The Society of California Archaeology holds a yearly conference that should not be missed by students interested in learning more about Archaeology. The conference takes place at 4 star hotels that are always not too far from one of the states many colleges. Providing students, professors, professionals of the state the chance to network, share their work and socialize. Always expanding the knowledge of the small, but growing community, the Annual SCA Conference provides many opportunities for students.
Students are able to share drinks with the top Professional Archaeologists in government, state, corporate, academia and fellow students. The conference is centered on lecturers that speak on anything that can be described as Archaeology. One lecture could focus on Bio Archaeology, another could be on Historical Archaeology and the next could be a Graduate or PHD Students Thesis. A student can even hear his or her favorite professors lecture. This is incredibly inspiring. The entire convention makes a students mind soar with thoughts of their own future, learning about the past of this beautiful state, while contemplating how far their academic or employment career could lead.
The convention offers many volunteer opportunities. While helping out the SCA, a student can befriend fellow students and meet professionals of the field. This can be beneficial in giving advice on anything from academia, to work or simply on what is going on later that evening. Archaeology is a small community compared to other fields of study within academia. Due to this, volunteering is a fantastic way to meet people and looks great on a resume for future employment.
The best event of the weekend is the annual silent auction. Tickets to the event go very fast and buying one is a must. Wine and beer are free for ticket purchasers. This year’s event took place at the highest peak of Berkeley College, within the Children’s Science Museum. Giving adult Archaeologists the chance to play with hands on scientific discovery experiments meant for children while sipping tasty dessert chocolate mocha red wine and home brewed ale. An archaeologist playing with scientific experiments meant for children isn’t any different from a week out in the field or organizing findings into data in the lab. Archaeology is the field of walking through poison oak in while walking transects, licking bones to ensure that they are indeed bones and digging perfect rectangular holes with a “yamba” in the name of good science after all. This extremely fun event provides students a chance to enjoy conversing with the community at an increasingly laid back and even wild night that is always worth remembering. That is, if the following morning you happen too.
The last event of the fun and educational three-day weekend is the dinner. This event tends to be filled with the older generation of archaeologists. But students may always pay for a ticket and go. They let people that did not pay for tickets in later in the evening, so that they may hear the speaker and see who won the prestigious academic awards. This is always a must see.
I highly advise students to go and enjoy socializing with the friendly Archaeology community. Become a member of the SCA and buy your ticket the first chance you have. Immerse yourself with Archaeologists more knowledgeable then you. Listen, learn and take notes. Talk to as many people as you can. Come with many questions and ears ready for new exciting knowledge. Archaeological knowledge will confuse, inspire, intrigue and make a student passionate about becoming something that was once only a dream. Even make you believe you can accomplish more then you thought possible. This conference will make a student want to pick up a Marshalltown and work. Prepared for the sweat, trekking, data collecting and article writing that is Archaeology.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Coastal Erosion and Archaeological Sites – By Jenna Tanner
My involvement in the coastal erosion project started in southern Monterey County during the 2012 Cabrillo College Archaeological Field School. When we surveyed along the steep coastal bluff line of southern Monterey County, it was apparent that coastal erosion was in full effect. While coastal erosion itself is a normal, natural process, what is abnormal is the rate that it is occurring at. During field school, I visited six sites along this portion of coastline. Two of these were very close to the cliff edge and both contained a large amount of artifacts and features (mostly flakes that have been struck off the original rock used to make various stone tools, some bifaces, and a few bed rock mortars) that would soon be lost in the ocean. The field school survey is part of the Society of California Archaeology (SCA) Climate Change Project. The project focuses on surveying the coastline for both previously recorded and un-recorded sites in preparation for the impending impacts of climate change. The project is a non-invasive, intensive pedestrian land survey consisting of walking paralleling transects – this is a systematic way of walking the area to look for archaeological sites.
