Archaeology

Revealing The Past Of The Future That Reveal The Cracks Ignored By History

Aug 01, 2024

Some of this post will get cut off in the email, but you can view the rest of the post on the Substack website, or in the app, whichever you prefer! I’m so happy to finally be releasing this post into the world. Enjoy!

Previously, in the Physical Anthropology article-essay:
<Imagine>
A World Before:
Electricity.
Organized Religion (As. We. Know. It. Today.)
Writing. (As. We. Know. It. Today.)
The. Internet.
Science (As. We. Know. It. Today)
<Imagine>
You’re with a group of other humans.
You have left your larger tribe to seek out new lands for more resources such as food, water, and shelter.
You arrive on a distant, unfamiliar land. You’ve been told, or at least are led to believe, that this is the land of your ancestors, who are now a distant memory, and are kept only alive through oral stories.
<Imagine>
You are in a group of about 5 members. You are all frightened. You are all hungry. You all don’t necessarily like each other. But you each have your role for this moment. Not everyone will make it. In fact, three of you will die-and of the three that die, one will be used for food. But none of you know this yet.
<Imagine>
Right now, though, you’re feeling confident in your abilities to get along and survive in this land that your ancestors came from, and you still have some food left.

<Imagine>

Pottery

Rock Art

Potsherds

Architecture

Groundstones

Hammerstones

Projectile Points

Clothing fragments

Food and edible ingredients in jars unopened for millenia’s

<Imagine>

Signs of life before your time scattered throughout the land from the depths and bowels of history

<Imagine>

“The emerging discipline of anthropology combined three long-existing streams of thought. The first was the study of what we have come to call cultural differences among societies. The second dealt with the struggle to explain the antiquity of humans and the artifacts left from these ancient lives. The final line of thought, closely related to the second, was the investigation of the biological origins of humans and other species. All of these areas have been the subject of investigation and speculation for much of the past millennium.”-Anthropological Theory, Seventh Edition

When you think of archaeology, what comes to mind? Pyramids? The Great Wall of China? Ancient civilizations? Dinosaur bones? Aliens?

It’s probably dinosaur bones, right? Then aliens. And then pyramids, the Great Wall of China, etc.

Two images from this meme are partially true about archaeologists and another image is actually true. Can you guess them?

Archaeology.

In short form, archaeology is the study of material culture left behind by human ancestors.-Excert from When You Say Anthropology…

It’s got a complex history.

From a few certain points of views, archaeology looks like it started off as a career for treasure hunters, people-mostly greedy-ass humans who identified as men according to, well, most of history as currently written by whomever-before it became a somewhat profitable profession at the expense of other cultures, a profession supposedly made famous by the British Empire, followed by everyone else. That’s part of the general lore that I grew up with at least.

Nowadays, though, thanks to changing mindsets about how artifacts from other cultures and countries should be handled by outsiders of said cultures and countries, archaeology is a somewhat respected profession that has made a name for itself in movies, books, and the imagination. If that’s how you believe archaeology should stay, then I encourage to either not read this article-essay, or remember as you’re reading to:

Pause. Take a breath (or 5ish) whenever you need to. Continue reading. If you feel at any time that you need to take a break from this reading because you want to stay in your fantasy of what you believe archaeology is like, then listen to yourself and do that. It’ll be here when you’re ready to get back to the reading and or listening to the <eventual> recording.

As for everyone else who is reading this because they want a deeper peek into what archaeology is, you might be finding yourself asking these questions about archaeology:
-How did it start? What the fuck is it actually like?
-What do archaeologists do?
-Do you really have to document everything? Like, everything everything?
-You get to be outside and dig around in the dirt and rediscover things previously not seen for a long-ass time! That’s fun, right? Right?!? Hello?

*Clears throat*

Um, yeah, that last one you do get to do.

In all kinds of fucking weather too!

Hot hot heat! Dirt blowing in your face! Cold-ass drizzly rain! Snow! Underwater! Mountainous terrain! Fucking sand! Dark tunnels! Caves! Swamps! And other places and temperaments!

When I say all the elements and terrain, I do in fact, mean all the fucking elements and terrain! If it was reached by H. sapiens and our ancestors, then it can be excavated by H. sapien archaeologists!

Also, yes, there is a shit-ton of paperwork that has to be filled out-before going to the site, while you’re at the site, and after you leave the site! And all of that is before all of the items (from very large to very small) gets processed and sent to wherever for more documentation…and cleaning…and possible displaying in a museum and/or historical center!

In this article-essay, I will be touching on the history of archaeology, artifacts and cultural material, a conversation I had with a passenger when I was still doing Uber Driving, and a brief dive into why archaeology is considered part of anthropology in the U.S. as opposed to its own separate field internationally.

