Soundtrack

Surprised in the Wilderness

Potomac Falls, Maryland/Virginia, February 18, 2012.

Well, it wasn't *quite* the wilderness... but there were trees and water, and a few surprises. Friends and I went for a hike near DC, vising the falls of the Potomac River, which is really quite stunning. 

Maryland Gold Mine, Great Falls Park, February 18, 2012.

The surprises? There's gold in them thar hills. These mines in the hills outside DC were operated until the mid-twentieth century. Over 5,000 ounces of gold were extracted. That's somewhere around $7.5 million at recent gold prices. Dang. I shouldn't have been surprised at gold in the hills; after all, there are emeralds not far away in North Carolina and a silver mine underneath Sing Sing prison. What surprised me was gold mining practically in sight of the National Mall into the late 1940s.

Finally, there was a Barbie Doll Murderer in the vicinity. We came across two, count them TWO, Barbie corpses. One death by drowning, one death on the rocks. I know they're only toys, but it was a little disturbing. 

Death by Drowning, Great Falls Park, Maryland, February 18, 2012.

Death on the Rocks, Great Falls Park, Maryland, February 18, 2012.

Day of Archaeology 2011

Today is the first Day of Archaeology. If you're interested in the variety of jobs that archaeologists have, or are just curious about what it is archaeologists do, check it out. Over 400 describe what they do in a day:

http://www.dayofarchaeology.com/

Abstract Distraction (and a photo)

After much humming and hawing, I've finally mashed together an abstract for an upcoming paper. I'm never terribly fond of putting together conference abstracts because I don't have the paper written yet (obviously!) and I worry about writing something either too specific and limiting what I'll be able to write about when I write the paper, or writing something so generic that it's useless. Generally, though, I'm presenting after all the work is done, so I have *some* idea of what I'll be talking about.

This time, I'm presenting on the starting end of a project -- what we know, what we don't know, previous work, research questions. It's hard to write a paper (or abstract a paper) when it's not about having the answers, but about the process. Or thinking about the process.

If I don't have the answers, what am I doing? Well, I'm trying to introduce people to the site, and put the impending research into context, geared towards the contexts associated with the session I'm in.

And that right there is the clearest I've been about this thing. I'm going to go re-write my abstract. Again.

This is what abstract writing feels like.
Ausable Chasm, New York, October 2009.

YES!

OMGSuperCoolSite vicinity. May 29, 2011.

The Board of Directors at OMGSuperCoolSite have approved my proposal to do my dissertation research there! *happydance* I will try not to freak out about logistics for a while, and just enjoy the elation/relief of a yes :)

Having a nosh near OMGSuperCoolSite, May 29, 2011.

Embedded and Implicated :: Responsibility

As archaeologists, we pride ourselves on the long view, but if we train our view only on the past, we neglect our present. And, if we have come to understand that our work is embedded and implicated in social and political context, then we cannot present that such was true only in the past, only during periods of acknowledged colonialism, or only true for earlier generations of archaeologists. It’s true right now.
-- Barbara J. Little*

* Reintegrating Archaeology in the Service of Sustainable Culture, Patty Jo Watson Distinguished Lecture in Archaeology, December 4, 2009, American Anthropological Association annual meetings, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

We're Modern Now, Put On Pants

The Fabulous Historiann had a recent post on The Intellectual Value of Being Wrong, where she argues that conferences should be places of playing with ideas and trying out new things. I agree entirely, though I've not yet had the gumption to do it. I have, however, committed myself to a conference at the dawn of 2012 where I just might, by necessity, if nothing else (I won't have actually done any sub-surface fieldwork by the time I present...).

The post is worth a read, as is, as ever at Historiann's, the comments section. Good, insightful, and crazy-knowledgeable. And funny. I had to share this one from Rustonite; in addition to making me laugh out loud (for realz), Rustonite makes a really good point about periods and timeframes that I think we'd all do well to remember:

I don’t get why there’d be controversy about applying the word lesbian back, any more than there is about periodisations like modern and medieval. Nobody in the middle ages though they were living in the middle (of what?), and it’s not as though somebody came out at new years 1600, ringing a bell and yelling “we’re modern now, put on pants!” Everything we say is a bit anachronistic. It’s important to be aware you’re doing it, but if we tried to write non-anachronistic history we’d find it impossible.

