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Major archaeological study planned
By WAYNF, DUCOMB JR.
In about three weeks, a select number of Bay St. Iouis and Pass Christian residents will receive an archaeological survey questionnaire-Dr. F. Barry I .ewis?a 1965 Bay Senior High School graduate, former Waveland resident and assistant professor in	the	Anthropology
Department at University of Illinois in Urbana?will be sending the survey s to 510 Bay St. I .ouis and 240 Pass (....istsan residents.
The survey is being financed by a ed Hrant? from the university for a ?ssible major	local	archaeological
project in the Bay area.
Lewis noted	only	one other ar-
chaeological study, conducted in Ken tucky some 50 years ago, has used a n^-l survey technique to gather preliminary site information.
?Tlie overall goal is to describe and interp.ret the changing patterns of past human adaptations to an estuarine lment on	the	northern Gulf
?I^wis stated recently, reposed research is the first
stage of a larger study," he noted.
?The results of this initial stage will provide the data needed for the construction of a cultural chronology for this region and a strong base for proposals to external funding agencies for support of subsequent research stages,? I^ewis explained.
The university?s seed grant for the first stage research is $5,646.
Lewis said compared to studies undertaken in surrounding states, very
Tides
DAY	HIGH	LOW
	WEEK OF 2-15-81	
Sun.	9:17 p.m.	8:08 a.m.
Mm.	10:09 p.m.	8:58a.m.
Tues.	11:05 p.m.	9:42a.m.
Wed.	ll;50.pjm.	10:14 a.m.
Thurs.		?lfr :59 a.m.
Fri.	12:40 a.m.	11:21 a.m.
Sat.	1:29 a.m.	11:29 a.m.
Sun.	1:40 a.m.	10:47 a.m.
	3:19 p.m.	9:15 p.m.
little archaeological information is available regarding Indian and European settlements along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
?I have a personal committment to this study because I?ve lived in the area. This is also an opportunity for me to do a project which is fun and at the same time provide archaeological information about the Northern Gulf Coast,? he noted.
?Most investigators infer the Mississippi Gulf Coast was an important transition area between cultural traditions and stylistic complexes which originated in the I,ower Mississippi Alluvial Valley to the west and in the different, but con-' teinporaneous traditions of northwestern Florida and Alabama to the ' east,? th^ researcher explained.
?The Mississippi coast was also the site of the earliest European settlements along the Northern Gulf at the end of the 17th Century and played an important role in the colonization of the
STUDY?Page 5A
MAP OF SURVEY AREAS?An upcoming archaeological survey in the Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian areas consists of five study regions. Dr. R. Barry Lewis of University of Illinois Anthropology Department lists No. 1 as an extinct beach ridge which lies to either side of the mouth of the Bay of St. Louis which has been the focus of settlement over the past three centuries; No. 2 as ?prairie flats?, a low-lying pine savanna which has recently come under development for vacation ho-
me lots; No. 3 as mouths and adjacent shorelines of Bayou Portage, Jourdan and Wolf Rivers; No. 4 as the northern shore of the bay, a homogeneous strip of marsh and pine forest which increases rapidly in elevation to the north; and No. 5 as the bay itself where sea level changes over the past few thousand years have permanently submerged old shorelines and several known archaeological sites.	,	.