Climate change is a lasting and significant change in weather patterns over periods of time. A number of things can cause it: plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions, solar radiation, oceanic processes, and even humans can influence a change. It has a vast variety of effects on Earth such as the melting of ice caps, rising sea levels, and coastal erosion to name a few. From an archaeological standpoint, rising sea levels have the potential to destroy archaeological sites found along coastlines around the world.
Months after the field school was over, I was informed that the SCA Climate Change survey project was continuing in Marin County in Point Reyes National Seashore in October. A few friends from field school and I decided to volunteer. We met up with Mike Newland, the president of the SCA, and went out to survey a portion of the Marin coastline. The survey began after an annual data-sharing meeting. While I was unable to attend the actual meeting, I heard that there were over a hundred volunteers that came forth after the meeting to donate their time.
As we walked along the shoreline, Mike instructed us to pay attention to the cliff area because sometimes artifacts are spotted sticking out of them. This observation has stuck with me for some time now; this is what makes the destruction of archaeological sites due to coastal erosion real for me. I knew it was actively happening, but to actually look for it made me want to look even harder for those artifacts that were about to be washed away to sea. My crew spotted a few obsidian flakes along the shore where a site had been previously recorded. We were able to use some of the skills we learned in field school to update the site record. We walked transects to re-establish site boundaries, used a GPS to get the coordinates to map the site electronically and filled out the proper paperwork describing the area as it was that day. I am unsure about how much damage has been made to the area since the site was originally recorded, but I did see evidence that climate change was definitely actively affecting it. After a long day, I had to head home due to work the next day, but most of the volunteers camped overnight nearby to continue the survey the next day.
I volunteered my time again at Point Reyes during the last weekend in April, when another survey was planned for the SCA Climate Change project. This time a new, smaller group of people came together. The new group was students and professors from Foothill College and UC Santa Cruz. We were very lucky to have been able to camp at a secluded area near Kule Loklo, which is a re-created village site of the Coast Miwok who were the traditional that lived within Point Reyes. There were about seven crew chiefs chosen (some were even from my field school!) and the rest of us were paired off with them to make groups of four to five people. I was lucky enough to get teamed up with all new people and was able to make a great connection with one of the members from Foothill College.
Shortly after pairing off into our crews, we made our way to our assigned area. We lined up in our transect line and off we went. We walked slowly through a large area hoping to find some artifacts, but our hopes were soon crushed due to the poor ground visibility caused by dense vegetation. We must have hiked about five miles at this first site and climbed a 400-foot slope. The next day, three groups, including mine, merged to take on a large portion Tomales Point. The signs at the start of the trail indicated that it was a 9.5-mile hike, there and back, reaching a 300-foot elevation. One of the crews we were with was out there the day before and pointed out an unnatural rock formation that stretched longitudinally across the land. We continued our journey down the point, lined up strategically so we cover the entirety of the land in hopes of finding more important cultural constituents, but nothing turned up – that is until we went down to a beach area where there was a previously recorded site and found shell midden. Shell midden is comprised of assorted dietary shellfish and midden soil and sometimes artifacts that indicate previous human activity. After a long, exhausting day, this was exactly what we needed – we were all so excited! We soon wrapped it up at the beach to make our way back to camp to head home.
The archaeological record is non-renewable and can show us how the people before us may have occupied the area. Once these artifacts are gone, we lose valuable information that could have potentially opened the doors to the past of the people that once inhabited the area. It is said that thousands of sites will be wiped off along the coastline during the next century due to a number of social and environmental factors, such as urban development, sea level rise, and global warming. We volunteer because we understand what we are about to lose and to better understand the effects of and future impacts of climate change on the preservation of archaeological records and I know I can’t wait to get back out there again to do my part.
Climate change is a lasting and significant change in weather patterns over periods of time. A number of things can cause it: plate tectonics and volcanic eruptions, solar radiation, oceanic processes, and even humans can influence a change. It has a vast variety of effects on Earth such as the melting of ice caps, rising sea levels, and coastal erosion to name a few. From an archaeological standpoint, rising sea levels have the potential to destroy archaeological sites found along coastlines around the world.
