Sifting throught the past

Mississippi State archaeologist John O'Hear, kneeling, sorts through some of the materials workers are finding in the cellar they are excavating near Ridgeland. O'Hear is leading a team of archaeologists and anthropologists in digging at the site of the U.S. Government Agency to the Choctaw Indians, 1807-1821, on the old Natchez Trace. Jim Atkinson, seated, is the National Park Service representative and consultant for the project. Nicole Lantz of Birmingham, Ala., rear, is one of 12 Mississippi State anthropology students working on the dig.