When most people think about archaeology, the first thing that comes to mind is Indiana Jones being chased through the Temple of Doom by a giant boulder. It would be nice if it were that interesting, but frankly, I'd rather not be crushed.
Instead, I prefer getting dirty; carefully digging a tiny square hole, lifting the dirt out to be sifted one layer at a time and cataloguing every interesting thing I find (if any) until . . . the summer's over, I have found nothing! Then, it's time to cover up the whole kit and hope you can come back next year to do it again!
I know that sounds dull to some people, but every rock, potsherd, nail, and unidentifiable 'what the heck is that?'may one day be the key to understanding a lost culture, people, civilization, or cracking an unreadable language.
And I could be a part of that. How exciting.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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2 comments:
Well, we always knew you were going to dig in the dirt. BTW, why and how has the "Hollywoodization" of your field made it more difficult for you to work in it? Is this common? I mean, librarians didn't experience a bump after that ER guy was in a TV movie about them...
Well, there isn't really much glamour in being a libraian is there? In a way, it has exposed more people to the idea of being an archaelogist; here at Lyco, half the people I meet are Arch/History majors.
For some, I think, they come with the idea that it will be like "National Treasure", or "Indiana Jones", and they are disapointed when there is only your square hole and the dirt to be moved.
But at least, if they stick with it, I think, they will learn that history isn't all dates.
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