2016
01
Jul
On Origins and Homecomings
Katelyn (Katie) Jacobson, University of California at Santa Cruz
(July 1, 2016)—Listening to an origin story is a commitment. Migrations, war, a fall, an exodus, generations, exile, and a homecoming; crawling out of the sludge took 3.2 million years and if you want to stand out in the desert an...
more
2016
30
Jun
The Importance of Floors: A Case Study of Feature 300
Jonathan Alperstein, Vassar College
(June 29, 2016)—Whether you are working in a pit house or a pueblo room block, one of the most exciting parts of an excavation unit to work on is the floor fill. This year, while excavating the pueblo room we labeled Feature 300, we removed a grueling number ...
more
2016
28
Jun
Understanding the Landscape They Lived in
Evan Giomi, Survey Director, University of Arizona
(June 27, 2016)—Archaeological survey is the activity of locating, identifying, and recording archaeological sites to build a record that can be later used by archaeologists looking to put shovels in the ground or monitor any damage to the sites ...
more
2016
27
Jun
Adobe Walls
Conner Awayda, SUNY–Buffalo
(June 27, 2016)—Protecting from wind and rain, allowing cool temperatures in the summer, and heating in the winter, adobe makes up the walls of past homes. A mixture of sand and clay, adobe is made from earth and water. By mixing in water until the soil is the righ...
more
2016
18
Jun
A Bee-Avoiding Field Trip
Emily Marturano, University of Pittsburgh
(June 17, 2016)—What do you do when bees decide to take over your excavation site and force an impromptu day off while the hive is removed? Drive to the middle of the desert to look at rock art, of course. In the name of bee avoidance, we headed to the ...
more
2016
17
Jun
The Archaeology of Looting
Elissa McDavid, Hendrix College
(June 16, 2016)—Before arriving at field school, I had imagined well-preserved sites disturbed by nothing more than a few animal burrows, adobe walls and floors that behaved nicely, and no looting. (Blame National Geographic glamour and the fact that no one reall...
more
2016
14
Jun
Leave-No-Trace Archaeology
Lexie Bennicas, University of Hawaii
(June 14, 2016)—When my turn at archaeological survey came, Evan led us past rattlesnakes and through thick brush into the valley of the Gila to a hill on the outskirts of the floodplain. Within minutes of approaching the hill we found artifacts rangin...
more
2016
11
Jun
In Appreciation
Patrick Depret-Guillaume, University of Virginia
(June 11, 2016)—Attending field school has given me a renewed appreciation for the skill and ingenuity of humanity’s common ancestors. For millions of years, stone technology underpinned our survival. For centuries considered crude and primit...
more
2016
10
Jun
A Memorable Success in Preservation Archaeology on Elk Ridge
Guest post by R. E. Burrillo, Archaeologist: Manti-La Sal National Forest, Moab-Monticello District, UT
(June 9, 2016)—During the week of May 23, something wholly unremarkable and yet almost never talked about in the media took place in southeast Utah: a group of volunteers did important work an...
more
2016
08
Jun
Survey Says…
Adam Sezate, Graduate of United States Naval Academy
(June 8, 2016)–Under our survey supervisor, Evan Giomi, my partners and I had the opportunity to help the Nature Conservancy survey their land along the Gila River. My team and I were in search of any clues of past human settlement in an ...
more
2016
12
Jan
You're Invited: Making Archaeology Public
Sarah Herr, Senior Project Director, Desert Archaeology, Inc.
(January 12, 2016)—This Thursday night in Tucson, the 15th biennial Southwest Symposium opens. The Southwest Symposium has always been one of my favorite archaeological conferences, as archaeologists working in the Southwest United Sta...
more
2015
13
Oct
A Long and Winding Road
Between now and October 17, 2015, Archaeology Southwest is participating in the Archaeological Institute of America's celebration of International Archaeology Day (10/17/15) by sharing blog posts about why—or how—we became archaeologists. Today we feature Leslie Aragon, frequent collaborator, Ph...
more
Show More