June 18, 2017

Week 3 – Unit C

Alex and Jerica discuss their mapping plan.

As the team continues to make progress in our work, I think it is safe to say that we have faced a few challenges along the way. This week in particular, the heat and humidity have intensified. I, personally, am not used to this kind of physical work. I have felt my body getting tired quicker as the summer weather settles in. One of the advantages that we have is that we have tents to keep us shaded for most part of the day. Not every archaeologist is lucky enough to have a tent to shade them from the sun. So this increases my respects for archaeologists even more.

My favorite part of this week was sketching the north wall of Unit C. It took me some time to get it right but the process taught me that, in this field, it is very important to pay attention to detail. Mapping requires a lot of concentration in order to get all the details right. It is also important to be a team player. My field school partner, Alex, has been a great team player and, in my opinion, we have been able to get a lot of work done in the couple of days that we work together. Mapping the wall would have been so much harder had it not been for Alex’s help.

Alex and Jerica discussing mapping the north wall.

Another one of my favorites is doing the Munsell Test. Finding the right color of the soil has been challenging as well, but it makes me want to keep trying until I can match the color to the right shade. I think this is one of the coolest steps when finishing a level of our unit. I actually went online and took a Munsell Hue Test to sharpen my skills. I was surprised to have scored a 7. So here is the link for those who are interested in taking the test and finding out how sharp your color vision is http://www.colormunki.com/game/huetest_kiosk .

Even though Unit C had an exciting start, we found ourselves screening buckets worth of clay, really nice rocks, and some more rusty nails. So it was decided to close the unit and move on to Unit D. The day Unit D was excavated, the field crew found a bone that could be from a cow. So, as we head into week 4, I am looking forward to making more intriguing discoveries and continuing this journey.

Jerica measures a depth on the north wall.

I think that my least favorite part is taking notes. I have always been a visual and hands-on learner. When I’m shovel skimming or sketching, I get “in the zone.” So, stopping to take notes of measurements or of what we just did, can be a little tedious for me. But I think that everyone has a favorite and least favorite thing about their job. All in all, the field school has been an awesome learning experience for me.

This is it for now. Until next time, fellow readers.

Author: Jerica Aponte