You'll just have to visit Historiann to find out what that lesbian comment is all about!

PS: I highly, highly recommend Judith Bennett's book History Matters: Patriarchy and the Challenge of Feminism. I can't recommend it enough; it should be required reading for historians and historical archaeologists.

Lightning Update

• I have a place to live come August. I am grateful to the person who responded to my plea, and went to check out the apartment on my behalf to make sure there were no bugs, dead things, or other reasons I shouldn't take it. Yep, I've not yet seen the inside of my new digs; but the building looks good, and the lease is signed.
• I'm no longer an adjunct. Feels........ weird. I've described this transition from working archaeologist/adjunct/married person to student/single as "between lives." It totally is. And as much as I'm a fan of writing about liminal places/spaces, living in one over several months is losing it's lustre.
• Wrangling a conference session seems pretty straightforward. Until critical email to one of your presenters bounces with no forwarding address, one presenter hasn't given an abstract nor responded to pleas for same, and the conference registration software does weird shit. And somewhere in there, I need to find a laptop that's running MS Powerpoint 2007, because I'm using Open Office on my machine, but I need to bring the hardware.
• Friends rock.
  

Article Done!

After literally years of trying to secure image permissions, I finally was able to get an article written and submitted. It's just a short research note, that poses way more questions than it answers... but it's done!

And forms a small part of The Book (for which I was truly wrangling the image permissions)...

A nice relief, and now on to the next thing...

RBOC Part 2... "Soon" = 1 week

Parking lot, Jacob Riis Park, Gateway National Recreation Area, New York, March 2011. When this parking lot was built in the early 1930s, it was the largest parking lot in the world. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sooooooooo...... yeah. The week got completely away from me, and "Shortly" became a week. Here then is RBOC Part 2:

• I didn't follow-up on the job search mentioned in Part 1 because of impending grad school. Which I am very excited about. And the more things unfold, the more clear it is that the school I'll be attending is really a fantastic choice.
• I have to get The Book done. I'm starting to freak out a little, though mashing data from a chapter I've eliminated into a chapter I'm keeping for several hours this week has made me feel better. Now I have to write about what it means. And stop researching, already!
• There is hope. Squadratomagico recently posted some quite beautiful writing about writing. I think any writer knows That Place. And I rejoice that it is possible to find the way out, and that Squadrao~ has both found the way, and shared.
• I'm writing a book review. I agreed because I've never written one before, and the book is about something I'm interested in researching once The Book is done, and you know, in my otherwise copious spare time. As I jump in with both feet, thank goodness for Historiann and her mailbag (not, by the way, the first time this week that I've thanked goodness and H'ann herself for her professionalization posts). Advice for book review writing: here and here. I'll definitely be keeping the second in mind as I choose my words.
• OMGSuperCoolSite may be closer to being a reality for dissertation research (happydance). I really hope this pans out; I'm starting to get terribly invested.
• Stumbled on this blog through links of links of links of other peoples' blogs. Gorgeous photography, and I really liked her how-to. This particular one on shooting the light. I still aspire to good photography taken on purpose even with my Little Sh!tty Camera. Mostly what I take now are "take lots of shots of things that look cool and see what turns out."

Speaking of, I have been remiss in posting pictures for months now, though I've dutifully been taking them. The last few RBOC will consist of pictures:

The Peterborough Lift Lock (Trent-Severn Waterway Lock 21), built 1904, Peterborough, Ontario, January 2011. This is the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world. Cool for skating in the winter, pretty amazing to watch in action in the summer.

Tangle. Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware, March 2011.

Disposing of an outbuilding, near Dover, Delaware, March 2011. When I called 911, they thanked me for calling, but the farmer was just getting rid of an outbuilding. Archaeological implications: yeah, taking note.