Take a deep breath and hold on to your butts, folks! We are gonna take as deep of a general dive into the field of archaeology as we possibly can! Maybe not deep enough for you to say Ozzy Osborn’s favorite F-word as you…read…but pretty fucking close!

So, motherfuckers, get yo fave drinks, snacks, claim your comfy corner and let’s go!

History and Perceptions of Archaeology

How did archaeology get its start? Contrary to popular belief (and whatever the fuck Hollywood and international cinema thinks it’s about), one could say that archaeology has been around in various forms since ancient humans started leaving behind things that whispered, “Hey, I didn’t just make myself, someonething made me!” And so, as the species that evolved to not be just curious (like cats) but also developed various ways of communication with each other, they did for us as we will do for our future descendants: left things for us to find, argue about what their use was for, and try to preserve it because we are obsessed with being remembered.

We are not a narcissistic-like species at all. Nope, abso~~fucking~~lutely not! Why the hell do we need to be remembered? Why do we even want to remember the past if we aren’t going to learn from it? There are obviously very many different answers to these questions, and they can be explored in another post, if that is something of interest that you Fellow Musers would like read about on this corner of Substack!

*Clears throat* Ahem, anyways…

There are many sources which you can find all across the world-wide web about the beginnings of this semi-humble profession. But for ease and to not make this article-essay into an hour(s) long read, we’re gonna just go with a few sources.

But officially, the start of archaeology (as we know it today) can be traced back to the 15th and 16th centuries in Europe, although I did see something about it starting waaayyy back in the BCEra with a king from Macedonia (I think it was Macedonia. I can’t remember, but the human was definitely considered a king!). History tells us that it emerged from the Humanities into it’s own beautiful, complex subject.

A subject that was used for nefarious purposes like, say, colonialism. We all know the effects that colonialism has had throughout history. And while I may have been listening to too many

Ancient/Now

Afterlives podcasts (can’t stop, won’t stop listening, by the way), I think modern-day wise we can look at history all the way back into ancient times and see the effects of colonialism throughout different cultures and civilizations. Now, let me be clear-the most historically recent colonialism happened because of various European nations wanting to have dick (and a few vagina) contests of amassing new lands for their now defunct empires. We have seen, and are still seeing, the effects of what that has done to any cultures said empires came across. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, turn on the TV, go read an article, watch the Indiana Jones movies…after you read this article-essay of course.

Why do I bring up the topic of ancient and modern-ish colonialism you might ask? Because part of archaeology, in addition to digging up cool, awesome shit from the past and having dumb arguments over what each individual “found” (read: rediscovered) piece means, also involves:
~untangling ancient propaganda that can help us understand how modern propaganda still works
~figuring out how to unravel colonialist interpretations of ancient cultures and learning to accept what the actual interpretations mean (at least as best as we can) from the people who are descendants of said cultures and whose families have been living in said area for generations upon centuries
~You don’t believe me about the dumb arguing over rediscovered items? Here’s an example: The famous Venus Figurines. They are in the shape of a large, shapely female, with generous breasts, hearty thighs, and a hearty booty to boot! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just ask the Almighty Google. Anyways, there are some official lines of thinking about these statue:
1.) It’s proof of ancient pornography-it was a sex toy used by our ancient ancestors during the paleolithic period for masturbation and also fertility festivals. Because, ya know, we need to make statues for an excuse to masturbate…*sarcastic* *eyeroll*
2.) Now that everybody’s brains are cleared from the sexual release you probably had from looking up the Venus figurines online you dirty minded f-worders, the second, and honestly, more logical line of reasoning is that while the Venus Figurines could be a prospective image of a fertility goddess, the statues are most likely just that-statues. And remember, if you choose to believe the first line of thinking, in a lot of places it’s lawfully illegal to expose sex organs in public, so please control yourself until you get to the privacy of your home, preferably your sleep room. Thank you and see link in footnote!1
3.) That’s not to say that there aren’t ancient sex toys found at archaeology sites. Oh, my friends, there are. They just tend to not make the list of exhibits shown in the public galleries at museums. Unless the exhibit is about ancient sex, then perhaps you would be able to gaze upon the ancient artwork that is the ancient sex toy and erotic images. There are also ceramics and papyrus showing sex as well. I am putting a footnote2 here and will link a few pages with said footnote. Reader beware-view at your own risk! (And please, do not report me to Substack-I’m not being explicit, the images technically fall under ancient art, and am therefore not violating any Substack rules. Here is a link to the content rules for your viewing pleasure! *Wink Wink /author releases a little tear at having to put this disclaimer*)

Another perspective about archaeology, as the Society for American Archaeology3 puts it:

Archaeology offers a unique perspective on human history and culture. Archaeology helps us understand not only where and when people lived on the earth, but also how they have lived. Archaeologists examine change over time, seeking patterns and explanations.~SAA

In conclusion to this section, as much as we would like to think that archaeology is about making new discoveries, in my opinion, it’s really more about rediscovering our past. Rediscovering the triumphs and mistakes that were made so that maybe (hopefully, possibly) we could learn from them. Perhaps more importantly, realizing that our ancestors were just like us today-trying to get along while trying to find their own way through this world, and understand it as best they could.

