Spotlight on Students: Thinking Like an Archaeologist

Thinking like an archaeologist is one of the most challenging exercises a novice or inexperienced person can do, including beginner archaeologists.  For one of the SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology assignments students were tasked with doing just that.  By viewing the familiar as the unfamiliar they gained important insights into the challenges archaeologists face, and several of them did exceptionally well in the exercise.  Here is a student's piece that was eligible for and agreed to be published.

 

By: Gwyn Jennings

 

  

Hello, my name is Gwyn Jennings, and 50 years ago, Jefferson City, Missouri: my great ancestors' home and city, was raided by a chemical spill that caused extreme iridescent ivy overgrowth. My ancestors' stories about these iridescent ivy leaves and their power to preserve artifacts inspired me to become an archaeologist. I hope to one day return and collect data to better understand a part of this city's history. Now in 2072, my current site administrator has, fortunately, asked me to return to Jefferson City to study neighborhood ruins, as it has been abandoned since the spill and is no longer a danger to humans.

From the vague file of the information I am given, I can gather that families or individuals could only grab a few things and escape just in time before the outer materials of their homes were wrapped and suffocated by the iridescent ivy leaves. The stories my ancestors told, passed through generations of my family, tell tales about these leaves growing ten times in size and mainly engulfing plastic vinyl, leaving behind the bones of these homes and preserving the structures with their leaves. As I stroll down the streets, I note wooden objects and transparent material, some whole and some in tiny shards, scattered everywhere as the ivy did not swallow these materials. All of the structures are bare so I can see straight through them; the magnificent and shiny leaves are wrapped wildly all the way up to the ceilings.

 Upon arriving, I reminded myself of the task: collect data to understand the importance of familial or high society gatherings and decipher underneath the plant overgrowth which rooms are more likely to have held said gatherings. I trudge down East High Street and notice a tall structure sitting at the top of the hill; two staircases lead up. Coming closer to the large structure, I take note of a group of large wooden objects perfectly preserved underneath the iridescent ivy. I jump in glee at what I have discovered. My ancestors would be so happy to know that these objects were still here as a part of their history.

With no door to open and walk through, I pick two wall studs to walk between. I notice the four stud support walls in this room are 8-feet tall. Roughly measuring the room floor, it is 9- feet wide and 13.5-feet long.  As I view this room from the west, I stand in a partially cemented 3.5-foot wide, 7-foot tall archway. Looking to the north there is another archway, which is 3-feet wide and 4-feet deep, the same in height, but like a tunnel made out of the same cement material. On the south side of the room, there is a third archway; 2.5-feet wide and 7-feet tall, also roughly shaped out with the rocky cement material. I make a note that there is an eggshell like color stained on this rocky cement material. Lastly, on the east wall, right in the middle, there is the transparent paneling material I noted with supports around the outside and horizontally in the middle; this allows one to see outside.

Inside this 9 x 13.5-foot room, I notice to my right, against the studs, is a light tan wooden box. It is 5-feet long, 7-feet tall, and 15-inches deep. I cannot move this box as it is substantially large and heavy. On this wooden box, there are decorative and detailed engravings on the front in a flowery and leafy pattern, almost matching the ivy. More transparent paneling from the middle of the tall wooden box to the top allows one to see the contents encased. Inside are three, eight inch piles of white, circular objects stacked 12 high. These objects seem to be of the same material as the transparent paneling, only in a different color. Smaller cylindrical transparent objects are also neatly placed in rows; they could potentially hold other objects or substances. There are also sliding boxes with metal knobs and no tops that one would eject from the tall box that encases rusty scoops, prongs, and blades.

I also note that in the center of the room, there is a waist-high surface made of wood with marks of colored stain on it. This surface is held up by four skinny wooden posts that go all the way to the ground, holding the surface up. Though the leaves have overgrown, the surface is roughly 3-feet wide, 5feet long, and about an inch thick. It also has scratches and dents, but overall, is smooth in texture. I also notice sticky residue in perfect circles on this surface, placed sporadically over the top. Overall the object is sturdy and could be moved but is stuck in place by the ivy.

Surrounding this tall wooden surface on four posts are four plush, black, square cushions. My measurements of the bottom cushion are 14.5-inches by 17-inches, with pads to hold objects. On only one side of the cushion, there is a plush backing in a 14.5 x 13-inch square, decorated with six smaller buttons with clean seams between each one. These black cushions are also held by four posts, skinnier but longer. There are horizontal supports connecting to each leg in a square towards the bottom of the four long posts, most likely for durability. I can infer from my gatherings that it seems to be a familial conference room for only four members. The cushions with legs pushed neatly around this wooden surface made me believe that this was for only high-class members of society.

After looking over this room, I have concluded what these artifacts may be. From my first artifact, it looks like an expensive cabinet made by someone very talented and skillful in carving. Perhaps a piece of furniture passed down in other generations used to hold essential, fragile items that one might not always use and want to preserve. The second item looks like it could have been a human sacrificing surface as there are marks of colored stain, but there are different colors, so I know that this is not human or animal blood. It might be where someone would make colorful decorations and pottery, or perhaps they could lie down on it, although it would be uncomfortable. I am still trying to figure out the circular sticky substance, possibly left from those cylindrical transparent objects, but none seem to have any sticky substance on them as they are still untouched. The last artifact looks like somewhere one might sit down and/or use for a child to sit up tall at the wooden surface. We humans in 2072 still have objects that replicate this structure, but now everything hovers above the floor. I notice these are sturdy sitting on the floor and can be moved around the tall wooden surface and the room for other uses of object holding. After reading over my notes, I concluded that it was a gathering room where a society's families or high class members would conference, make art, or intensively mess with sticky substances.

Archaeologists, like myself, will always find difficulties surveying a site and collecting data, as it could be from one decade or another. More than likely, one will find broken pieces of an artifact, which is a challenge to figure out when or where it came from and what it is made of. When surveying a site, typically, there is no given information about the area, and archaeologists have to come to knowledgeable but unbiased judgments and decisions about the site and what is found there. Sometimes, those judgments and decisions can be wrong. It can be challenging to make the right call when analyzing information or piecing together artifacts when they are broken, but pieces could be missing indefinitely.

According to Katherine Hodge (2021), Public Education Coordinator, looting is one of the most common issues that archaeologists find when surveying or excavating a site. As curious civilians outnumber them, artifacts like broken pieces of pottery or bones can be taken and never returned. Looting has been going on for thousands of years, and it is still one of the most difficult challenges archaeologists face when trying to piece together parts of history. When studying a historical site that has been stolen from, it is more likely that archaeologists form an inaccurate understanding of the site and the culture that is attached to it. Through the difficulties, it is nonetheless a rewarding profession as we uncover the secrets of the past.

Works Cited

Hodge, K. (2021, March 26). Modern issues in archaeology: Looting. Project Archaeology. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://projectarchaeology.org/2021/03/26/modern-issues-in-archaeology-looting/