Months after the field school was over, I was informed that the SCA Climate Change survey project was continuing in Marin County in Point Reyes National Seashore in October. A few friends from field school and I decided to volunteer. We met up with Mike Newland, the president of the SCA, and went out to survey a portion of the Marin coastline. The survey began after an annual data-sharing meeting. While I was unable to attend the actual meeting, I heard that there were over a hundred volunteers that came forth after the meeting to donate their time.
As we walked along the shoreline, Mike instructed us to pay attention to the cliff area because sometimes artifacts are spotted sticking out of them. This observation has stuck with me for some time now; this is what makes the destruction of archaeological sites due to coastal erosion real for me. I knew it was actively happening, but to actually look for it made me want to look even harder for those artifacts that were about to be washed away to sea. My crew spotted a few obsidian flakes along the shore where a site had been previously recorded. We were able to use some of the skills we learned in field school to update the site record. We walked transects to re-establish site boundaries, used a GPS to get the coordinates to map the site electronically and filled out the proper paperwork describing the area as it was that day. I am unsure about how much damage has been made to the area since the site was originally recorded, but I did see evidence that climate change was definitely actively affecting it. After a long day, I had to head home due to work the next day, but most of the volunteers camped overnight nearby to continue the survey the next day.
I volunteered my time again at Point Reyes during the last weekend in April, when another survey was planned for the SCA Climate Change project. This time a new, smaller group of people came together. The new group was students and professors from Foothill College and UC Santa Cruz. We were very lucky to have been able to camp at a secluded area near Kule Loklo, which is a re-created village site of the Coast Miwok who were the traditional that lived within Point Reyes. There were about seven crew chiefs chosen (some were even from my field school!) and the rest of us were paired off with them to make groups of four to five people. I was lucky enough to get teamed up with all new people and was able to make a great connection with one of the members from Foothill College.
Shortly after pairing off into our crews, we made our way to our assigned area. We lined up in our transect line and off we went. We walked slowly through a large area hoping to find some artifacts, but our hopes were soon crushed due to the poor ground visibility caused by dense vegetation. We must have hiked about five miles at this first site and climbed a 400-foot slope. The next day, three groups, including mine, merged to take on a large portion Tomales Point. The signs at the start of the trail indicated that it was a 9.5-mile hike, there and back, reaching a 300-foot elevation. One of the crews we were with was out there the day before and pointed out an unnatural rock formation that stretched longitudinally across the land. We continued our journey down the point, lined up strategically so we cover the entirety of the land in hopes of finding more important cultural constituents, but nothing turned up – that is until we went down to a beach area where there was a previously recorded site and found shell midden. Shell midden is comprised of assorted dietary shellfish and midden soil and sometimes artifacts that indicate previous human activity. After a long, exhausting day, this was exactly what we needed – we were all so excited! We soon wrapped it up at the beach to make our way back to camp to head home.
The archaeological record is non-renewable and can show us how the people before us may have occupied the area. Once these artifacts are gone, we lose valuable information that could have potentially opened the doors to the past of the people that once inhabited the area. It is said that thousands of sites will be wiped off along the coastline during the next century due to a number of social and environmental factors, such as urban development, sea level rise, and global warming. We volunteer because we understand what we are about to lose and to better understand the effects of and future impacts of climate change on the preservation of archaeological records and I know I can’t wait to get back out there again to do my part.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Archaeological Field School at Camp San Luis Obispo
By Ethan Bertrando
Camp San Luis Obispo played host this summer to its first archaeological field school. The class of twenty students, under the direction of Professor Dustin McKenzie, worked at three archaeological sites on post. Cabrillo College of Aptos offers a course as part of their Archaeological Technician Certificate program that develops skills to allow students to seek employment as archaeological field excavators. This year the students descended on Camp San Luis Obispo to develop these skills while providing a valuable service to the California National Guard by helping us meet our legal requirements under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
Over 100 cultural resources have been identified at CSLO, including 85 archaeological sites where artifacts from the California’s early history and Native American occupation can be found. The field school focused their attention on two locations where military training activities commonly occur, to assess the significance of these archaeological sites and to better understand how to manage these resources in a manner that supports the military mission.