<Imagine>

The group of five+one.
-The Leader/“Hero”
-The Pregnant Mate
-The Heir/Adolescent
-The Elder/Shaman
-The Brother
-The Stray

The adolescent in your group has been taken. He is the offspring of the self-appointed leader of the group. This self-appointed leader decides to go through a forest that the group was going to previously go around, because you did not trust what was inside the forest.

You have weapons, but you also make a few more weapons to protect yourselves with.

You all go into the forest after the adolescent and whoever or whatever took him.

Chaos ensues.

Out of the five that went in, only two adults come out.

You and your friend, The Brother-who had briefly abandoned the group because he did not believe that using the recently deceased leader who was killed by The Threat to feed your starving selves was the right thing to do.

<Imagine>

The Threat has a head shaped in a way that you’ve never seen before. It has sockets but no eyes. It has a beaked-mouth.

Gods, it’s a demon!

The sound it makes freezes your blood, making you want to forget the adolescent, that some in the group believe to already be dead, and run away!

But you defy your senses. You stay. And because you stay, you see something that shocks you more than the idea of demons or other supernatural beings coming to the land of the living to kill you.

<Imagine>

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

What Do Archaeologists Do?

Archaeology helps connect our past as a species to the present. We see this in the findings of various artifacts. When I say artifacts, I also mean material culture/cultural material. As I explained in my very first post in the archaeology section, I wrote that cultural material:

…has a large range. It can be pyramids, clothing, cars, railway nails, utensils for eating/serving food, potsherds, pots and pans, buildings, the previously mentioned graffiti-also known as cave art/rock art, stone tools and tools that make the stone tools (also called lithics) etc. Some examples of things today that can be considered cultural material are iPods, iPads, Tesla cars, laptops, apartment complexes, VCR’s, VHS’, designer bags/clothes/accessories, air pods, boomboxes, folding tables, e-readers, etc…y’all get the idea, right? Good, because my brain can’t think of other things right now…cardboard boxes, cat toys, other kinds of toys…okay, let’s move onward!-Excert from When You Say Anthropology4…

Another explanation is that cultural material can be defined as any material created and/or altered by a human/group of humans. This doesn’t just involve going outside of cities to vast, empty-ish areas (that are usually on private lands), or going into wooded/planty areas and lifting up those vines to take a peek at what’s underneath. Archaeology can also take place in cities, usually underneath buildings that are built on top of older buildings. But first, we’ll start with the good, ol’ outdoors (usually private lands) and work our way inwards to the cities!

Rocks, Lithics, Whaaaat?!?

The work that I do for my student job is cataloguing some of this cultural material in the form of…

Wait for it…

If you guessed rocks, you got it right! However, in archaeology (and anthropology), the word for this culturally altered rock is lithic. Fun word to say, right? Much more fun to say than rock!

These are examples of lithics, not ones that I have catalogued. I believe that all of these pictured here would be classified as **flakes**.

Lithics come in all shapes and sizes. While one can say that all lithics have the potential to obviously be used in self-defense/attacking-there were many used for defense/attack-others were used to grind up food, paint, and even used as decoration. The lithics that I catalog come from an area that is part of private property. The owners generously allow people from geology, archaeology, and paleontology to come onto their land, do surveys, and where archaeology is concerned, if anything is found that looks like it was culturally modified, paperwork is filled out, and if approved, excavations can begin. Part of the paper work is getting permits to dig in the area, which are obtained by the field supervisor. I’m personally not too sure how that all goes down, but a quick search via the Almighty Google led me to this site5 about who can ask for the permits in Texas, and also gives some information about the first librarian of Houston, TX.

Some of you may be wondering why paleontologists and geologists would be at an archaeology site. We’ll talk about the paleontologist presence in a bit, but as for the geologist presence, well another aspect of studying lithics is to look at them through geoarchaeology.

