iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

I was invited to give a presentation on my research at the Arkansas Training Program held at Plum Bayou Mounds yesterday. It was great to see members of the public being able to take part of an excavation and learn skills used by archaeologists.

031

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

I've had an excellent weekend at the Caddo/Louisiana Archaeological conference. Saw some amazing archaeology, watched two of my students present, began setting up an internship, collaborated and danced with Caddo Nation, and got to catch up with friends.

020

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Apologies I haven't been on this platform much. I have been busy finishing my dissertation (defense is next month) and my 2nd semester of being a professor. Will share my research soon. I will also be attending the Caddo/LAS meeting but won't be presenting. Decided to help students so they can.

030

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

I don't and would love a copy

000

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

I'm running the results of the pXRF now between materials from the Ouachita and NW Arkansas. Hoping in the future to do LA-ICP-MS on the samples as well.

110

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

Johns Valley Chert. Still trying to figure out the best way to visualize it for publication. So, I welcome any feedback. A) 0x, B) 40x, C) 200x, D) 40x Infrared, E) 200x Infrared, F) 40x UV, G) 200x UV

010

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

There is actually a chapter of the Arkansas Archaeological Society in Russellville. Most of the officers are actually students at Arkansas Tech. So there will be a lot of events and collaboration with them.

020

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

I think this is a great idea. Before I started I went to local bookstores looking for a book about the history of Russellville but sadly there wasn't one. There are some buildings on the NRHP that would be cool to highlight to start.

110

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

As part of my new position at ATU, I am directing the Center for Heritage and Culture. The webpage will be for the public. I want to include info about research projects (broader topics) & highlight student projects (conference presentations, etc.). What else can I share on there?

151

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

This was found during one of my stone sourcing field studies. It's a mix of Potato Hills Chert & quartzite/silicified sandstone. Examining artifacts as part of my diss, I have found one biface with a mix of chert & quartzite. The stem was quartzite while the blade was chert.

050

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

2/2 questions related to stone acquisition strategies, trade, mobility, and more. This is one of the first times this has been successful within the same formation.

010

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

1/ These pics may not seem like a big deal but it is in my research area. XRF results of two different raw material (stone) types that have been difficult to distinguish. These results were repeated on different specimens each examined 3 times. This can be repeated to address-

130

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Which journal will it be coming out for?

100

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Taking photos of different lithic raw materials, followed by more pXRF tonight and tomorrow.

040

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

Working on a chapter of my diss. An extensive part of it is about stone sourcing - including pXRF and tracing fluvial deposits to see where & how cobbles are being transported. This goes in distinguishing between if some were traded or locally available.

010

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

Now that it's official, I want to share that I have accepted an Assistant Professor position at Arkansas Tech University. I'm looking forward to preparing students for careers in CRM and directing the Center for Heritage and Culture to continue my research in the southeast.

051

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

The field school excavations at Spiro have come to an end. I wasn't able to excavate this year, but was able to visit several times and do some artifact identification. These are some photos from the field school but you can check out more at: www.facebook.com/share/16QWWF...

020

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

There is a bird nest on the porch. This little one fell and was hiding behind a box that got delivered today. They are fine and back in the nest now.

031

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

I will look into this. Maybe make a public presentation and can share data as it comes in with everyone

120

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Wood charcoal (and matrix) from the site I excavated as part of my dissertation. Unfortunately, due to the situation with federal grants, I won't be able to get it dated.

171

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Conducted some fieldwork today. Goal was to determine the level of disturbance (from looting) at the boundaries of the site. Recovered a lot of debitage and a biface fragment - based on fracture it was damaged during biface reduction.

040

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Using pXRF today to look at stone sourcing and lithic acquisition strategies.

150

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Here is an example of Potato Hills Chert. This high-quality material with vibrant colors has a very limited source range. This material isn't highly traded, but instead seems restricted to groups in a particular river valley. My dissertation looks into why this might be.

030

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

I am doing Bayesian statistics this weekend. It's been said that there was a 150-200 yr gap where FM people stopped using a site type and then returned with pottery. Have ~200 C14 dates from 13 sites to see if that holds up. #ChangingtheNarrative

040

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

Oh wow. I'll keep you updated and share when/if there is a news article about it.

010

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

I will look. I've been following it on Reddit because a user had asked what to do with the bag he found from his family. I'm sure there will be a news article about it soon. It's similar to the Edens Bluff seed bag.