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| Figure 1: The Cabrillo College Field School after their first week of excavations. |
The first week was spent at a location where an early lumber mill was in operation during the 19th century. The mill took advantage of the pine and cypress woodlands along the upper ridges of Cuesta Grade and provided much of the lumber used in early construction of San Luis Obispo. Along with the expected metal tools and construction materials (like square nails), bottles, plates and other household artifacts were found. This suggests that the people at the mill spent a lot of time up there and used the location as much as a residence as a place of employment, Earlier occupation of this area was also found in the form of prehistoric stone tools and bedrock mortars(or grinding stones), associated with the Chumash Indians.
The second week was spent working between two neighboring prehistoric sites. A wide variety of artifacts were found, such as stone scrapers, awls, knives and projectile points. These sites were also found to contain a large number of bedrock mortars and dozens of tools related to grinding and processing food, such as acorns. When the Chumash lived at this location, about 1000 years ago, it overlooked one of the largest lakes in the Chorro Valley. The reason for their interest in this particular location is becoming clearer as we uncover more evidence that the Chumash occupied these sites during some of the worst droughts identified in California prehistory. Other interesting information recovered included some of the earliest evidence of bow and arrow use in the area and examples of long distance trade extending as far away as the California/Nevada border.
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| Figure 2: The field school working at one of the prehistoric sites at CSLO. |
Overall, the field school partnership was a success. The students left with a better understanding of archaeological fieldwork techniques and an appreciation of the landscape of CSLO (as well as a healthy respect for the hard clays on post!), while the CNG benefitted from two weeks of archaeological fieldwork at no cost.
If you are interested in more information about the field school or the cultural resources and requirements of Camp San Luis Obispo, then please contact one of our Training Site archaeologists; Ethan Bertando (ethan.bertrando@us.army.mil, 238-8013), Sarah Mellinger (sarah.mellinger.ctr@us.army.mil, 238-8434) or Blaize Uva (blaize.a.uva.ctr@us.army.mil, 238-8436).
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
2010 Cabrillo College Archaeology Field School, Day 20, Friday, July 9, 2010. Written by Annamarie Leon Guerrero.
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Photos, top to bottom: Student Ryan taking down the last column sample on the last day of fieldwork; The trouble with buckets never end - students Ryan and Tessa un-sticking buckets; Goodbye site; Field school students Matt and Angel helping fellow student Emily as she takes elevations in a deep unit; Field school student Lauren; Field school student Kelsey working hard in a unit; Field school student Christina with a great new find; Field School Instructor Dusty, students Matt, Angel and Kolin (from left to right) backfilling Unit 1
The last day of field school, or any fieldwork for that matter, is always a little hectic and often filled with mixed emotions. There is always a sense of urgency as you try to tie up loose ends, finish up sidewall profiles, take down column samples, make sure the data (boxes of soil, bags of artifacts, etc.) are under control, and attempt to remember everything that needs to be packed up. In the middle of all of this, there is this tug of war between being excited to go home and a little sad that the fieldwork is over.
And today is no different. Yesterday (Thursday) four of the six control units hit basement meaning sidewall profiles could be drawn, column samples taken and the units could be photographed and backfilled. If you have never backfilled a unit before, it is most definitely one of the most satisfying things in life. Especially if you are one of the ones who helped dig the hole.
Only the three groups that still had on-site tasks to complete headed out to the site today along with the crew chiefs. The rest of the crew was tasked with breaking down camp and organizing everything to expedite our departure. Unit 1 only needed to be photographed and then backfilled. The group working with Unit 5 (John, Kelsey, Christina and Emily) only had a few levels left in their column sample to go. Kelsey and Christina had done a great job in taking the column sample down yesterday and had no trouble in taking the rest of it down today. Once they were done, they were able to backfill the unit and head back to camp.
