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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