Geoarchaeology

Every summer, my workplace has two field seasons where there is a mixture of grad students and volunteers who come out to help rediscover items left behind by indigenous societies. and tribes who once traveled through the area. They work alongside geologists, paleontologists (in case those lovely dinosaur bones decide to show themselves), and a slew of other professionals. Archaeology, like anthropology, is a multi-disciplinary field.

Geoarchaeology is a multi-disciplinary approach which uses the techniques and subject matter of geography. geology, geophysics and other Earth sciences to examine topics which inform archaeological and chronological knowledge and thought. Geoarchaeologists study the natural physical processes that affect archaeological sites such as geomorphology, the formation of sites through geological processes and the effects on buried sites and artifacts post-deposition.
Geoarchaeologists' work frequently involves studying soil and sediments as well as other geographical concepts to contribute an archaeological study. Geoarchaeologists may also use computer cartography, geographic information systems (GIS) and digital elevation models (DEM) in combination with disciplines from human and social sciences and earth sciences. Geoarchaeology is important to society because it informs archaeologists about the geomorphology of the soil, sediment, and rocks on the buried sites and artifacts they are researching. By doing this, scientists are able to locate ancient cities and artifacts and estimate by the quality of soil how "prehistoric" they really are. Geoarchaeology is considered a sub-field of environmental archaeology because soil can be altered by human behavior, which archaeologists are then able to study and reconstruct past landscapes and conditions.~Wikipedia

Since working at my current job as a student assistant, I’ve also learned that having basic knowledge of geology is also pretty handy, especially when it comes to the minerals and sediments. It may not be screamed very loudly in archaeology circles, but geology is an important part of identifying lithics, as well as identifying quarries for those famous pyramids in Egypt. For example, a good majority of the material that I catalog is quartzite, with a variation of purple quartzite. There is also quartz, with a variation of rose quartz. I’ve also come across chert, chalcedony, basalt, mudstone (rarely happens, but it happens), petrified wood, sandstone, and silcrete while catalogging. The source material from which the minerals come from we label as material source (such as a quarry or deposit).

In addition to cataloguing lithics, when I first started at my job, I was washing sediments such as clay to find very small items such as animal bone, variations of shells, seeds, charcoal, and sometimes evidence of human occupation such as a small bead, nail, etc. I remember learning on my first day that some artists will actually buy clay after it has been washed out and use it in their work. Real clay, by the way, is a very thick material and can be difficult to wash.

Another popular item that archaeologists look at that connect the past to the present are ceramics. Y’all know what I’m talking about-those gorgeously, decorated pots, vases, statuettes, etc. Okay, some of them aren’t as gorgeous, and not all of them have artistically drawn sexual acts pictured on them, but someone worked on those pieces of art and they should still be appreciated! Masks have also been found at various sites all around the world.

A popular subject that is talked about today is reuse. Reuse of items so that we don’t have a lot of trash, even though we still leave a lot of trash. Archaeology tells us that our ancestors also reused items. It’s been shown that in Latin America, the ancient Maya would reuse stones built for previous pyramids and use them to either add/help build new ones. In some episodes of the Ancient/Now podcast Afterlives of Ancient Egypt,

Kara Cooney

Amber Myers Wells

, and

Jordan Galczynski

talk about coffin re-usage, re-commodification, how Ancient Egyptians appear to have successfully conquered their fear of the wild animals around them by giving them human-like attributes and turning them into gods and goddesses of protection, fertility, etc., and a whole host of other interesting topics! Here is also a link6 to a page from Research Gate about the Ancient Maya reuse. For some personal insight to Maya history, check out fellow Substack writer and my friend,

Jeanine Kitchel

’s page,

Mexico Soul

-specifically this post7 that she released last Friday that tells the story of why the Maya and their culture remained a mystery to the non-Maya world for so long!

I wanted to also talk about urban archaeology, but I’ll make it quick since this is already a very long read, and then I’ll give y’all a Deep Dive post about it in the future *wink*. When someone says they do Urban Archaeology, basically it’s archaeology that’s done in cities. Urban archaeology is mainly used to help map routes of major roads and helps identify places that have historic value, such as brothels, old hotels, even unmarked graves.

I cannot end this section without mentioning that, because of Urban Archaeology, a massive unmarked grave was identified in Dallas, TX a while back. The sad, horrible part was that the unmarked graves were of people of African-American descent. There is some good news, though-some of people in the graves have been identified and claimed by either by living descendants, or by groups of African-American descent. The point of reclaiming the bodies is to give them a proper funeral so that they are celebrated and their souls can finally move on to their next phase, or afterlife.

