Tuesday, October 29, 2013

UNM 2013 Fall Field School - Day Six in Chaco


By Curtis Randolph
It was another gorgeous day in Chaco Canyon. The warm rays of the sun shone down on our site as soon as they peaked over the walls of Pueblo Bonito. The ancient architecture we are surrounded by could not be more beautiful than it is first thing in the morning. We are truly working in an awe-inspiring place. The weather was perfect today. Every time we even began to feel warm, a breeze came by to cool us down. The wind did pick up a bit in the late afternoon, but like everything else that seems to fall into place here, we were ready to pack up anyway. We all kept very busy today.  Some people went on a hiking expedition to do site assessment along the south mesa, while the rest of us stayed and continued to excavate our assigned units. We are all uncovering very interesting things. The land is rich with historical artifacts left behind by people working at and around the Wetherill Trading Post. Every bucket of earth we screen seems to be full of treasures. Bits of metal are very common, but we also come across artifacts left behind by earlier occupants such as pre-hispanic ceramic sherds and chipped stone. LeeAnna was even fortunate enough to uncover a projectile point. It was a very finely crafted biface that appeared to be made of chert.
Jenny did some work with her GPR equipment today. She was looking at the agricultural fields just south of Chetro Ketl. This particular type of field that is laid out in a grid type pattern may not have been so common in the canyon, so the data she collects should tell a very interesting story having to do with irrigation systems and farming techniques. 
There is never a shortage of things to do around here.  Our days are spent doing fieldwork and our evenings consist of bagging and tagging the day’s uncovered artifacts. Any spare time in between can be filled by giving one of the other group members a helping hand.  No one person’s assigned task is expected to be their burden alone. We work as a team. In a group this large you wouldn’t expect us all to be able to work together efficiently, but every day we do just that. From loading the trucks to clearing fields, we all seem to move together like a well oiled machine. You wouldn’t believe the amount of vegetation we can all clear in just a matter of minutes.
All in all fieldschool can sometimes feel a little intense, but it is immensely rewarding.  Every minute seems to bring another once in a lifetime opportunity. We go places and do things that many of us may never have the opportunity to do again. I know there are fieldschools held all over the world, but I really couldn’t imagine a better place to be or a better group of people to be experiencing it with.

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