The Unit 3 group (Ryan, Lindsay, Melissa and Tessa) had taken their control unit all the way down to 180 cm before hitting bedrock yesterday. They were definitely under a little bit of pressure to get an entire column sample (a 20 cm x 20 cm column in 10 cm levels) done by noon. However, Ryan, in all of his stoicism, was definitely up to the challenge. He had at least half of the levels done before 10:30am. Lindsay and Melissa took turns taking down the rest of the column. One of the better moments of the morning was when Dusty and Tim helped to airlift Melissa out of the 180 cm deep unit. Getting in and out of units that deep is definitely a challenge. After the final photographs of Unit 3 were taken, the crew (plus a crew chief) backfilled the last open unit. Each of us took turns compacting the backfill dirt into the unit (who can resist the urge to basically jump up and down or dance a jig on a big dirt pile?).
I have to admit that I was a little worried about completing all six control units as they were opened just last week. But, with all of the students hard work, determination, thoughtfulness and their increasing ability to dig faster and cleaner we were able to able to accomplish this awesome feat. The past four weeks have pretty much been amazing. It has been a privilege to be a part of this field school and to be able to see everyone’s enthusiasm for archaeology and to watch as ever single person became more skilled and knowledgeable in field methods and technique. And, I have to say, that it was not just the students who were learning, I definitely learned something from every single person who either attended or helped out with the field school. I hope that, and am pretty sure that everyone will be able to, look back at the last four weeks and see the progress that they made and will leave the field school newfound knowledge and skill as well as new friends and colleagues.
I have to admit that I was a little worried about completing all six control units as they were opened just last week. But, with all of the students hard work, determination, thoughtfulness and their increasing ability to dig faster and cleaner we were able to able to accomplish this awesome feat. The past four weeks have pretty much been amazing. It has been a privilege to be a part of this field school and to be able to see everyone’s enthusiasm for archaeology and to watch as ever single person became more skilled and knowledgeable in field methods and technique. And, I have to say, that it was not just the students who were learning, I definitely learned something from every single person who either attended or helped out with the field school. I hope that, and am pretty sure that everyone will be able to, look back at the last four weeks and see the progress that they made and will leave the field school newfound knowledge and skill as well as new friends and colleagues.
As we gathered up the last bit of gear around the site, we all took one last look around at the place that had basically been our “office” for the last four weeks and said our final goodbye to the site and one last big “Thank You” for everything it had given us.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
2010 Cabrillo College Archaeology Field School, Day 19, Thursday, July 8, 2010. Written by Candace Skinner.
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Photos: Student field tech Candace screening for artifacts (bottom) and excavation crew (from left to right) Ed, Candace, Lauren and Tiffany (bottom) .
Today was our last day of excavating in the field. I’ve never had such a great experience with such a large amount of people. Everyone at this field school has such a great attitude and support for one another; it has really shaped the whole experience into something unforgettable. Every crew I’ve been on thus far has been extremely helpful, willing, and open minded to all criticism, advice, and guidance from Dusty, our crew chiefs, and our peers. It has really made for a productive and positive learning environment. At the end of the day we all went around and expressed our feelings and thoughts about our experience so far in field school. Overall, many of us expressed our gratitude and appreciation to Dusty for putting together such a great field school, and to the Native American monitors for giving us such a great experience and positive understanding of the importance of their culture in our research.
A few of us started our column samples today. I was the first to begin ours, and the last to finish it. It seemed easy, but just as we figured out in doing our first shovel test units, digging a square hole is much more difficult than I thought. Bioturbation, tree roots, and rocks made it very difficult to remove such a small amount of dirt without “bathtubbing” our unit or collapsing our sidewalls. Our column samples are going to be sent off to specialists who use the process of flotation to separate rocks from botanical remains, bones, etc. They will then analyze the “light fraction” of the sample to help Dusty answer his research questions about subsistence patterns. I know this process takes awhile, but I’m extremely interested in and eager to better understand the site that we spent three weeks working on!
