Since Seanie has suddenly found himself with free time to spare, we decided to go on a mini roadtrip today and explore our corner of California.  I had heard a rumor that the Chitactac-Adams County Park down in Gilroy had Ohlone petroglyphs, so we threw some water and some sandwiches into a backpack and drove down ( Read more... )

A truly American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil.
- Grover Cleveland, US PresidentWell, the local job search hasn't been going anywhere.  I've been trying to find some sort of position or internship at local museums, but so far the ones I've seen I am under-qualified, or they don't pay enough to ( Read more... )

The semester's coming to a close so quickly that I almost can't believe it ( Read more... )

We have been given our final assignment in my Archaeological Lab Methods class.  In lieu of an exam, my professor has decided to assign a practical task: we must analyze the ledgers of an old general store that used to be here in San Jose.  Since I just finished an an examination of documentary evidence for the class museum exhibit, this should be ( Read more... )

As part of my Archeological Lab Methods class, we students have to put together a museum display utilizing the artifacts and research we've done throughout the semester. As a class, we decided to divide the work up by artifact type - glass, ceramic, metal, and so on. I ended up in the documentary group, so my assignment has been to look at the ( Read more... )

Yesterday I had to give my final presentation in Forensic Anthropology.  Usually, I get a little nervous talking in front of the class, but it's such a tiny group (less than ten students in the class, I think) that it wasn't even worth worrying over.  I spent nearly twenty minutes talking about forensic art: what it is, the differences between a ( Read more... )

Today was the final exam for my Mummies class.  It was a relief to finish it.  Although I found that class very challenging, thanks to my poor grasp of anatomy and inability to remember all the diseases that afflicted the dead, it was possibly my easiest class because I didn't have to write a big paper or make a presentation.  As long as I showed ( Read more... )

We had an interesting exercise in my field methods class today ( Read more... )

I totally forgot to mention it, but last week after I finished my second day of Forensic Anthropology, I went online and dropped the class. While I think it'll be important to learn all the bones of the body, and the material the class covers would be fascinating to learn, now is not the time for it. There just aren't enough hours in the day to ( Read more... )

The cemetery isn't really a place to make a statement.
- Mary Elizabeth Baker

I'm not sure who Mary Elizabeth Baker was, or the context for her little remark.  (Google didn't help me sort that out, either.)  But as a student of archaeology, I thought it was an interesting comment because the cemetery is often the best place for us to learn about the ( Read more... )