120

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

Really exciting news from the Ozarks! A bag of seeds dating to the Pre-Contact Period in North America was found and donated to the University of Arkansas museum. Absolutely amazing find and you can read more about it here: www.reddit.com/r/missouri/c...

reddit.com

UPDATE: The Ancient Ozark Mountain Seed Bag

27316

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Watch the Zahi episode while I am doing Bayesian statistics this weekend. It's been said that there was a 150-200 yr gap where FM people stopped using a site type and then returned with pottery. Have ~200 C14 dates from 13 sites to see if that holds up. #ChangingtheNarrative

000

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Chase Earles is a Caddo potter. He makes traditional Caddo pottery, but he also makes some amazing pieces that mix traditional Native American themes with modern pop culture. Here are a few pieces he did. You can follow his page at: facebook.com/caddopottery

1115

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Will have a YT short out this week (~3min video). Its just some of the archaeological process. The hope is to demonstrate some of the process & allow people to ask questions along the way. In the future, I am making a full series on an excavation of my family's site (historic).

010

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Went to visit local landowners and survey areas for sites on their property. Located petroglyphs and black earth. Can't share photos of sites or artifacts but here selfie from me hanging sideways from a tree to get a photo of some erosion occurring.

050

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Excited for this tonight. The event is open to anyone interested in attending!

121

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

All moved into the new house. Still have a lot to unpack. Hoping to get back to working on my dissertation research soon.

020

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

This event is open to the public.

000

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

The SAC will be hosting the first of our speaker series on March 10th at 5pm central/6pm eastern with Dr. Andrew Johnson! He is the lead historian for the new Civilization game! Register here: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/097f5a...

210

Reposted by JT Lewis

James Green @archeaids.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

We'd informed a few people, such as the State Archaeologist, about the specific point type (Evans) of which we were initiating a morphological study but kept it quite so nobody could rush in & do a quick study ahead of us. That was why formally making an announcement at the meeting was important.

Color illustrations of 10 Evans points with 5 different stem designs.

2153

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

Also happy to answer any questions people may have! This is the early stages of analysis, so it was more about identifying topics for research questions. Things like: (1) Why did these changes occur and (2) How could I identify them in the archaeological record?

000

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

3/3 ecological practices. Another shifted settlement patterns changing likely do to particular kinship groups gaining power during the Middle and Late Woodland Periods in west Mississippi. Early (Orange), Middle (Red), Late (Blue) Woodland.

240

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

2/ analysis. Among each group, sites became more dispersed and less clustered going from the Late Archaic to Early Woodland. Based on other analysis, this is what I would expect. Large exchange networks tied to Poverty Point began to break down and communities shifted social and

120

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

1/ As promised, key topics from the paper I gave this past weekend. I examined settlement patterns in the Pine Hills of Mississippi. Cluster analysis identified 5 distinct groups from the Late Archaic to Late Woodland Period. In this, I did initial density, ecological, and social

171

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Process of using ArcGIS for archaeological research: 1-3 hours of data clean-up 8-12 hours of troubleshooting why the geoprocessing tools won't work 2 minutes to run analysis

080

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Have a few YT shorts coming. I talk/show some of the objects found during the fieldwork and & how it relates to my research. Will hopefully have those out soon. Still plan on doing my other video about common alt history questions & my opinions but in the process of moving.

020

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

Had a great talk yesterday with one of the guys about my new ISP. Guy liked Ed Barnhart and we had an amazing talk about the archaeology of the Americas. Guy was super excited to ask questions. Love that kind of enthusiasm. Keeps me wanting to do public engagement.

050

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Fieldwork went well this weekend and we identified features. Was able to include private landowners, university faculty, OAS archaeologists, tribal members, and locals into the fieldwork and helping highlight the importance of the work being done.

190

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Signed a new lease today. Not quite the small town I was hoping for in OK but it's a good place to be the next year and I get to live with my wife, so that's a plus.

020

Reposted by JT Lewis

Matthew T. Boulanger @mtbarchaeology.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Tim Perttula long-time North Texas archaeologist, consultant for the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, uncompromising perfectionist, and good friend, died this week. Can't think of a better tribute to him than to say: This is a reminder to all you archaeologists out there to FINISH YOUR DAMNED REPORTS!

Photograph of Tim Perttula and Jim Bruseth walking back to their truck at the end of a project.

0111

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

I don't believe it's listed. I will see if I can find out more and share it.

010

JT Lewis @jtlewis.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

The last few days archaeology and Native American studies lost some champions in the field. RIP Lance Foster and Tim Perttula.

040