I have already been asked the question, “what are you going to be doing there?” too many times to count. My answers before coming on the trip are nothing like they will be when I return because I honestly didn’t know much about archaeology. It was a hard question to answer at the time, and I had to reply with a lot of “we’ll see when I get there!”’s. Now that I am more than half way done with the trip (which is crazy to think about how fast the time has gone), I know I will be able to answer the question when I go back home.
Archaeology is a lot of hard work. It’s long hours in the sun, dirt in your mouth, weeding, digging, hauling rocks and buckets, hiking as you carry them, and sweating more than you’ve ever sweat before. But there’s a whole other level to this job than the labor that’s put into it. There is constant analyzing and hypothesizing about what in the world you’re digging up. You have to keep your eyes peeled at all times for the things you will find that are thousands of years old: pottery, glass, beads, bones, and things you’re not sure if they’re something incredible or just another dirty rock. The hours may be long and tiring, but they seem to fly by every day.
This is such an amazing line of work because you need to be both physically and mentally ready for each day, which I enjoy. Archaeology is bringing history back to life, one rock at a time. By being an archaeologist you have the opportunity to retell the lives of people thousands of years ago. We get to find out how they lived, see the things they had, and try our best to figure out what life looked like for them so long ago. There’s such a special feeling you get when you are the first person to hold something that was last held thousands of years ago. Tracing your fingers on an ancient piece of pottery where someone put their fingers gives you this connection with history and a life that the majority of people never get to experience. It’s a humbling thing that I get to do almost every day here, and it’s something I know I’m going to need to keep doing after our time here this summer is over. There are stories hidden under the ground that are waiting to be told, and there’s something so incredible about being the one who gets to put the pieces together.