NEH Archaeology Camp - Week 3 Highlights: July 30 to August 5, 2011

Remarkable Ruin

Sand Canyon Pueblo is an archaeological ruin located at the Northern trailhead of Sand Canyon.  It is part of the Canyons of the Ancients, a national park authorized under the Bill Clinton administration.  This was my FAVORITE ancient site that we visited– the trails were well worn, it felt like you were miles away from everyone and everything, and there was real sense of peace here.  From one side of the canyon to the other you could hear voices in conversation carry and hear the wind pick up through the trees. I found myself daydreaming about what it would have been like to live here long ago. The pueblo dwellings were excavated by Crow Canyon Archaeological Center back in the 1990s but they practice conservation archaeology – which means they only partially excavate structures and then backfill them, which protects the sites from exposure to the elements and structure collapse.  Most Native American tribes believe that ruins or “homes of the ancestors” should be undisturbed and left to return to Mother Earth. I am of the opinion that conservation archaeology is a good compromise – to study the historical record and remove some artifacts but to leave the rest in the ground.This site was unusual in that we were allowed to hike and explore in small groups on our own instead of one huge clump gathered around our leaders.  We were given maps, a final destination and a meeting time -- the "in-between" was ours to negotiate and discover.  If we had done this earlier in the trip, I would have noticed far less and understood less of what I was seeing. I am not an archaeologist by any means in two weeks time, but I am confident that I now have a better trained eye.  One of favorite quotes of the trip was from a guest lecturer, Dr. Mark Varien:  "We under-imagine the past."  It's true and once he said it, my mind starting racing, thinking about how I can challenge students to engage with more creativity and imagine even more about history.  Like I said, I really enjoyed this day and it is by far, my FAVORITE, FAVORITE day on a site visit.

Weekend – More History and Hiking (Just Can’t Get Enough!)

A group of us went to Delores, Colorado on Saturday to visit the Anasazi Cultural Center. This beautiful museum houses a large collection of Ancestral Pueblo artifacts and serves as a curation center for most federally funded archaeological digs in Colorado. Interactive exhibits at the museum illustrate ancient life from archaeological and Native American perspectives. As I mentioned before in this blog, these two perspectives do not always align.  Their temporary exhibit was a collection of fantastic photographs of rock art- petroglyphs and pictographs. We took the one mile hike up the trail to the Escalante Ruins – again, amazing panoramic views in all directions. One thing I’ve noticed in writing about Colorado is that I will never over-use the words “beautiful”, “amazing”, or “awesome”.  The landscape and view are all of these things and more.

Road Trip!

Woke up early Tuesday with thoughts of my family and packed my overnight bag for the 6 hour drive to Santa Fe, New Mexico. We played road trip games like “Two Truths and a Lie” and “The Book that Changed my Life…” – we all got a little stir-crazy, or should I say van crazy? On the way to Santa Fe, we stopped at Echo Amphitheatre for a picnic lunch. A beautiful spot where a natural carving of the stone allows your voice to amplify. After lunch, we drove about an hour south to visit Tessie Naranjo's home, Santa Clara Pueblo. Tessie's generosity and overall good heartedness really allowed us to feel welcome in her home.

Art and Process 

Leaving a bag of flour and blue corn meal behind, we then traveled on to Tower Gallery, where Tessie's sister Roxanne Swentzel has a beautiful gallery. Her statues are really something to behold, as it is obvious her heart, soul and mind are all contained in her pieces. I've included a picture of my favorite piece from the gallery. I loved the way the artist described the piece too. She focused her description on her process, rather than the end result, which in the case of childbirth, child rearing and even teaching -- the process is always more poignant than the end result and to truly have an impact on the life of the younger, you have to give a piece of yourself to your child, friend, or a student. 

Santa Fe! 