In my first in-person class at the university I’m attending, our instructor showed us a video of one of these funerals. A woman from New York City claimed the body of one of the unmarked graves because in life, the man had been a member of the church the woman was a part of. So his body was exhumed, taken to NYC, dressed up, put inside a modern-day coffin, and there was a celebration of his life. Even though I was watching it as an observer a few years after the event, I admit I had a few tears come out, and I felt the woman’s joy, as if I was with her and her church group that day. It was a truly beautiful and deeply spiritual event to watch.

Even now, as I type this and remember that day I watched the video, my eyes still tear up and I find myself smiling a small, happy smile because of the empathy shown by the group.

Record Keeping and All That Damn Paperwork

Earlier I mentioned that there is a lot of paperwork that happens within the field of archaeology. I realize that every profession has their fair-share of paperwork, but if a poll was done asking which profession had the most forms filled out, I’d wager a year-subscription to this Substack that archaeology would be in the Top 3 on said poll. Like, the documentation that this field does probably deserves it’s own pole dance song. Imagine Chingy singing “Right Thurr” and had included in the music video people in field clothes with trowels, shovels, chopsticks, and brushes. They do that right thurr right thurr!

Aight, I realize that while pole dancing is fun (hey, poles aren’t just in the strip club yo!) let’s get off the pole dance stage for a bit, and talk about archaeology field methods. That’s probably one of the real reasons y’all are reading this, amiright?

Tools of the Trade and the Measurement System

I know I’ve been mentioning paperwork and documentation a lot, but of course there’s more to archaeology besides that. So let’s talk about some of the “tools of the trade” so to speak. Archaeology is very a very tool-based profession, obviously. Like those dino-bone diggin’ paleontologists, archaeologists also use brushes and shovels and tech-imaging to find clues and evidence that a human or groups of humans lived in an area, migrated, etc.

Metric and Imperial Measuring Systems

Archaeologists also use yarn to help them keep track of where they have dug. It’s not uncommon to see 1x1 sized holes8 at dig sites. All archaeologists use the metric system when measuring-including archaeologists from the U.S. I am not going to go into detail on the difference between the Imperial System <which the U.S., two other countries use9, and is also known as The British Imperial System and System> and the Metric System <which the rest of the world uses>, but I did find a site10 that I feel explains the differences pretty well. For those who don’t know the difference, the main difference is the Imperial system uses Fahrenheit, inches, miles, etc., while he Metric system uses kilometers, meters, stones, etc. Honestly, I don’t remember ever being taught that the measuring system that the U.S. uses is called the Imperial System, so this was news to me. To be clear, I learned the measurements/mileage/weights, just not the system’s name. To be even more clear, I’m not going to write a post about the differences because it’s too much for my ‘murican brain to handle. Here is a Wikipedia link11 that goes into much more detail than the first measurement link for those of you who want take a deeper dive. I hope y’all get the picture because my head will probably explode if I go on.

*Takes a few deep breaths*

Anyways, archaeologists use the metric system for archaeology. This means using grams for weights, meters and centimeters for measurements. When I measure and weigh the lithics that I catalogue, I weigh in grams and measure in meters. When I data-enter, I put the object field number, the designated catalog number, descriptions of the object, as well as weight. Not every lithic that I catalog has a measurement, but most do.

Tools

If you’ve watched The History Channel, or any channel that features archaeology on it, you’ve probably seen images of people digging in dirt, and brushing dirt away. Okay, so they use brushes and their hands to remove dirt. They gotta use other tools, right?

So what else do they use?

In addition to soft-bristled brushes (say that 3x fast, I dare you!), other tools that archaeologists use include:

Items that I took with me when I participated in an archaeological field-school for a semester. R2 and the Llama stayed behind.

Pictured:

Gloves
Metric measuring tape
Line levels
Trowels (I use to have two trowels, but I lost one)
~Triangle trowel-helps break the dirt up
~Rectangle trowel-makes the survey walls look smooth and pretty
-At least that’s what our instructors told us…we also used the them to remove dirt too
Yarn (any color)
Sharpies

Other tools:

Mechanical pencils
Clipboard for the paperwork, and object positioning
~basically someone has to draw where the uncovered objects are, while someone else measures the space, and then everyone gets back to digging the objects out
Shovel
Sunscreen
Drinks
~Water
~Gatorade (your muscles will thank you!)
Food
~Snacks/Snack bars
~Cold lunches
Field Journals
~To keep notes in, and record anything of interest that happened

Clothing

Due to weather variations and various climates, archaeologists have to have clothing for any and all types of weather. Layers are encouraged because excavating starts at the lovely ass-crack of dawn and end around the time it starts to get stupid hot, inhumanly cold, or if rain is going to pour and not drizzle.