A few of the other units were still trying to find basement in their control units. Unit 3 went down 180 centimeters and still ran across a few obsidian flakes and artifacts without much soil change. Since this was one of the deepest deposits we had run across, we had to wonder if the midden soil deposit had actually gone down that far, or if it was a result of many years of geologic activity and bioturbation. Dusty made the decision to discontinue the unit and begin sidewall profiling/ column sampling based on a relative comparison to the other units and their productivity. We finished the day with two units profiled, column sampled, and backfilled. The other units were either terminated or were finishing up their final levels of excavation or column sampling.
Tomorrow is our last day at site to finish up our research. I feel like we have finished with good timing, without stress or rushing. All the crews have worked really hard to get this point. I’m really impressed by everyone’s work ethic and ambition to learn more about archaeology and its importance in every aspect. I’m really excited about starting lab next Monday. I’ve never stepped foot in an archaeological lab, but I’m eager to start seeing some clarification in artifacts and to start making some interpretations.
A few of us started our column samples today. I was the first to begin ours, and the last to finish it. It seemed easy, but just as we figured out in doing our first shovel test units, digging a square hole is much more difficult than I thought. Bioturbation, tree roots, and rocks made it very difficult to remove such a small amount of dirt without “bathtubbing” our unit or collapsing our sidewalls. Our column samples are going to be sent off to specialists who use the process of flotation to separate rocks from botanical remains, bones, etc. They will then analyze the “light fraction” of the sample to help Dusty answer his research questions about subsistence patterns. I know this process takes awhile, but I’m extremely interested in and eager to better understand the site that we spent three weeks working on!
A few of the other units were still trying to find basement in their control units. Unit 3 went down 180 centimeters and still ran across a few obsidian flakes and artifacts without much soil change. Since this was one of the deepest deposits we had run across, we had to wonder if the midden soil deposit had actually gone down that far, or if it was a result of many years of geologic activity and bioturbation. Dusty made the decision to discontinue the unit and begin sidewall profiling/ column sampling based on a relative comparison to the other units and their productivity. We finished the day with two units profiled, column sampled, and backfilled. The other units were either terminated or were finishing up their final levels of excavation or column sampling.
Tomorrow is our last day at site to finish up our research. I feel like we have finished with good timing, without stress or rushing. All the crews have worked really hard to get this point. I’m really impressed by everyone’s work ethic and ambition to learn more about archaeology and its importance in every aspect. I’m really excited about starting lab next Monday. I’ve never stepped foot in an archaeological lab, but I’m eager to start seeing some clarification in artifacts and to start making some interpretations.
2010 Cabrillo College Archaeology Field School, Day 18, Wednesday, July 7, 2010. Written by Mark Vedros, Jr.
Photos: Student field tech Mark accurately measuring elevation of a control unit (top), Dusty and Tim Gross supervising (center), and Arch. Tech. alumni Tim working with student field tech Lauren on a unit (bottom).
Well, the day started with the standard routine of a 6:00 a.m., waking-up, preparing the day’s lunch (turkey sandwich), and stuffing my face with breakfast (a turkey sandwich for breakfast—that varies though). I also attempted pressure flaking on an already flaked fragment of chert before leaving camp to complete control units (CUs) on Tim Gross’s layout near central camp. Tim brought quite an array of flaking stones, accumulating a seeming “Archaeology Playground” the day before with his various specialized tools, e.g. – deer antlers (for said pressure flaking).
Upon arriving at our site of excavation I and the other members, begin finishing level 7 (60 – 70 cm) of our unit. Stephen Henneck and I were the primary “shovels” of the CU, taking it to a depth of 90 cm before it was terminated due to encountering bedrock in level (80 – 90cm) and in the previous level (70 – 80cm). A possible scraper, two chert flakes and several bone fragments were observed in our 9th level (80 – 90cm); however, due to the encompassing bedrock it was determined that there location was likely to be the result of bioturbation, given their placement.
