Learning excavation techniques
When you think about archaeology, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For many of us it might be Indiana Jones or people hunched over pits they've dug up with shovels. While these ideas can help to bring the work of archaeologists into the sphere of common knowledge, they often leave people with misconceptions about how that work is done. Students like myself at the FSJ field school learn several techniques used by professional archaeologists to carefully search for, remove, and study historical artifacts without causing damage to the items or the environment. We also learn how to organize our physical and mental workspaces so that every piece of history we rediscover from the earth is kept as close to its reality as we can get. Every object has a story to tell us, and ensuring we handle every archaeological site with the proper techniques and organizational skills required allows us to learn and grow the collective tale of humanity. A student practicing hand...
