Our area of interest within the discipline of Anthropology is Archaeology. That is why we chose to intern at the Gault School of Archaeological Research. Throughout this semester interning at the Gault Project lab and site, we have learned a lot about the process of archaeological excavation, artifact processing and the history of this amazing archaeological site
Katie first became involved with Gault as a student volunteer in early 2010. This was her first experience out in the field, seeing first hand everything she had been taught about archaeology in the classroom. She very quickly realized what a great opportunity volunteering at Gault would be and immediately began speaking with the Gault team about becoming an official student intern.
Jessica’s first experience in the field of archaeology was at the Lower Pecos Canyon Lands which was under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Black. Throughout her classes under Dr. Black he had mentioned Dr. Michael Collins and the Gault site and what a great opportunity it would be to visit and get to know more about Paleo-Indian culture. During the internship, Jessica’s focus was not only the field experience she gained by volunteering at the site on the weekends but also through transcribing interviews for a recent project within the Gault Project to write a book about the site. Much of the modern history of the site is gained through the interviews between Dr. Collins and Reid Amadon, the author.
Before you begin the process of extracting material from the ground you need to gather all of the tools that you will need while excavating. At the Gault site this includes: a trowel, small hand held broom with dust pan, a bucket, flagging tape, all paper work, clip board, measuring tape, pencil, sharpie, fine point sharpie pen, plastic bags and water pump dispenser. All of the correct forms will be filled in first with information that includes excavator name, lot number, unit number, date and elevation. For your bucket you will need two pieces of flagging tape. With a sharpie you will write the date, Smithsonian trinomial, lot number, unit number, beginning elevation, northing and easting( unit number for specific lot), and excavators name on both pieces of flagging tape. One is tied to the handle and the other is placed inside the bucket. The bucket will be where you place all of the soil, artifacts, debitage, and other items that are not point provienanced or individually bagged. When the bucket is full it will be set aside and screened at another time.
Some items are individually point-provenanced. This includes artifacts such as bifaces, flakes, and generally flake fragments that are bigger than quarter size. Using a stadium rod you will take the elevation of the artifact and then record its specific northing and easting within that unit. When all of the information has been recorded the artifact and the point-provenance paper are placed into a plastic bag. This will then be taken back to the lab where all of the artifacts can be cleaned, cataloged and analyzed.
After material has been screened and point provenanced, it is brought into the lab and entered into inventory. Each bag is checked in according to its lot number. The items in the bags are then washed, sorted, cataloged and later analyzed. One bag is washed at a time so that artifacts from different lot numbers are not mixed up. The artifacts are placed into a strainer, then set into a bucket that is filled with warm water. Using a toothbrush all of the dirt and soil is scrubbed off of the artifacts and then placed on a drying rack. While cleaning it is important to remember to keep point provenanced items with their bags and separate from all of the debitage that was screened. More fragile items like bone and shell are not cleaned. After all of the artifacts that were screened are dry, they will then be sorted.
Katie: My involvement as a volunteer and intern for the Gault Site has been the most fulfilling experience in my academic career thus far. Having the opportunity to be out in the field has shown me just how little I know about being an archaeologist. There is so much to learn once you are outside of the classroom and down in “the pit“. My internship has also given me the desire to learn more and continue my studies at the graduate level.
Jessica: What I have gained in my experience during this internship is that it’s important to understand what it takes to start an archaeological project from the ground up. In transcribing the interviews between Dr. Collins and Mr. Amadon, author of the upcoming book on Gault, I learned about the trials and obstacles an archaeologist might have to go through in order to get permission to start an excavation, protect the site from present and future looting, and financial backing for a site.