Philosophical Positioning

1. The personal is political. (Source of some debate)

2. The medium is the message (Marshal McLuhan)

3. All history is local (Joseph Amato, possibly others earlier)

Suitable Conservation of Iron

I don't give two craps what you plan to do with the big rusty iron thing you found and want to keep. I don't care if you plan to leave it outside in the snow and ice, Rustoleum paint is not a suitable conservation treatment.

Yes, I understand it doesn't come off. That is, exactly, my point.

*headdesk*

Archaeology in New York City

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has made their library of archaeology reports accessible online. The reports (almost 1,200), available online as .pdfs, are searchable by keyword and borough. It looks like the keyword search hits author, title, and abstract.

It is exciting to have ready access to this otherwise grey literature (research that is done, but not published) -- not just regarding specific archaeological projects in NYC, but also to the incredible and detailed micro-histories of parts of the city that are included in the historic contexts sections. I've done some work in NYC, and the histories of individual properties can be fascinating.

For a really fascinating take on changes in the NYC landscape when the street grid was dropped on it in the early nineteenth century, have a look at geographer Reuben Rose-Redwood's 2002 MA thesis, Rationalizing the Landscape: Superimposing the Grid upon the Island of Manhattan. Manhattan used to be rolling hills; they flattened it for the grid, and didn't pay *any* attention to former property lines or buildings. Amazing.

For some really great archaeological work in NYC, check out the series of reports titled Tales of Five Points: Working Class Life in Nineteenth Century New York. Six volumes of really great stuff, now available for free online thanks to the NYC Landmarks Commission:

Volume 1: A Narrative History and Archeology of Block 160, by Rebecca Yamin (2000).
Volume 2: An Interpretive Approach to Understanding Working-Class Life, by Rebecca Yamin et al. (2002)
Volume 3: Documentary Data, by Rebecca Yamin et al. (2002)
Volume 4 (2 parts): Basic Artifact Inventory Part I, and Part II, by Rebecca Yamin et al. (2002)
Volume 5: Conservation of Materials, by Rebecca Yamin et al. (2000)
Volume 6: The Long and Short, Being a Compendium of 18th and 19th C. Clay Tobacco Pipes from the 5 Points Site, by Rebecca Yamin et al. (2002).

Exposure to sawdust...

... inevitable.

Just saw a job posting online for a dendrochronology [tree-ring dating] tech position at Cornell. Pretty standard stuff... educational requirements, etc. etc. And then, what they're *really* looking for:

"Very detailed visual acuity and concentration required, as is the ability to lift 20 lbs. Limited exposure to chemicals, although bleach is often used to discourage micro-floral growth on wet wood samples. Exposure to sawdust inevitable."

Translation: must have good eyesight, be moderately fit, not have ADHD, not mind the smell of bleach, and not be allergic to sawdust.

Next thing I'll see is an ad for an archaeologist that says "Exposure to dirt inevitable!" A good giggle for a snowy Friday.

Recent Acquisitions

So here are some recent book acquisitions (yes, I know I'm trying to divest myself of stuff and am very careful about what books I acquire because of it). I saw this on another blog, and thought it was a pretty fun idea. Ok, I'm a geek. I get it! Enjoy :)

