Day 2 (by Katie)

Day 2 is a wrap! This Friday was the first full day we spent in the field, and for most of us, our first time laying out and digging a unit. To start the day out, we drained the water out of the unit with buckets, and settled down at the picnic table for a short explanation by Dr. White about how to fill out the proper paperwork and provenience for our field work. 

At this point, I realized that I'd be relying on my notes quite a bit throughout the semester, since we will be filling out a lot of forms and labeling dozens of bags. Since you can only dig a site once (and digging destroys the matrix surrounding the artifacts) recording these details is the absolute most important part of field work.

​Afterwards, it was time to break ground. 

We laid out and started digging our first unit. Here you see us taking Unit 12 down a level to 40 cmbd (centimeters below datum). We learned how to take elevations using the laser level, break soil, and record information about the soil. So far, this unit unit yielded several sherds and flakes! We even found the top half of a projectile point. 

After a refreshing lunch break, Eddie Reeps was kind enough to give us a demonstration of his drone. I thought it was fascinating. His robot is able to fly through the air at 55 mph and avoid hitting trees on its own. By the time he finished, I think we were all a bit envious and ready to dish out a few thousand for our own.

Overall, I learned that you can only really become proficient in field work through getting your hands dirty and experiencing it firsthand. Finishing a productive day of manual labor is one of the most satisfying feelings out there. Can't wait for next week!