What
Does An Archaeologist Do?
Once the Archaeologist
has agreed to investigate a project, she is ready to survey
the site. Surveying is a lot like taking a huge piece
of graph paper and placing it down over the site. The
graph is called a site grid. By digging on a site grid,
you can be sure that all of the squares or units on the
site are the same size.
The next step is to
remove the sod and topsoil, which is usually the modern
grass level. Sod is removed with shovels by digging up
the soil in narrow and shallow strips. Shovel shining
is removing the topsoil by skimming the surface with the
shovel blade, taking a thin layer of soil off the surface.
Now the excavation is ready to
begin. Sites are dug in square units. The size of the
unit is usually decided by the Archaeologist. Special
attention is paid to layers and features.
Believe it or not, the ground
is arranged in layers, kind of like a layer cake. When
you find a layer in your unit, it will usually cover the
whole floor of your unit. You can tell when you’ve
reached a new layer when the color of the soil, or its
make-up (texture) changes. Archaeologists dig with trowels,
exactly like those used by a bricklayer but smaller.
A feature is an artifact that is
too large to move. A feature might be anything from a
filled in pit to a foundation wall or floor. If you find
a feature while you’re digging, you will have to
draw a top (topographical) plan of it. A top plan is a
drawing that gives you a bird’s eye view of the
feature. It is drawn to scale, which means that it is
measured as it is drawn, and shrunk down to fit on a piece
of graph paper. A good scale for a top plan is for 10
cm on the ground to equal 1 cm (or one square) on the
graph paper. The feature is then dug out separately from
the layer(s) around it. Artifacts found inside the feature
are kept in a separate bag from the ones found in the
layer(s) around it. Once the feature has been dug out,
you have to draw a cross section of it. A cross section
is a drawing that looks as if you’ve cut the feature
in half. It tells the Archaeologist what shape it was,
and possibly, how it was created and destroyed. A cross
section is also drawn to scale.
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Dirt is sifted through a screen
to make sure no artifacts were missed while digging. Artifacts
found in each layer are bagged separately from the ones
found in the layer(s) above and below it. Detailed notes,
photos, and maybe even videos are taken about everything
that is done or found on the site while digging.
A unit is usually dug until you
find subsoil. Subsoil is different in each area, but it
is usually a hard clay or sand. Subsoil is sterile, which
means there are no artifacts in it. Sometimes, you might
find some non-historic features in the subsoil. These
are features made by prehistoric Indians (Native Americans),
more than 400 years ago. Once you find subsoil in your
unit and you are sure it is sterile, you can draw a profile
of the unit. A profile is a drawing of the walls of your
unit showing the layers (and features) you found as you
were digging. A profile is also drawn to scale
Once the profiles have been drawn
and photographed, you can backfill the unit. When you
backfill, you are filling in the unit so that the area
can be returned to the way it was before you started digging.
Artifacts and notes are taken back
to the lab for analysis. It is in the lab that the Archaeologist
looks at all of the information found in the field and
tries to piece it all together. Analyzing a site is like
putting together thousands of small pieces of a huge puzzle
to see what it looks like. Once the puzzle has been put
together, the Archaeologist tells what she thinks it means
in the site report.
An archaeologist has a great job
and is always meeting new people and going new places.
This may be a career you'd like to learn more about, or
a hobby that you can enjoy for the rest of your life.
I hope so!
