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2021
02
Jul
Gaining Confidence
Mason Bolaño, Franklin and Marshall College
(July 2, 2021)—If I had to describe myself, I’d say that I am a chronic overthinker. My brain tends to fire off thousands of thoughts a minute, anxious about the small and large alike. Before I even arrived at the Preservation Archaeology Field Sch...
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2021
30
Jun
Sense of Displacement
Kathrine Taylor, Cochise College
(June 30, 2021)—Preservation archaeology speaks not only to what we preserve and protect, but also what and whom we find worthy of preserving and protecting, of understanding, of learning from and respecting. It poses a unique opportunity to reevaluate the place...
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2021
30
Jun
Fifteen Pipes
Val Freireich, Volunteer
(June 30, 2021)—Fifteen stone pipes in a plastic bag. Other than potsherds, fifteen of a single type of artifact in one place has been a rarity during my volunteer work on Archaeology Southwest’s Robinson Collection Project.
Fifteen steatite stone pipes. The quanti...
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2021
22
Jun
Arqueología: Entendiendo nuestro pasado para abrazar nuestro futuro
Josué Cortijo Contreras, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras
Mr. Cortijo Contreras is bilingual. He offers an English-language version of this post following the Spanish.
(22 Junio 2021)—Siempre he visto la arqueología como una vía para ayudar a otros; especialmente, aquellos que han...
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2021
17
Jun
The Transcendent Experience of Preservation Archaeology
Ruijie Yao, University of Arizona
Mr. Yao’s first language is Mandarin.
(June 17, 2021)—I have trained as a Mediterranean archaeologist, so Southwestern archaeology and its field methods are new to me. I had many ideas about archaeological fieldwork before I came to the field school, but I...
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2021
15
Jun
Renewal
Megan Eigen, SUNY Albany
(June 16, 2021)—It may not come as a surprise, but I—like many others—was first introduced to the concept of archaeology by watching Indiana Jones movies as a child. Although there is much to be said about Indiana Jones and his practices, the films drew me into the ...
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2021
15
Jun
Diversity Across the Landscape
Ray Mills, University of Maine
(June 15, 2021)—When I first came to the Southwest, I was expecting an arid landscape scattered with sparse, scraggly vegetation, and lots of sand. I was not expecting the high level of biodiversity that I have observed over recent weeks.
Immediately, as I step...
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2021
10
Jun
The Ins and Outs of Survey
Gabby Pfleger, Glendale Community College
(June 10, 2021)—Over the past week, I’ve been learning the processes involved in archaeological survey from the field school’s survey director, Michaelle Machuca. In theory, this work sounds like the dream—hiking and searching in the name of archa...
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2021
09
Jun
A Nonrenewable Resource
Taylor Cole, Arizona State University
(June 9, 2021)—Within anthropology, archaeology serves as a tool to understand and piece together how cultures have changed over time and how material culture—things people make and use—helped us become one of the most widespread species on Earth. By ex...
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2021
04
Jun
Field School in the Time of COVID
Beatriz Barraclough-Tan, Fordham University
(June 5, 2021)—I think field school would feel a little like an island at the best of times, but COVID-19 has made everything even more isolated. It’s a bit weird, because for some of us, this is the biggest group of people we’ve been around mask-...
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2021
01
Jun
2021 Preservation Archaeology Field School Kickoff
Karen Schollmeyer, Preservation Archaeologist and Director, Preservation Archaeology Field School
(May 31, 2021)—The 2021 season of our Preservation Archaeology Field School just started, and it’s great to be back in New Mexico with this year’s students.
Some things look a little diffe...
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2021
15
Apr
Think Before You Bolt That Rock
Shannon Cowell, Preservation Archaeologist
(April 15, 2021)—Two people climb the same stretch of a sandstone cliff face in eastern Utah. Centuries stand between them. Both climbers pause at the same spot, each evaluating the cliff face with their own culturally specific priorities. Instead of t...
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