NEH Archaeology Camp - Week 2 Highlights: July 23-30, 2011

Field, Lab, and "Durango in a Day"

My weekend started on Friday, and what a fabulous weekend it was! Lab and Field called out to us Friday --   we teachers answered with a resounding "wahoo", but ended with a loud sigh followed by passing out from exhaustion. I really loved working in the field. My group went out in the morning and got right in the trenches excavating in the dirt and finding artifacts. I didn't find anything that would change what it means to be human, but I did find several pieces of pottery sherds, which I'll be honest, looked a lot like the smooth-planed sandstone rocks to me -- guess I don't have that trained eye yet. By the way, I learned broken pottery pieces are called sherds and broken glass pieces are called shards! It was hard work being out in the blazing hot sun for three hours without shade, but on the other hand, it didn't feel like a  long time either because the thought of "discovering something" was exciting. I was surprised when they called for us to load back up in the van. We were working right out in nature and yes, I did stumble across a few critters--a field mouse, a few lizards, and I regret to inform you that I did disturb a whole colony of ants, who truly did not appreciate me digging up their home. 

That afternoon we did lab work, which I found just as interesting as the "digging" field work! The lecture was great -- we learned about dendrochronology, dating with tree rings. It was all about finding patterns in the rings, and I love patterns. I would not, however, want to be a dendrochronologist. That seems like a lot of sitting and monotony - I love interacting with students as part of my daily job - I would not like to be hermited away in a lab somewhere.  I enjoyed using the "high tech exfoiliation tools" to scrub down the collected pottery sherds.  Ok, so they were toothbrushes and plain water- but it was fun to gently scrub away the soil to reveal painted patterns.  I love "Mesa Verde" type black on white designs, followed by the "Redware" type of pottery that was traded out of Southwest Utah.  Later in the evening, I caught a ride into town with a fellow teacher and rented a car for the weekend. Also did laundry at the "Speedy Wash" - where it took 14 minutes to dry a full load of clothes in the "Speed Queen" commercial dryer.  Can I get one of those for my house?

Saturday was a leisurely day. We headed to Durango, Colorado around 10 and spent most of the day browsing shops, walking around downtown, visiting the local farmer's market and local history museums. It's a beautiful town with a lot of character. Some of the group decided to get massages and visit a Hot Springs (not me - it was 98 degrees in the shade- I already walk the line with dehydration out here, thank you very much!) while others of us decided to  take the railroad to Silverton, a small mining town north of Durango. Later, we all met for a late dinner at an amazing place called "Ken and Sue's". It was a fun day!

Four Corners and Monument Valley

On Sunday morning, a group of four of us headed out to Four Corners Monument (the place that marks geographically where four states meet --- Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona) and onto Navajo National Park at Monument Valley. I do not have the right words to describe this amazing experience. The rock formations at Monument Valley literally takes your breath away and for me it was a moving experience. Monument Valley really proves how small we are compared to the vast and beautiful world we live in. We took our rental car (a Kia Optima) down the very bumpy dirt road (it didn't get stuck in the sandy, wind-blown red soil though and had a high enough clearance to avoid the nasty potholes and uneven terrain). A lot of old "Spaghetti Western" movies directed by John Ford and starring John  Wayne were shot in Monument Valley - so maybe you can visualize the sparse and haunting landscape with these imposing, rising landforms.  I loved that we went out, but it was a long drive (5 hours roundtrip) and when we finally got back to the hogans, we pretty much just passed out from exhaustion.

Out in the field means you "go" out in the field...

So I've used more portapotties the past two weeks than I have in my entire life. Evidently, bushes, outhouses, portapotties, and glorified portapotties are a way of life for archaeologists and the American Southwest, which is almost a deal breaker for me...almost, but not quite...that tells you how amazing this whole thing is! I'm willing to risk an inordinate amount of unsanitary "comfort stations" just to find out more about the Ancient Pueblo (also formerly called "Anasazi") culture.

At any rate, now that I've shared that (TMI, anyone?) I will move on to actually describing what I've been doing for the second week. After an intense few lectures on the evolution of corn Monday (I'll be honest...I found it hard to get excited about the evolution of corn even though I know how important it is to sustaining life for the Ancestral Pueblo people and even for us now-- it was hard to really focus, especially after such an incredible weekend), we loaded up the vans and headed to Farmington, New Mexico and let me tell you...the beds in a Comfort Inn have NEVER felt so amazing . Don't get me wrong...roughing it in the Hogans is fantastic...but a real bed with real pillows did feel really glorious. But even more exciting was a shower with actual hot water and water pressure. Heaven.

Return to Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent at Chaco Canyon and Aztec Ruins -- both in New Mexico. Beautiful archaeological sites -- I visited Chaco Canyon with my friend Karen in 2009 but Aztec was a new experience. One of our guides, a Hopi Native, Dee, was hesitant about going to Chaco because of the oral traditions her culture passes down. It has a lot to do with the way Chaco is said to have been depopulated. She talked of a negative balance of power and in the Hopi oral tradition, there was an abuse of power that caused people to leave. For Dee to be at Chaco, where most Hopi do not visit, was a big deal. Her quest for knowledge as an archaeologist led her to come to Chaco with the NEH scholars, for which I completely admire her. Happily, she did receive support from her family and permission from her Hopi clan to visit.  Dr. Tessie Naranjo of the Santa Clara pueblo and a new addition to the group scholars, Dr, Joseph Suina of the Cochiti pueblo, recounted a few of their pueblos' oral traditions about Chaco Canyon.  They both made cornmeal offerings and asked permission of the ancestors to visit their homes.  Native Americans/Pueblo Indians are diverse -- they do not all share the same traditions or stories about ancient places but there is unity in their respect for the land and their approach -- always to visit with respect.  It was a good day -- I liked the scientific field archaeologist opinion on specific site features and hearing the Native American perspectives and stories on the same features.  The two perspectives do NOT always match -- and it made me aware of the many different ways of knowing.  Everyone has a history and everyone's history matters. And I liked the mutual appreciation both groups had for each other.  There is a real partnership between Crow Canyon Archaeological Center archaeologists and the Native American Scholars -- I felt lucky to be in the presence of all of these wise and accomplished people who were sharing their insights.

Been There, Dug That 

I loved working in the field. If I would ever consider a career change to archaeology, I would not choose lab work. I would definitely choose to dig in the dirt. Despite the heat, the bugs, the rodents, the portapotties, and the weather, I really loved getting my hands dirty and finding things with my own two hands. Particularly, I loved contributing the archaeological record (even though my time here has taught me that archaeology is about 25% fact and 75% inference…or guesswork…or maybe intuitive leaps…I’m not sure which, but it is a lot more subjective than I had originally anticipated.). Yesterday, we spent the first half in the lab cataloguing pot sherds. The second part of the day was AWESOME. I was back out in the field, digging like a mad woman and loving every minute of it. Shanna, the lead archaeologist, and Travis, a field intern, put me on duty at the Great Kiva at the Dillard site. The Dillard site, where we dug last week was occupied during the Basetmaker III period- around 700-925 AD.  My task was to find stratum 3 (possibly digging up to stratum 5 if time and conditions permitted), which basically meant I was to find the ancient “floor” where the Kiva walls had collapsed. It’s easy to spot as it is a pinkish red color with flecks of white (calcium carbonate) .I ended up working in stratum 3 all day - with some areas of 4 peeking through.  It was fun and we had great conversations while scraping that trowel along the dirt and emptying our buckets into the sifting screens.