All too soon, we departed from this gallery and made our way into the heart of Santa Fe where we were set loose to discover the city on our own. After wandering the Plaza and surrounding center city on my own for a few hours (resisting the temptation of both upscale shops and junk stands), I ran into a group of four teachers from our group just about to go eat dinner.  I joined them at the Blue Corn Tortilla.  The guacamole was heavenly, the blue corn tortillas hit the spot and lived up to its moniker. Santa Fe is a beautiful city and every sunset here in the West has been amazing. At night, the shops in the blocks surrounding the plaza close early, but the plaza itself is really very stunning – little lights twinkling under the awnings, the sound of live music, and the breezes that cool the heat of the day. I'm impressed by the design and layout of the city (at 7000+ feet, by the way), just as I am enamored with Washington, D.C. or Savannah, Georgia. I LOVE a walkable city laid out on a grid pattern – easy and manageable to maneuver.  I first visited Santa Fe in 2009 and it remains one of my favorite cities.

Santo Domingo Pueblo Feast Day & Dance 

The next morning, the group headed to Tsankawi, an unexcavated site that is part of the Bandelier National Monument, and one of the few sites that was currently open (the main part of the monument was closed due to the June forest fires). Unfortunately, I was under the weather and stayed back in Santa Fe while the rest of the NEH group did the four hour hike. Thursday morning came quickly, and luckily, I recovered from my upset stomach.  We loaded the vans to head to the Santo Domingo Pueblo Feast day and corn dance -- it was beautiful and the enormity (500 dancers in full ceremonial regalia!!!) was a little surprising. No cameras, cell phones, or other recording devices were allowed.  This is common practice at most pueblos as a result of the early exploitation of pueblos from the 1930’s to the 1950’s meant that pictures of Native American sacred rituals and dances were spread throughout the world.  Imagine, as a Christian, that people came to your church and took pictures of your Christmas or Easter celebration in your church, or took pictures of your children or asked you to pose while receiving communion, stood on roofs of your church to take pictures, pointed and made comments, etc…  The prohibition against filming/recording is not surprising and makes sense when you think about respectful behavior – after all, we were guests at someone’s religious celebration! 

Wrap-Up and Final Reflections

Friday morning, most people were finishing up their curriculum projects (I'm sure you are all shocked to know I finished mine a week ago... I actually did two projects…I'm such a nerd). I did wait until Friday morning to write my reflection paper – living up to my Aunt Georgie’s nickname for me “LML” or “Last Minute Lisa”… I get this name for my reluctance to pack in advance; I usually throw things in the suitcase the morning of the flight!  We had a final reception and dinner on the east porch, overlooking the pond, where we received our official NEH summer seminar certificates. I can barely believe it has already been three weeks. I think the teachers on this NEH trip are kindred spirits because we are so alike in our love of learning & passion for teaching and yet, we have different personalities, backgrounds, and experiences --- but most of all we are incredibly strong minded and independent women & men. I'm excited to go home and see my family – I learned a lot on this trip but what really sustains me is my husband and two kids.  I am incredibly blessed to have them and my time away has made me APPRECIATE them all the more. I can’t wait to share the stories and pictures with them!

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.

NEH Archaeology Camp - Week 1 Highlights July 18-22, 2011

The Storm...

On Monday night, after the first full day of seminar activities, several of went out walking (my brain was full to overflowing and it was only the first day of the lectures) and we noticed storm clouds begin to form over the mesas. The lightening was beautiful and again, with the unobscured view, you could see it more clearly streak across the sky than you can in Virginia. The sky was getting darker, we were still pretty far from main campus and then the lightening picked up over the wheat fields to our right. It might be wise to start heading back. No sooner did we step foot in the Hogan, then the rain started in earnest, the lightening picked up, and the thunder cracked louder and louder.

Unfortunately, that’s not where this story ends. A few moments later, we see a yellow poncho hurrying up the hill towards us. It was Karen, one of the Crow Canyon staff members, who told us to get to the lower floor of the Gates building as quickly as possible. Evidently, a tornado had been spotted a few towns away and there were wind advisories. (We found out the next day a tornado had touched down 5 miles from Crow Canyon's campus!)

In the lower level of the Gates building, we all sat at tables in the lab and played board games.  I love Scrabble and the mental challenge kept our minds off the gale blowing outside. We wearily trudged back up the hill to the hogans when we were given the "all-clear" sign. It was a memorable second night on campus!

Mesa Verde...