We completed 3 10cm levels total today, generating one obsidian flake, one fractured hand stone and 4 chert flakes at a depth of 60 – 70cm. One chert biface, multiple chert flakes and bone/charcoal fragments were found at a depth of 70 – 80cm. Level 9, 80 – 90cm, produced the above-cited scraper, chert flakes, and bone fragments.
A unit profile was also completed as Stephen Henneck measured layers while Dawn Johnson profiled the east side wall. Four distinctive layers presented themselves: The first (closest to the surface) consisted of midden and silty loam soils; in the second, caliche inclusions appeared in loam; in the third, silty sandy loam were present; and the fourth (the deepest) included decomposing rock within the bedrock, among other numerous features within the soil deposits (color, other texture/changes, etc).
Stephen Henneck displaced a root that was 91.5cm or 3ft. long, 7cm wide, 18cm in diameter, that extended from our southeast wall edge to the northwest perimeter via handsaw at depth: 70 – 80cm (ya go my shirtless friend : ).
Column soil samples are on top for Thursday and Friday for units that have reached sterile. As we near the end of an awesome field experience, having Mark Hylkema as well as Tim Gross readily accessible for their input and advice has been quite a treat indeed.
Mike Newland’s delicious feast and career-oriented lecture last night (Wednesday evening) was an illuminating light down the tunnel so to speak. He talked about subjects ranging from CRM vs. academic archaeology, ethics with regard to Native American Culture, and work ethic, to the plausible dynamics of personal relationships within archaeology (quite full-circle).
Well, the day started with the standard routine of a 6:00 a.m., waking-up, preparing the day’s lunch (turkey sandwich), and stuffing my face with breakfast (a turkey sandwich for breakfast—that varies though). I also attempted pressure flaking on an already flaked fragment of chert before leaving camp to complete control units (CUs) on Tim Gross’s layout near central camp. Tim brought quite an array of flaking stones, accumulating a seeming “Archaeology Playground” the day before with his various specialized tools, e.g. – deer antlers (for said pressure flaking).
Upon arriving at our site of excavation I and the other members, begin finishing level 7 (60 – 70 cm) of our unit. Stephen Henneck and I were the primary “shovels” of the CU, taking it to a depth of 90 cm before it was terminated due to encountering bedrock in level (80 – 90cm) and in the previous level (70 – 80cm). A possible scraper, two chert flakes and several bone fragments were observed in our 9th level (80 – 90cm); however, due to the encompassing bedrock it was determined that there location was likely to be the result of bioturbation, given their placement.
We completed 3 10cm levels total today, generating one obsidian flake, one fractured hand stone and 4 chert flakes at a depth of 60 – 70cm. One chert biface, multiple chert flakes and bone/charcoal fragments were found at a depth of 70 – 80cm. Level 9, 80 – 90cm, produced the above-cited scraper, chert flakes, and bone fragments.
A unit profile was also completed as Stephen Henneck measured layers while Dawn Johnson profiled the east side wall. Four distinctive layers presented themselves: The first (closest to the surface) consisted of midden and silty loam soils; in the second, caliche inclusions appeared in loam; in the third, silty sandy loam were present; and the fourth (the deepest) included decomposing rock within the bedrock, among other numerous features within the soil deposits (color, other texture/changes, etc).
Stephen Henneck displaced a root that was 91.5cm or 3ft. long, 7cm wide, 18cm in diameter, that extended from our southeast wall edge to the northwest perimeter via handsaw at depth: 70 – 80cm (ya go my shirtless friend : ).
Column soil samples are on top for Thursday and Friday for units that have reached sterile. As we near the end of an awesome field experience, having Mark Hylkema as well as Tim Gross readily accessible for their input and advice has been quite a treat indeed.
