Staff profile
W. Dean Wood, M.A., RPA
Principal archaeologist, co-owner
What do you do at Southern Research?
I am responsible for all the archaeological studies conducted by Southern Research. I help write many of our proposals, scout out new work opportunities, and can even pitch in as a substitute draftsman when things get desperate in the lab. My job requires that I have a clear understanding of what our clients require and expect, that I assign the right people and tools to each job, and that I watch the budget and calendar carefully so that the final product is within budget and on time. No problem! I work with a wonderful group of talented archaeologists and technicians who are available for almost any dirty assignment. I enjoy my job the most when our team’s efforts are responsible for our clients being able to achieve their compliance, research or management goals. Obviously, just getting to be involved in a wide variety of interesting archaeological studies is great too.
How did you become an archaeologist?
I was first exposed to archaeology when I was about nine years old. I was an Army brat living in Izmir, Turkey and became fascinated with the great ruins of all the many ancient cultures that were preserved everywhere. I frequented the nearby City Museum and never tired of discovering so many neat things (like real mummies) from thousands of years ago. My parents loved to travel to remote, off the beaten trail places so I was also exposed to the cultural richness of multi-ethnic, western Turkey and the love of anthropology was probably born in me then. Shortly after arriving back in Georgia from overseas, I had an opportunity as a Boy Scout to volunteer for an archaeology dig near Chatsworth, Georgia. This was 1963 and the work was being conducted by the University of Georgia (UGA) under the direction of Dr. Arthur R. (Doc) Kelly. We Boy Scouts got to surface collect a field and help dig the plow zone from a Mississippian platform mound with only three UGA graduate students to supervise. We were more trouble than they expected I am sure, and probably not worth the effort but it introduced me to a very different kind of archaeology!
What led you to work for Southern Research?
I graduated in 1972 from West Georgia College with a B. A. degree in anthropology and two months later married Kay Green. In the early 1970’s, I had the opportunity to work on the Wallace Reservoir Mitigation project while a graduate student at UGA. I graduated with a M. A. in anthropology from UGA in 1979. I landed a job with an environmental consulting firm in Athens, Georgia called Southeastern Wildlife Services (SWS). At SWS I developed a cultural resources branch of the company and worked on many archaeological studies (including data recovery on six sites in the Richard Russell Reservoir) from1979 to 1983. In 1983, Tom Gresham, Chad Braley and I opened our own company, Southeastern Archeological Services (SAS). I served as President for eight years before saying goodbye to my friends and leaving for a once in a life time opportunity to work at Fort Benning, Home of the Infantry and my home many times as an Army brat. In 1993, Kay asked me to help her with her increasing work load at her new company, Southern Research. I jumped at the opportunity and here I am today, doing what I enjoy. After work, I try to spend as much time as possible driving and tinkering with a 1974 MGB roadster (last of the chrome bumpers), fishing, and gardening. And every once in a while, I beat on the old slant six drum kit just like it was 1987 at the Charleston SEAC.
What's the neatest thing you ever found?
The neatest thing I ever found was the Creek Indian settlement Upatoi Town. In 1980, my friend and colleague Chad Braley predicted that this 18th and early 19th century farming settlement would be located in a remote location on the Fort Benning Military Reservation. Upatoi Town was an outlying settlement of Creek Indians originating from the mother town of Kasita. In 1991, while serving as the Fort Benning archaeologist, I had the opportunity to go to the spot where Chad predicted the town should be and searched all the exposed road beds and fire breaks I could find looking for clues. I soon picked up two Creek Indian pot sherds and a piece of 18th century bottle glass in a dirt road bed and realized I had located Upatoi Town on the ground. It almost seemed too easy but Chad was right on with his prediction. Subsequent surveys and test excavations recorded over 30 Creek Indian farmsteads in the area dating to the 1790s and early 1800s.