A typical day on site

5:15 - Rise and shine (even though the sun is not yet shining), followed by a breakfast of cereal with powdered milk and coffee.

6:00- To work. The sun has just come up and its still (relatively) cool out. We have to start early because the middle part of the day gets quite hot and necessitates a break. The mappers have created a grid and we excavate one 2 x 2 meter square at a time. We are starting at one side of the site and excavating all 2 x 2's that have a burial exposed to the surface in them. It's important to start with these and not try to identify others because these are the ones that are most at risk of being damaged by the sun and by sand storms.

First of, we sweep the surface layer of sand, which is comprised of course tan sand, into buckets that are then poured through sieves. In this manner, many small artifacts are found, such as stone debitage, small animal bones, and a few projectile points.


The sand below this first thin layer is fine and gray. We excavated this portion in 5 cm increments, but often burials that were already exposed (and hence partially eroded) on the surface did not extend below the first 5 cm level. The bones were collected in their entirety and kept together.

12:00- Lunch. Usually comprised of leftovers from the night before, followed by a siesta where people read, doze, or play cards.

3:00- Back into the field. The three hours until sunset at 6 always seem to fly by.

6:00- Sun set and the end of our work day.

6:30- After washing up, its dinner time. Each day dinner is prepared by a team of two crew member, so that each team only has to cook once a week. Pictures is Hellene cooking in the kitchen tent. Its was always a creative challenge to come up with and enticing dish from the assortment of starched and freeze-dried meats and soups that we had on hand. In the end, the meal usually consisted of some sort of soup, stew or tagine over pasta or cous cous. After dinner the crew sits around, chats and drinks tea. We've started making up new constellations because so many stars are visible and they provide so many more possibilities. My favorite is the Spider Monkey who is crawling up the Milky Way as if it were a tree.

8:00- People retire to their tents to read, write and unwind.

Bon Voyage

I am about to make my first international flight ever - from Chicago to Paris and then onto Niamey, Niger. I am traveling with a crew of scientists to excavate a site in the Northern part of Niger. I'm not sure what to expect, but I know that Niger is a predominately French-speaking country. I can't speak French, but I've been trying to pick up phrases over the summer! Much of the territory is located in the Saharan Desert, including the area we will be excavating. The airport, however, is in the more temperate Sahel region. Water is much more abundant there and it is in this region that we stand the highest risk of contracting malaria (we're all on anti-malarials, but I still worry). The trip is being sponsored by National Geographic Magazine, and I've signed a contract not to publish details of the excavation until the story runs in the magazine, so I'll only be putting up a few highlights here.

A Personal Archaeology: About Me

This blog is an account of my experiences in archaeology, paleontology and all things prehistoric. I am a student in anthropology and archaeology at the University of Chicago with two years left until I complete my Bachelor's degree. I am currently working as a fossil preparator in paleontologist Paul Sereno's fossil lab. This is a record of my education, my work, and whatever may come thereafter.

Me, preparing a fossil, an abelasaurid pelvis to be exact, in the lab.