Mike Newland’s delicious feast and career-oriented lecture last night (Wednesday evening) was an illuminating light down the tunnel so to speak. He talked about subjects ranging from CRM vs. academic archaeology, ethics with regard to Native American Culture, and work ethic, to the plausible dynamics of personal relationships within archaeology (quite full-circle).
2010 Cabrillo College Archaeology Field School, Day 17, Tuesday, July 6, 2010. Written by Melissa Lewis.
Photo: Student field tech Melissa excavating.
Waking up this morning, I could barely see anything outside of my tent. A thick layer of fog lay stagnant in the valley below us, and most of us packed our sweatshirts in our day packs, unsure about what the weather was going to be like for the day. As we were packing up and preparing to leave camp, Dusty introduced us to his friend Tim, a Cabrillo College Archaeology Technician alumni, who along with Erin, are our designated crew chiefs for the rest of the week. Before we left camp, Dusty discussed the importance of not only making sure we’re doing everything correctly with excavating, perfecting our methods and our techniques, but also developing our own interpretations this week. He stressed taking into account all of the readings we’ve been doing, all the artifacts and ecofacts our field school has observed, in preparation for our discussion Thursday night.
The weather cleared up, and by 9 o’clock, my team, made up of three other individuals, finished up our 40-50cm level. Before lunch, we managed to finish the 50-60cm level, and with working through lunch, we completed the 60-70cm level. Most of what we’d been finding in our unit before today, consisted of chert flakes, some obsidian, and saucer shaped Olivella shell beads. Our team worked well together, switching off between 1/8 inch screening, excavating, finishing the control unit (CU) paperwork and labeling our bags correctly. I was screening as we finished the 40-50cm level, and all of a sudden, I caught a glimpse of obsidian. In the first week of excavating, I found multi-colored chert flakes, quartz flakes, and historic artifacts, but I had yet to find any obsidian. I pulled out an intact contracting stem point, a projectile point with a later date than the desert side notched points we’d previously found in the site, worthy of hydrating during lab week. Before lunch, members from the Santa Cruz Archaeological Society came to visit our site and lend us support.
After lunch, our unit turned up less charcoal than we had previously, and our soil changed in color and texture. We continued to find faunal bone fragments, some fire affected and some not, and a broken saucer-shaped Olivella shell bead. We’re hoping to get down to sterile tomorrow, so we have time to column sample, side-wall profile and backfill, all before Friday. Before leaving the site, we did “data control” and did a count of all of our unit bags to make sure our paperwork and data corresponded, an important aspect to fieldwork.
The weather cleared up, and by 9 o’clock, my team, made up of three other individuals, finished up our 40-50cm level. Before lunch, we managed to finish the 50-60cm level, and with working through lunch, we completed the 60-70cm level. Most of what we’d been finding in our unit before today, consisted of chert flakes, some obsidian, and saucer shaped Olivella shell beads. Our team worked well together, switching off between 1/8 inch screening, excavating, finishing the control unit (CU) paperwork and labeling our bags correctly. I was screening as we finished the 40-50cm level, and all of a sudden, I caught a glimpse of obsidian. In the first week of excavating, I found multi-colored chert flakes, quartz flakes, and historic artifacts, but I had yet to find any obsidian. I pulled out an intact contracting stem point, a projectile point with a later date than the desert side notched points we’d previously found in the site, worthy of hydrating during lab week. Before lunch, members from the Santa Cruz Archaeological Society came to visit our site and lend us support.
After lunch, our unit turned up less charcoal than we had previously, and our soil changed in color and texture. We continued to find faunal bone fragments, some fire affected and some not, and a broken saucer-shaped Olivella shell bead. We’re hoping to get down to sterile tomorrow, so we have time to column sample, side-wall profile and backfill, all before Friday. Before leaving the site, we did “data control” and did a count of all of our unit bags to make sure our paperwork and data corresponded, an important aspect to fieldwork.
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