Dr. Paul Patton
Dr. Paul E. Patton, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, presented a program about archaeological excavations in Athens County for the OhioHealth O’Bleness SeniorBEAT history group in October.
Patton is director of the OHIO Archaeological Field School. Since its founding in 1986, the Field School in Ohio Archaeology has excavated over a dozen prehistoric Native American habitation sites in the Hocking Valley.
He discussed changes in Native American cultures, subsistence, and social organization in the region. His current research focuses on archaeobotany and human-environment interrelationships. This summer Patton is working in collaboration with the Wayne National Forest to identify and excavate Woodland Period hamlets in the Hocking Valley to better understand the establishment of these early sedentary communities.
“I enjoy presentations to community members as they always demonstrate a great desire to know more about the history of our region,” Patton says. “I think it’s one of the most important things we can do as archaeologists, offer a sense of place concerning the cultures that once lived here.”
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