Last week I wrote about how destruction is a necessary part of the practice of archaeology. This week, I’ve been reflecting more on the physical process of archaeology. It’s easy, in a sense, to forget that archaeology is both an academic discipline and a trade. Put differently, archaeology involves both theory and interpretation, but also a set of specific, physical skills that have to be taught outside of the classroom. For better or for worse, the best, and perhaps only way to teach these skills, is through hands-on experience. I initially expected that the bulk of my learning would focus on the academic aspects of archaeology. I expected that the first week would be focused on learning the physical process of archaeology but that I would very quickly devote my time to leaning and applying advanced archaeological theories in an effort to learn more about the lives of those who inhabited our site. While this has in part been true, I’m still learning more about the physical aspects of archaeology than anything else.
It shouldn’t surprise me that this internship has become far more of a practicum. All of the interpretations and theories I wanted to learn are predicated on first learning how to dig. Since all archaeology is destructive, I’ve had to learn how to go about destroying things properly. I’ve learned how to properly open a site and prepare it for excavation so that what I find in the site is able to be interpreted at all. It’s worth noting that if you open a site improperly, excavate inappropriately, or otherwise mess up the physical aspect of archaeology, none of the interpretations and theories work, nor will they be accepted by the archaeological community. So while last week I learned that the destructive aspect of archaeology means that we have a moral obligation to offer the best interpretation we can, to make the most out of our destruction, this week I’ve learned to be more patient and focus on learning how to “do” archaeology before I worry about my interpretation.