Thursday, June 24, 2010

Archaeological Internship


Hi All!

My name is Amanda Codd and I am a Public History major at Stevenson University. I have just finished an exciting 3 week internship with Jim and his crew. During this time, I learned artifact identification, excavation methods, and artifact recovery.

One of my favorite activities was water screening. I enjoyed it because it was a change of routine from the dry screening method. Also, it was fun to sift through the wet, muddy water looking for artifacts, and then cleaning them right there.


Today was interesting because I learned how to mend artifacts, and why mending is important to the world of archaeology. Mending artifacts relates back to Public History, because by having most or all of an object, it is easier for the general public to visualize how people lived and what they used in their daily lives. A small piece of ceramic can be boring by itself, but when glued together with other similar pieces, that small piece of ceramic becomes a bowl or a china cup that someone used on a day to day basis. To the right is part of a transfer-printed pearlware bowl I mended today (it used to be three pieces!).


I'm happy I had this opportunity to work with Jim and his staff! It was a wonderful learning experience not only for school but also for practical or real life purposes.

Feel free to click on the images for a close-up!

Thanks again!
Amanda

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