &; Lomb, Ciba, Barnes-Hind-Hydrocurve) Disposable Contact Lenses Available $118°° TOTAL COST...includes $ EYE EXAM, FREE ALCON OPTI-FREE CARE KIT, AND TWO PAIR OF STANDARD FLEXIBLE WEAR SOFT CONTACT LENSES. 149 00 TOTAL COST.. .INCLUDES EYE EXAM, FREE ALCON OPTI-FREE CARE KIT, AND FOUR PAIR OF STANDARD FLEXIBLE WEAR SOFT CONTACT LENSES. SAME DAY DELIVERY ON MOST LENSES. Call 846-0377 for Appointment CHARLES C. SCHROEPPEL, O.D., PC. DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY 505 University Dr. East, Suite 101 College Station, TX 77840 4 Blocks East of Texas Ave. & University Dr. Intersection Reformulated gasoline A cleaner burning, more expensive gasoline will be introduced in the U S. by the end of the year. It will be implemented In all of Connecticut, Delaware. Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island, and In regions of 12 other states. 1 w ' ' .-.C.',-.'' ■ ' ar Texas | N/*\ \ ... . * includes Washington, D.C.| Source: American Petroleum Institute Tree disease spreading quid! through Texas, experts say DALLAS (AP) — Eugene Gehring of the Texas Forest Ser vice has been forced to break the sad news again and again: Someone’s tree has oak wilt, an infectious disease for which there is no cure. And while oaks aren’t consid ered affectionate beings, learn ing of your favorite tree’s im pending doom can be sad. “I’ve actually had more than one lady that tears started welling in their eyes,” Gehring said. “And I’ve seen grown men get very emotional as well.” Gehring, a staff forester who works in Austin, said the prob lem has become an epidemic. Oak wilt, first identified in Texas 30 years ago, has accelerat ed in recent years and is now found in about 55 Texas counties. WIL1N Last m< tions di Democr [pitol elei Jawar of millio ties abai itmen In fac related. The Congres York an ■ve tht into eff pute. A million doned ii million unclaim Delav t|at m Supremt er state tion in ( of those Delav ing to er sti litigatio money ti “It’s like a slow-movingf(| fire,” said Ron Billings,] entomologist with theFoi Service. “That’s what were: ing to contain.” The first Texas case wasfl Rep. ported in Dallas, but thesfeel., sai now hardest hit is the:■ “We’r Country near Austin. Morelirj Wasl 10,000 trees have died inAiisftbrre’s and countless more have die: many fi surrounding rural areas, a® the dike ing to the Forest Service, will be p ‘‘Tremendous acreage:|}OP age been decimated,” said Jerrall 100 days Johnson, of the plant pathoil Accor and microbiology departamattornej Texas A&M University, for the Red oaks are the most'Mould ceptible trees. An establish:month, 1 tree can die in seven to 10ii ipate ad after exhibiting symptoi Johnson said. The e complic !&me to when th HIV worldwide Cdr A record 3 million people caught the AIDS virus during thepastye? bvestrr Estimated distribution of total adult MIV infections from late B tooney 1970s/early 1980s until mid-1994: TOTAL: about 17 mioo irokerag The c ty belon the ins funds is many ca Latin America $ the Caribbean 2 million Eastern Europe & Central Asia 50,000 + , | New 'vJbeen cl Cause n East Asia & PaciS: re p aS( 50,000 Billed t yT romisii South & Southeast^ |" n , <)VC 2 5 mill*. Sub-Saharan Africa 10 million + Australia 25,000 + Source. World Health Organization MSC Committee fortheAwanenessd MexicarhAmerican Culture f Presents 1 opposing views and roundtable discussions of Proposition 187 illegalizing public education to illegal immigrants in the ste r ork, a Million t That’ egan t e wine They ion tha wher |ued th gtock is Dela l , each a i other s' those ta and k and service state of Calif off Texas A&M University MSC 226 December 5 7:00 pm Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs We request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the betofK* The Dai i ai ionj BELINDA BLANCARTE, Editor in chief MARK EVANS, Managing editor HEATHER WINCH, Night News editor MARK SMITH, Night News editor KIM McGUIRE, City editor JENNY MAGEE, Opinion editor STEWART MILNE, Photo editor DAVE WINDER, Sports editor ROB CLARK, Aggielife editor Staff Members City desk— Jan Higginbotham, Katherine Arnold, Michele Brinkmann, Stephanie Dube, Fowle, Melissa Jacobs, Amy Lee, Lisa Messer, Tracy Smith and Kari Whitley News desk— Robin Greathouse, Sterling Hayman, Jody Holley, Shafi Islam, Tiffany Moore.l Stanton, Zachary Toups and James Vineyard Photographers— Tim Moog, Amy Browning, Robyn Calloway,.Stacey Cameron, BlakeC# Gina Painton, Nick Rodnicki and Carrie Thompson Aggielife— Margaret Claughton, Jeremy Keddie, Constance Parten and Haley Stavinoha Sports writers— Nick Georgandis, Kristina Buffin, Tom Day, Drew Diener, Stewart Doreen‘• Jason Holstead Opinion desk— Lynn Booher, Josef Elchanan, Laura Frnka, Aja Henderson, Erin Hill, Jeremy Keddie, Michael Landauer, Melissa Megliola, George Nasr, Elizabeth P^e^t |,,, Gerardo Quezada and Frank Stanford Cartoonists— Greg Argo, Brad Graeber, Alvaro Gutierrez and Quatro Oakley Office Assistants— Heather Fitch, Adam Hill, Karen Hoffman and Michelle Oleson Seik The Battalion (USPS 045-360) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall andspn'f semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer sessions (except University hottr exam periods), at Texas A&M University. 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