So, what I wore while at my field school was:

Sports bras
Under armor
Shirt (either a t-shirt or thick, buttoned up shirt)
Jeans
Water-resistant hiking boots (I ordered my from R.E.I., they come up just barely past my ankles, and they are so comfy, even for everyday wear!)
Hat
~Beanie
~preferably one that covers your ears and will shield your neck
A water-resistant jacket (I wore a ski jacket that my dad bought me waaay back in 2007 for a church youth group ski trip. Despite my 30’s weight gain, it still fits today!)
Socks
~Wool socks preferably
~If you don’t have thick socks, doubling up works just as well and is also highly encouraged

Famous Archeologists

Up until the 1970’s, the field of archaeology was very male-dominated. There were women in the field before then, but of course their finds were credited to the men🙄. This is a very short list of archaeologist, but I thought it was important to highlight some important figures of the past who helped shape archaeology into the field it is today.

Some female archaeologists ranging from 1869 to 1906: Maud Cunningham, Kathleen Kenyon, Harriot Boyd Hawes, Dorothy Garrod, Gertude Caton Thompson. You can read about them here.

Random note: Mary Leakey, second wife to Louis Leakey, was a famous paleoanthropologist in her own right.

Some very famous male archaeologist: Howard Carter, Louis Leakey, John Lubbock, Robert John Braidwood, Flavio Biondo. You can read about them here.

Archaeology Changed and Moved Forward Once Women Became Active Participants In The Field

During a lecture in my Archaeology Methods and Theory class in 2021, my professor said that up until the 19th to 20th century, archaeology was a male-dominated profession, which a lot of us were already aware of. Then she mentioned that once women entered the field and were taken seriously, the field began to change. I can’t remember specifics of what she said, but what I personally got out of that conversation was that instead of looking at things from one view, there were now multiple views.

After doing a small amount of research for this article-essay, some things popped up that surprised me (although it probably shouldn’t have) about women’s contributions to archaeology. Due to women being limited roles in the early days of archaeology, women found a way around their limitations placed on them by most men by studying things like textiles, household/domestic items such as utensils, and the cultures of where they lived. Essentially, while humans who identified-as-male focused on the “generally big” archaeology picture, humans who identified as-females focused on the details that filled the rest of the picture. I realize that this will probably be read as a “broad explanation” from this human who identifies-as-female writer, but I feel that in some ways, it fits an idea about both anthropology and archaeology as a whole: the cracks of history written mostly by men (the narrative of which is also changing) are being filled in by women, LGBTQ+, and non-binary peoples today, in addition to men who acknowledge the error of their ways of excluding people and ideas from the narrative.

The 1970’s are considered a time when archaeology began to really make a leap forward and when women started to really enter the field and be taken more seriously as archaeologists. It still wasn’t easy. Of course, as today still, even back then women (and some men as well) had to deal with various amounts of harassment by their colleagues, as well as deal with being made to feel lesser. A woman that I talked to when I briefly worked in Tel-Communications, raising money for my university, said that she had started getting her degree in anthropology but changed it to history because of how hard it was during the 1970’s to get a degree in the field. It helped open my eyes to how far along the profession has come in terms of accepting people who are not male/masculine in the field. I found a paper written by an archaeologist who specializes in Maya archaeology alongside her husband about both her and their experience with a career in archaeology as a married couple in the same profession12.

Currently, archaeology in the United States, and I suspect internationally as well, is coming up on a turning point as a profession. As the old guard changes, and the new guard comes in, further shifts will happen in both anthropology and archaeology. Already, we are seeing more and more inclusivity by having people from cultures that were once regarded as inferior being acknowledged, listened to, and showing the world why their cultures are important and that they should be included in any and all conversations. It is truly an exciting time!

<Imagine>

All but two of you in your group are alive. You and the adolescent. Your adult friend is dead.

You have just defended yourself and the adolescent in your group from what you defined as The Threat. However, the adolescent is angry at you-very, very angry.

The Threat as you defined it turned out to not be the threat that you thought it was. Turns out, You were The Threat, and the not-threat was defending their home from you.

The not-threat was actually protecting the adolescent…from you and the rest of your group.

The not-threat looked similar to you, but a bit more wild and hairy, and with a bit more of a jut out jawline.

And you killed them, and your adult human partner killed the not-threat’s partner at the same time he got killed by the one he was fighting.

<Imagine>

You listen to the boy yell at you and the longer you listen, the more horrified you are by your actions. You go back to the cave that the previously-thought threat had made as their home.

You take a good, long look and realize that just like you:

They had ways to communicate.

They drew images on walls.

They created items to stay warm.

They made fire.

They needed food and shelter.

They feared, and acted on their fear to protect themselves and their people.

