I chose to do an internship because I know that most jobs in archaeology require some sort of experience to get a job. Plus, most of the work done in archaeology is done in the lab. I chose to do my internship with the Texas Historical Commission’s Archaeology Lab because they have a strong intern program, have lots of work to be done, and I would be working with artifacts straight from the field. I also felt that it would be a good way to meet some of the local archaeologists and begin to network. And lastly, I thought that an internship where I would be working with artifacts would be interesting and fun.
Most of my duties in the archaeology lab consisted of taking artifacts from archaeological sites, organizing them into groups according to site lot number or artifact type, retagging them, re-bagging them, sometimes cleaning them, and making sure they were up to curation standards. This can entail fixing past mistakes like using pencils or sharpies to write the site number and lot number, or sometimes the wrong lot or site number maybe, on the artifact. Marking artifacts, although sounding easy, is a skill that I have learned takes practice. Also, I would make a detailed inventory list of the artifacts from each site and then put that list into the computer system.
My first several weeks working in the archaeology lab were spent working on the Fort Davis Family Fort Site. Fort Davis Family Fort was established in 1864. This family fort is not to be mistaken for the military fort in the west. Over the next two years the fort would be the home to over 120 persons. With the onset of the Civil War the federal troops that once protected the Texas frontier were gone, leaving the civilians on their own to protect themselves. The Comanche, not liking the encroachment onto their land, took this as an opportunity to increase their raids. So, most of the people who chose to remain in the area decided to “fort up.”
Accompanying all the documentation for the Fort Davis site I found the journals of Samuel Newcomb and his wife Susan. The Newcomb’s were citizens of Fort Davis. Their journals are dated from January 1st 1865 to June 6th 1872. The journals talk a lot about the everyday life in Fort Davis. Samuel tells a lot about the people coming and going in the fort, some of the military business, and the building going on in Fort Davis, which helped archaeologists piece together some of the site layout and dates of when different things were built in the fort. Mostly Samuel tells a lot about the weather in Fort Davis. Susan’s journal tends to be a little more personal. She tells of the frustration of waiting for any information to reach the fort, and of the isolation felt there. She also talks about the everyday life of the women of the fort and of missing loved ones who are far away.
I spent a lot of my lunch hours reading their journals. After reading the journals I would work with the artifacts envisioning what life must have been like in the fort, living in the Wild West. One day at lunch I read about a wedding that took place in Fort Davis. In it, Samuel tells of the white tableware used in the festivities after the ceremonies. When I went back to my work after lunch I would notice all of the white pieces of ceramic and would have visions of that piece coming from one of the plates used in the wedding. I still wonder if any of the ceramics I touched were used at that wedding. Another time, as I was going through the artifacts, I began to notice that there was a lot of window glass. A few days later I was reading in Samuels’ journal and he told of a terrible hail and wind storm that broke out a lot of the windows in the fort. Well, that explained why there was so much window glass to be found.
I have learned a lot about Texas during the Civil War period through reading these journals. Their journals have made a big impact on me. I feel very fortunate to have been given this site for my first assignment. I have learned a lesson from the Newcombs. You see, a lot of people would call the work I did in the archaeology lab mundane, or boring, and I am not lying, sometimes it can be. But, when I would read the journal and then go through the artifacts, I had such profound feelings that are hard to put into words. These pieces are not just glass or ceramic sherds; they are the remnants of people’s lives. People who, just like me, had everyday issues. They had joy and sadness, hopes and dreams. These artifacts tell a story, and I feel so lucky to have worked with them and relive the story that lies within them. This is a lesson I hope I never forget. No matter where I go in this field or how bad or boring the work may be, I want to remember that it is not about the artifacts, it is about the lives that the artifacts represent.
One of my favorite things about working in the Archeology lab is that you get the chance sometimes to see some really cool stuff come through. I got the chance to see some amazing lithics from many different sites. I learned a lot about lithics, and how to identify them. I really liked processing the lithics. It was like a puzzle to be solved. You receive this big bag of rocks and by the end of it you have them separated by type, sometimes time period and location. I also worked on a graveyard site that had many artifacts from early to mid 1800’s graves. I thought this was really interesting. I cataloged many very old coffin nails that day. Also some clothing, a burial shroud, a wedding ring and many pieces of glass from viewing plates that were on the front of the coffins so the loved ones could see the deceased in the coffin before they were buried.
Looking back now at the semester I spent in the Archaeology Lab, I feel the things I learned there are things you really would not have the opportunity to learn in a traditional class setting. The most valuable thing I learned from my internship is just the familiarity with the different artifacts. I feel I am better prepared, than people who have not had this experience, to work in the field and in the lab. I also learned how to better prepare artifacts in the field for the work to be done later in the lab. I would definitely advise any student wanting to work in the archaeology field to do an internship. Even if you think it may be boring, the things you learn are necessary, if you are serious about your career.