Rain hinders dig but students keep in good spirits
Every week students involved in the archaeological excavation will be submitting their own account as to how things are going. Readers will have an opportunity to follow along as they unearth pieces of history.
Gina Carroll
During the past two weeks, I have learned to love charcoal. While this strange affection may be lost on all but BBQ aficionados, I can assure you that as an archaeology student, your first real find becomes incredibly dear to your heart. I spent the first few weeks digging through a more or less sterile unit, hoping and praying that my next level would contain something, anything, other than nearly invisible charcoal flecks. Bones, beads, maybe a crystal skull or two…THOSE were the things I so desperately wanted to find.
As I dug deeper and deeper however, I began to see how charcoal could be just as exciting and informative as other, “more interesting”, artifacts, ecofacts, and features. This was proven when I opened my new unit, and discovered a rather dense, deep charcoal stain. The location, density, and depth of the charcoal stain all tell a story…one that is waiting to be interpreted and placed in the grander scheme of things. While my charcoal stain is probably not going to revolutionize the world of archaeology, it has certainly revolutionized my attitude towards all those artifacts I deemed uninteresting.
Just because you don’t find a lost civilization, the missing link in the evolutionary past of Homo sapiens sapiens, or the Rosetta stone of yet indecipherable ancient scripts, doesn’t mean you aren’t doing, and learning something important.
Kaelyn Michayluk
Week 2:
Once we all got the hang of excavation techniques and a better feel for using the trowels, everyone was looking forward to our second week of excavation. Unfortunately, with the rain we were unable to excavate. Instead we used the time to learn more about the history of the site as well as excavation techniques and various aspects of archaeology that are more valuable now that we have field experience.
Week 3:
After a week of being unable to excavate I was ready to jump in and really make some headway with my unit. I opened two new units, bringing my total to three units for the field season so far. The last unit I opened has been quite exciting with the find of a bead, which is always something interesting. Anything beyond charcoal, unmodified lithics, and small bone fragments gets everyone excited! This week also involved intense practice and use of the Total Station, which is used to survey and take accurate points of the artifacts found in our units. The end goal of practicing with the Total Stations is to be able to set them up in under five minutes, which is no small feat. Trying to level the machine and enter the correct information that quickly can be difficult but everyone is getting the hang of it!