They mourned and respected the dead.

In fact, they had made a place for a member of your former group who was visibly pregnant, due to give birth, and had died before they could give birth… all while trying to kill you because until recently you were perceived as no use to the group.

<Imagine>

So Why Are There Paleontologists at Archaeological Sites? Also, Are You Gonna Talk About That Damn Alien(s) Conspiracy?

So earlier I mentioned that paleontologists are known work alongside archaeologist at excavation site. What I need to add is that they are also known to work in the same areas as archaeology excavation site. Why, you ask? I did not put two and two together until talking with someone with more knowledge than I about this stuff, and honestly I feel that it should have occurred to me as to why, but apparently there’s a chance to find dinosaur bones near or at archaeology sites as well as evidence of humans and their activities.

I honestly felt dumb (and honestly, a little mislead by my archaeology teachers because they tend to not mention that little fact!), but suddenly it made sense to me as to why some people truly believe that dinosaurs and humans coexisted. A gentle reminder to anyone who still thinks this: Humans would not have been able to survive (in neither a scientific nor religious sense) during the Age of the Dinosaurs. We be smol, therefore we be food, therefore extinct.

But, but, but…Jeff Goldblum…”Life finds a way!” What about that?!? God bless Jeff Goldblum (truly, the man is awesomesauce!), and while I do agree with the phrase, “Life finds a way!”, in short, the atmosphere that we breathe and the atmosphere that the dinosaurs breathed are two completely different atmospheres separated by multiple evolutions and asteroids and climates. Sorry to burst your bubble. I’m not a doctor or a therapist, but I’m certain that going back and forth between episodes of The Flintstones, dino documentaries based in science, episodes of Land of the Lost, and more dino documentaries based in actual science to help you recover from the lie that some manipulative asshole put into your mind. Oh, and actual therapy too.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Now, it also wouldn’t be a Fun, proper archaeology introduction post without some mention of Aliens from Outer Space!

<Apologies in advance for the following typed-out question that is in all caps, but I wrote it that way for a reason.>

I have a question that I have been burning, like truly burning, to ask people when the alien topic comes up:

Why in the the general, absolute FUCK is it so F****** HARD TO FORKING BELIEVE THAT ANCIENT FUCKING HUMANS COULD ACTUALLY BUILD THINGS THAT F****** SO CALLED MODERN PEOPLE BELIEVE WAS TOO F*CKING HARD FOR OUR ANCESTORS TO FORKING COME UP WITH?!?!?! ALL BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T HAVE THE F~~UCK~~ING TOOLS AND MACHINERY THAT WE HAVE NOW?!? I MEAN, C’MON ~~PEOPLE~~ Hoomans!!! GRRRRR!!!!13

*Author takes her own advice and takes a few deep breaths before continuing*

*Clears throat* Yes, I do feel better, thank you so much for asking!

Rant aside, dearest Fellow Musers, why is it so impossible for people to believe that our ancestors could build the big things just because we don’t have all the written records that say how the big things were built? No instruction manuals so must have been aliens!

I actually did have a conversation with someone about this one time while I was still doing Uber Driving in my hometown of Midland, TX. He was a trucker whom had a craving for Long John Silvers, which is where I picked him up to take him back to his truck at the local truck stop. I got the usual question of “So what made you want to be an Uber Driver?” So I told him and that’s when he said the fucking dreaded words:

“I think aliens built the pyramids!”
He was lucky that I did not stop the car and kick him out in the middle of the road. Hey, I would’ve also tossed him his food, so it’s not like I would’ve left him hungry or anything. And I remember that there was very little traffic on the road at the time, so he would’ve been able to make it to safety. Would I have gotten suspended from driving for Uber if I had done that? Probably. Would it have been worth it? Nah, probably not, since I was trying to save up to go to school. I was also driving for Lyft too, but sometimes Uber payed better (and still does, to be honest) so there was also that factor as well.

Thankfully, I did not give into the temptation. Alas, twas such a loss for my inner devil.

But I digress.

He could tell that I thought he was crazy. But I was polite and listened to his ideas, occasionally giving small arguments as to why his ideas had no bearing scientifically. And no, I can’t recall the exact argument he used to justify his stance. But I do remember that he was nice, and he even gave me a good tip in the app after I dropped him off.

Even though I want to scream when I hear these pyramid-alien conspiracies, even I admit that some of them can be entertaining to hear/read about. Hell, I even believe that there is life on other planets. Whether they are still micro-cells or fully developed beings with their own thoughts and creativity I can’t know, but I do like the idea of us not being alone. I certainly don’t believe that anyone from space came down to help human civilization long before current history, but hot damn some of those sci-fi books are fantastic reads!