1. Seeman, Erik R. (2010) Death in the New World: Cross-Cultural Encounters, 1492-1800. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. This *just* came in the mail today (thank you, Amazon Gift Certificates!). I'm very excited to read it, and the little bit I've skimmed indicates it is really quite readable. Chapters include deathways in the Old World, first contact in the Americas, the Chesapeake, New France, New England, African-American deathways, and the Seven Years' War. It's distantly related to The Book, too; I'll have to be careful not to get all tangential.
2. Zinn, Howard (2003) A People's History of the United States, 1492-Present. Perennial Classics, New York. I've wanted to read this since I first heard about it, oh, five years ago or so? (Yes, I've been living under a rock). I got it about two weeks ago, and have been reading it. Good stuff; I'm very much enjoying the different view of history, and have actually already incorporated some of it into my work. I only wish there were more complete citations for information and other leads I could chase down. I understand editors often cut those things out for general audience books, but I'm *really* missing them.
3. Drooker, Penelope Ballard and John P. Hart (2010) Soldiers, Cities, and Landscapes: Papers in Honor of Charles L. Fisher. New York State Museum Bulletin 513, New York State Education Department, Albany, New York. This one is available free online as a .pdf courtesy New York State (click on the title to get there). A quick peek suggests there are a lot of good papers in here, including early military stuff and two chapters on delft tiles in the state. Flipping through, I saw a very neat wolf-head effigy European smoking pipe, which I need to read more about, and I'm very interested in reading the chapter on the Tenant-To-Owner Agrarian Myth (agricultural ladder) in the Adirondacks.

Edit 1/20/11: I should clarify which fields these are from! #1: history, with some archaeology; #2: history; #3: archaeology, mostly historical. I almost applied for PhD studies in history, but I'm pretty hard-wired as an archaeologist.

A Little Bit Anthropologist

For your viewing pleasure, while I continue to wrangle grad applications...

Public Archaeology

1. I'm still alive, and life is pretty good, especially when I stop freaking out about looming grad school application deadlines, and just work on getting the suckers finished up and out the door.

2. I've been doing some reading in applied anthropology/applied archaeology/critical archaeology/engaged archaeology and all those other variations that involve archaeology being explicitly relevant, engaged, political, and collaborative. I found this summary of what public archaeology is, and wanted to share, since it's generally one of those amorphous concepts:

[Public archaeology is] more than learning how to handle volunteers at the site, making public talks, and presenting archaeological information in interesting ways. It includes those aspects, but also includes a willingness to share fully in both the production and presentation of archaeological knowledge, and to engage in the debates that surround public perceptions of those materials. (Carol McDavid, quoted in Michael Lucas)

Sources:
McDavid, Carol (1997) Introduction: In the Realm of Politics: Prospects for Public Participation in African-American Archaeology. Historical Archaeology 31(3):1-4

Lucas, Michael T. (2004) Applied Archaeology and the Construction of Place at Mount Calvert, Prince George's County, Maryland. IN Paul A. Shackel and Erve J. Chambers Places in Mind: Public Archaeology as Applied Anthropology, Routledge, New York, pp. 119-134

Two Too Cool Sites

There are two, and they are too cool...

1. Abandoned America. Fantastic photography of abandoned sites including hospitals, asylums, steel works, commercial, military, etc. Gorgeous photos; the ones of Bethlehem Steel took my breath away. Alas, I don't remember where I came across this link.

2. Insignificant Topographies. Zoom in super close for the history (?) of things you see (and ignore) every day. Link gleaned from the Contemporary Archaeology email list (check it out if you're into the archaeology of the recent past, or happen to be a theory wonk). This big-to-small zoomy thing is a bit clunky, but has a ton of possibilities for presenting sites to the public.

And SHIFT...

That rare, amazing moment when you realize that what you're reading has fundamentally changed how you think about things? Happened to me tonight. It started as casually flipping through an Inter-Library Loan while my class wrote their mid-terms, and ended with me sitting in the classroom after everyone had left to finish the section I was reading, and wishing it wasn't borrowed, because I was itching to annotate. Obviously, not the only person to have that impulse, as there was already marginalia.

The book: Jones, Andrew (2007) Memory and Material Culture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

The passage:

We take for granted the survival into the present of artefacts from past. Indeed, the discipline of archaeology would be impossible without the survival of such artefacts. What is the implication of the durability or ephemerality of past material culture for the reproduction of societies in the past? ... [R]emembrance is a process made apparent to the experiencing subject by the continual and dynamic encounter between the subject and the material world he or she inhabits rather than an abstract and dispassionate transaction between the external world and the mind. This opens up the possibility of thinking about memory differently. Rather than treating memory as a function of the internal processes of the human mind, we might consider memory to be produced through the encounter between people and the material world.