"Big Red" was waiting bright and early as the clouds settled heavily over Crow Canyon. The faded white and red painted school bus stood out against the vegetation of the grounds, signaling a change was to take place today.  We climbed into Big Red with our driver, Ted who wore the requisite Western garb--  jeans, a blue & white plaid shirt, & cowboy hat--- and were on our way to Mesa Verde, one of the richest archaeological site in North America. Up the winding roads we went, faster and faster as our master driver, Ted, led the way with an authority that comes only with years of experience. Soon we had climbed to the top of the Mesa and disembarked at the first site--Spruce Tree House (oddly named since there are no spruce trees; the poor European discoverers apparently were not arborists...). From the look out point, we gazed in awe at the most amazing site. Words and pictures cannot do the experience justice as I took in the magnitude of the cliff dwelling house. The structure, though in ruins, had a magnificent aura that really spoke to all of us. Tessie Naranjo, a distinguished scholar and our new Tewa friend from the Santa Clara pueblo, was asked for her thoughts; I believe her response describes exactly how I felt about this aesthetic moment. A moment of silence passed as we waited for her wisdom, and then, without looking at any of us, she quietly answered, "I don't THINK as much as I FEEL while I am looking at this." I felt a sense of wonder for this civilization -- for their architecture, for their use of natural resources, and for their respect for the land they were living on.  I would not last even one moment in this culture as the hike down into the cliff dwelling was steep and I could only imagine what it could be like without the paved path we were trekking on. (Um, hello?  My previous idea of "hiking" meant stepping off the curb in a paved suburbia!  I am discovering that I like hiking in the real natural world. ) Once inside the sheltered cove, I could barely believe what masonry and dedication went into the building that stretched about 100 feet back into the cliff. The cliff dwellings only scratch the surface though, because as we began to explore, we also discovered the underground Kiva. 

The park service has beautifully restored the roof to one of the kivas at Spruce Tree House. Down I went into the kiva, all the while feeling the presence of the past and marveling that about 5-7 people most likely shared sleeping quarters in the kiva to keep warm in the winters.  Kivas also served a ceremonial places where native people practiced their religion and are part of the sacred landscape to the modern Pueblo Indians who visit the "Homes of the Ancestors". Climbing back to the top of the Mesa, all I could think about was how in shape the ancient Puebloean people must have been! (As I like to say - I'm in shape --  if you count ROUND as a shape!! :)

 



We traveled back in time after our visit to Spruce Tree House, viewing some basketmaker sites (pre-cliff dwelling) at the top of the mesa on the so called "Ruins Road" before heading to our last cliff dwelling site of the day -  the spectacular and almost enchanted Cliff Palace.  I'm very proud of myself for climbing down and up to experience this cliff dwelling; I acquired a new found respect for the cliff dwellers as they did NOT have sturdy ladders to climb as I did. They climbed in and out of Cliff Palace by chiseling handholds and footholds in the rock (!!!!). 

Can you believe that if two cowboys (ranchers actually) had not brought their cows to the valley to graze (in the 1800s) these dwellings may have remained uncovered for hundreds more years? Thanks to Florence Lister, a 91 year old retired archaeologist, I learned this piece of the Mesa Verde story. Florence was a gracious host, who welcomed all 30 of us teachers to her lovely home for dinner after a long day hiking and visiting.  After eating, she gave a short talk about the history of Mesa Verde and the role of archaeologists in excavating & opening it with the National Park Service. Her home is lovely as is Florence herself and several of us had Mrs. Lister sign copies of her many books.

Hands-On Learning...

The rest of the week has been filled with a lot of learning. It's been fantastic-- we have been doing a lot of hands on activities with the directors of the program and some of the Pueblo/ Native American staff members/volunteers who truly are experts. We went to the basketmaker learning center on campus which is a replica of a pithouse dwelling during the basketmaker time period. It is built to scale building and is surprising cool (temperature wise) even in the heat of the day.  Surprisingly, it's roomy as all 30 of the participants and four instructors fit in it with no problem as we sat on the floor in a circle for our lesson in "making fire" which, by the way, was an epic fail for all of us. It was a lot of fun to try, but I'm very grateful for matches.  Again, I would need a lot of work and practice to survive in the ancient world.  I am humbled by how much I can not do and how much I do not know about basic survival.  I am firmly rooted in the 21st century and used to living with the luxuries of electricity, running water, and so on!