I think we can all agree, on some level, that the human imagination is fascinating, at both its best and its worst.

Although, I admit, if I found my things randomly on the floor when I knew that they were on the table, and Nalia and Salem suddenly spoke Hooman and said that it was aliens, I’d totes believe ‘em.

Nalia and Salem: Ooooh…ideas!

Yas, Mama, it was Awiens who knocked teh thingz off teh tabel!

But you said that you’re a huge fan of Sci-Fi! And much of science fiction is based on alien activity-proof that aliens are the builders of human civilization!

Indeed, I truly am a big fan of Sci-Fi! And I would be the first-among many people who also say that they would be the firsts-to go through that Stargate, beam myself between Picard’s Enterprise (any of them will do, thank you very much!) and Janeaway’s Voyager, travel amongst the stars with The Doctor in the T.A.R.D.I.S., sneak between Rebel and Imperial ships from Star Wars, and swing a lightsabe or two while flying on a jetpack!

However, if there are truly other, developed <in our sense of the word> lifeforms, I’m honestly not sure how I would react. Do I believe that there are lifeforms on other planets? I believe it’s a possibility. Do I believe that said lifeforms are more intelligent than us in terms of technological advances? I want to say, “Yes”, but honestly, it’s a lot to wrap my head around, and that’s probably why-if there are other lifeforms out there that are more advanced than us-that they might not have revealed themselves to us. As a species, I don’t believe that we’re ready for that kind of reveal, even if we think we are. At least, not in this century. In another century or three, perhaps? If we haven’t wiped ourselves and everything alive on this planet out of existence, yeah.

*Takes a deep inhale and slowly exhales*

<Imagine>

You were formerly The Stray of the group, the apparent outcast who was of apparent no use. Until you had your very first bleeding. Then you became useful. But you were too use to having to survive, even within your group, to realize that you mattered even before you bled your first time, showing signs of potential fertility from the male view, as explained by the formerly alive Leader before he died and you and most of the group had to eat some his organs to stave off dangerous hunger.

<Imagine>

You acknowledge to the adolescent that you were wrong about the Not-Threat. You both decide to put aside your differences and give the two Not-Threats and your friend-The Leader’s Brother-a burial. Using stones to cover their bodies and mark their graves, you decide that if you come across others who are similar to the Not-Threats, you will do your best to get along with them, look past their differences, learn from them, and perhaps even call them Friends.

<Imagine>

You and the adolescent decide to make the caves your home until you can find more Friends, known in the future as Neanderthal (aka Homo neanderthalis), or even possibly more of your own kind, known in the future as Humans (aka Homo sapiens).

<Imagine>

Conclusion

To conclude this post, archaeology is not really connected to dinosaurs and aliens did not build pyramids or civilizations. Archaeology is about finding evidence of past cultures and understanding how they lived. If you think about it, in about 100 to 300 years, future archaeologists will be looking into the many eras that we are currently living in, and despite what we all write to describe how these eras are through our point of views, those future archaeologists will also have their opinions about how we lived today as well! I’m honestly glad time travel isn’t a thing (yet). To be able to go into the far future and see what they say about us is both exciting and terrifying, in my opinion.

I could honestly write this post forever, critiquing, adding, subtracting, re-adding, etc. But you, dearest Fellow Muser, have been so patient with me that I dare not keep you from reading someone else’s post any longer. Just be sure to take a small break before coming back to stare at the screen, please!

This is the last of the Four-Field Introduction/Foundation posts. I will add a few more posts to that section, mainly a mini-deep-dive into the tech used (I very much wanted to talk more about rock art and the tattoo laser technology that has been used to clean up modern-day graffiti), GIS technology, types of preservation that museums use. Eventually I will do a Deep Dive the role that museums and CRM play in preserving artifacts, NAGPRA, etc. I also wanted to go into the difference between why archaeology is considered as part of anthropology in the United States, but is it’s own field according to the rest of the world. But all of these topics will eventually find their way into your inboxes! I do have ask, is there a topic about archaeology that you would like explored, either as a Musing#, Deep Dive, or both? Lemme know in the comments, DM me, or email me!

Until next time, Fellow Musers, Carpe Diem and Huzzah!
~Kimber, Salem, and…

Nalia, dressed as Indiana Jones including the hat, jumping from the couch to the counter to other places that she’s not suppose to jump/get into to: Chaos Bringer is here! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! *imagine that theme music playing as well*

Human and Salem: *Blink blink blink*

Human: /facepalm

Salem: /pawpalm

Nalia's Possible Emergency Vet Fund

Musings of an Anthropology Student

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