All kinds of good stuff about the dynamic production of memory and meaning between people and things (things take an active role in his approach). I haven't finished reading the book yet (barely started), but I have fireworks going off in my head.

This has happened to me twice more over the last couple of years. Once reading Judith Bennett's History Matters: Patriarchy and the Challenge of Feminism and once reading Mary Daly's Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism. I'd bought a copy of Daly's book, but had borrowed a copy of Bennett's. I hadn't cracked it for more than 5 minutes when I ordered my own copy, lest I vandalize a library copy. My copy is now massively annotated and dog-eared. Interestingly enough, these events have not been isolated incidents, but are linked by a series of people, places, and events. I've been reading crazy-wildly lately on all sorts of topics* but these are the works that set something off.

* All sorts of topics include: the history of death; ritual concealments; fine metal refining; soils for growing tobacco; the prevalence of pig in certain foodways assemblages; colonial distilling; memory; landscapes; the Progressive era; contact period tribal organization in parts of the Mid-Atlantic; public archaeology; critical archaeology; etc. Dude, no wonder I'm tired...

Home Again and Happy Fall!

Autumn Field, Tompkins County, New York, September 22, 2010

Happy fall, everyone. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend much of the first day of fall outdoors!

I'm very pleased to say that the meeting with Prospective Advisor went great. I was totally not nervous when I arrived, probably owing to the fact that I'd been for a hike, had not entirely imagined that visitor passes and parking zoos would take up quite that much time, and had left my directions to hir office somewhere that wasn't with me. I'd pretty much run the nerves out of me by the time I got to hir office (on time); I would have preferred to be a little less sweaty, but w/e. Zie was also very welcoming and easy to talk to; it quickly went from "interview" to "shop talk." Prospects are iffish because of funding constraints, but making the connection with Prospective Advisor was totally worth the trip.

I drove up a day before my meeting and took the opportunity to spend some time in one of my favorite places (within a couple of hours of the U., definitely a perk) and took some pictures. I also had the opportunity to hang out in a cafe in a very small town in upstate New York and overhear several conversations. The statements that liberalism is Satan and you can't believe in god and vote Democratic gave me pause. The pumpkin-pear bisque was very yummy, though!

And now, some more photos!

First stop, Women's Rights National Historical Park, Seneca Falls, New York. The reconstruction of the Wesleyan Chapel is complete. You can see the difference in the brick; the redder brick is the surviving original structure of the Chapel. The reconstruction is to size, built over the original foundations. I think this reads so much better as the Chapel than the standing ruins that it has incorporated/replaced. Honestly, I was skeptical of the reconstruction of history, and didn't expect to like it. But I think I like it.

Wesleyan Chapel, Women's Rights National Historical Park, Seneca Falls, September 22, 2010

Interior, Wesleyan Chapel, Women's Rights National Historical Park, Seneca Falls, New York, September 22, 2010. There is screening on all the windows, which will be great in the summer. But it means you can't easily see inside, which sucks. The doors were closed and locked when I was there.

I was also able to spend some time at Taughannock Falls, New York. I try to do something different every time I'm in the area. This time, I went up the South Rim trail above the falls, and was pleasantly surprised. Next time, I may try the approximately 2-mile round trip up the North Rim trail, across the top of the falls, and down the South Rim trail. I wanted to try it this time, but just didn't have the time.

Taughannock Creek, Taughannock Falls State Park, Tompkins County, New York, September 22, 2010. The creek bed is exposed shale (no sand/mud); there wasn't much volume of running water, so you could actually walk up the creek bed.

Fall in the caldera, Taughannock Falls, Taughannock Falls State Park, Tompkins County, New York, September 22, 2010. I just love the colors.

Abandoned road alignment, Taughannock Falls State Park, Tompkins County, New York, September 22, 2010. I kind of cheated and took an unmarked path off the South Rim Trail; the trail itself runs across the top of the bridge. This would have been one hell of a curve to take; there is a sheer drop into the creek gorge just above the falls immediately to the right of this photo.