We also learned how to make string from Yucca, which I was a lot better at (though that is traditionally a child's job) and how to throw the Atlatl, which is a way to turn a spear into a projectile (before the bow and arrow). I was terrifically bad at that too, but one person in our group did hit the fake turkey, so at least we would have something to eat (though we couldn't cook it because none of us could make fire...guess we'd have to wait for a lightening strike in just the right place).

After the Atlatl, we went up to the Pueblo learning center on campus, which is a replica structure from the Pueblo III time period. It is a really neat learning facility where we learned about clothing and living arrangements.

One of our native scholars, Dr. Tessie Naranjo, then gave a lovely lecture about Santa Clara, her home pueblo, and the changes that have taken place over the last 100 years or so. Every time I learn more about this community I am amazed by their fortitude and ingenuity in walking in "two worlds" -- the Western World as Americans and the Pueblo World as Native people. Her presentation was beyond words  - she is a poet equally as she is the scholar who holds a PhD and has been published many times over.  Porter, Tessie's nephew, then taught us a traditional Tewa game using nothing but a stick, rocks, and a game board he etched in the dirt on the ground.  It was a lot of fun to play and I hope to share it with my students in the fall as it really involved strategy and encouraged team building

There is so much more that I experienced this first week but these are a few of the highlights!

NEH TRIP - Getting There & First 2 Days - July 16 & 17, 2011

First Two Days!

This blog details some of the adventures I had on the 2011 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) summer seminar entitled "Bridging Cultures: Unity and Diversity in the Pueblo World".

After flying from Norfolk, Virginia to Detroit to Denver, Colorado I boarded a tiny 12-seater airplane for the flight to Cortez.  The flight was a little rough going over the mountains but - oh what a view! When we went into our descent I had a very clear view, because, after all, I could see out the front windshield. Anyway I was looking out the window,  in awe at the mesas, when I see a teeny tiny airstrip. "Awe, that's cute," I thought, "What a nice private airfield someone has there..." and then we circled...closer and closer, and guess what! That little tiny airstrip was the Cortez airport. Fantastic! I stood next to the plane while they unloaded my luggage...we had the biggest plane at the airport.

Well, Cortez is about what you'd imagine with an airport like that, but it is quaint, the epitome of the west -- two mile long main strip of town and mountains in all four directions! I enjoyed the  explorations I did the first night with my new friends and fellow NEH scholars. While we were walking, I marveled at the sky...it is gorgeous. In Virginia, your view is hedged in by the trees.  Here, you can literally see 25-50 miles in any direction. The sage, juniper and pinyon are low; they dot the landscape with clumps of fragrant green. It's like an ever changing painting -- color EVERYWHERE against the mesa backdrop --- the sunlight on the mountains fades in and out, white clouds form against the bluest sky --  brown, tan, and pink sandstone exposed cliffs -- it really does remind me of God's infinite imagination. To top it off, we saw a double rainbow (insert reference to viral youtube video here).

On Sunday morning, I decided to walk to Walmart (because there is always a Wally World close by) where I bought provisions for the rest of the day (mostly water because, DUDE, the elevation is quite a change and it is seriously dry heat -- but I find myself liking the dry heat—it’s refreshing as compared to the 100% humidity at home).

The Crow Canyon Archaeological center is amazing! We moved into our Hogan (pronounced ho-gon) and it’s pretty much civilized camping in a wooden cabin with electricity but no air conditioning. The bathrooms/shower house is down at the bottom of the hill from the hogans. I have one roommate -- Tamara is from Texas-- who teaches high school social studies as well.

We had a reception about 5…it was great because we finally met everyone, ate dinner, and a group of us went on a short hike around the campus—saw some great animals. Mule deer are everywhere, jack rabbits jumping across the path, and I took solace in the fact that I think the mountain lions will go after that game first before humans (I can hope so). We sat around a pretend campfire—can’t have a real one because the fire hazards are high. Excited about the next week - we have a lot of activities planned -- visiting Mesa Verde, digging at an archaeological site, working in the lab and so much more!