How to find the past: Archaeological digs looking for students and volunteers to dig

reply to post by JohnnyCanuck


Thanks for the info Johnny

so hypothetically speaking say i go to one of these archaeology digs and i found a dinosaur bone can i just stuff it in my pocket and walk away while whistling and not looking-so-suspicion can i keep a little bit of what i find?

I went cultural track as an undergrad and immediately regretted it once I had field school. I've often thought of spending a summer in another field school. I loved every minute of it. So, thanks for the link!

Originally posted by Teriq
so hypothetically speaking say i go to one of these archaeology digs and i found a dinosaur bone can i just stuff it in my pocket and walk away while whistling and not looking-so-suspicion can i keep a little bit of what i find?

Well, first off, you do know that palaeontologists, not archaeologists, seek out dinosaurs, right?
Secondly, a little while spent with professionals might well inspire you with enough respect for the practice and its strong ethical base to dissuade you from looting the site.

reply to post by Hanslune


Oh,I dig alright,but I do not cotton to some college boy telling me what I can keep or not,and if I catch one in my secret spots,it's Davy Jones locker for him!

Originally posted by JulianAlien
reply to post by Hanslune

 

Oh,I dig alright,but I do not cotton to some college boy telling me what I can keep or not,and if I catch one in my secret spots,it's Davy Jones locker for him!

Interesting comments. As far as the law goes, it depends what jurisdiction you are in, but it seems to me that in the US it is an offence to loot on Federal lands. I know in Ontario, it is also an offence under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Either way, looting is looting and I'm sure the First Nations would also have an opinion on the subject if you were caught in one of their 'secret spots'. Kudos to Hanslune for suggesting opportunities for folks to get their archchaeo-yayas out and still add to the academic process.

...and looters and pothunters should be shot and pi$$ed on, IMHO.

reply to post by JohnnyCanuck


I always thought leaving them folded up inside a metal box, out in the sun, would be better - either that or make them watch 18 hours of Giligian's island in Korean

Student here. I'd like to participate in excavations outside my country so I've been thinking about applying for digs during this summer somewhere in Europe. Idk where exactly because it's hard to find any digs that are not some kind of course or volonteering which in almost every case you have to pay. Excavations done by museums and universities are not that public and there is really no reason for them to be open for everyone. Altough they are many and musems and universities are probably doing most of archeological work. So I doubt I can just apply for any real work on any site as long as I'm student, too bad.

And no, it's not permitted to take any material found during excavation. Unleast wasn't where I was working last summer and summer before that. Every single piece of material is considered important. There wouldn't be much damage done if few pieces were missing, usually it's not a big deal, but still.

Originally posted by creativespirit
Student here. I'd like to participate in excavations outside my country so I've been thinking about applying for digs during this summer somewhere in Europe.

I would introduce you to a site called www.shovelbums.org.... It is apparently down right now for maintenance, but it will redirect you to current listings. It may be of some assistance.
You can also aquire cool gear, T's etc that state your tool of preference...

Thanks, interesting website. I'll be checking updates until summer and then maybe decide where to go/what to do.

Yeah, I gotta start digging around the yard again, it is pretty fun. The ancient people were pretty artistic in reshaping rocks. They must have worked on these things for a long time, I suppose it's a cheap pastime. I cannot sell these rocks because they belong to the land I live on. I confered with the local Indians and understand they are time capsules. I just haul these things around and show them to people. They don't belong in museums, they were given to the earth.

Originally posted by rickymouse
They don't belong in museums, they were given to the earth.

But they have a story to tell, and in the right environment...such as properly curated in a museum...they are given voice. I am associated with a regional museum, where I have stewardship over the archaeological collection. I use the artifacts to help to tell 21'st century people how they share a land that has been occupied for 10,000 years. I consult with the First Nations so that I do it right, without appropriating their voice. Museums create teachable moments and provide interaction with the past. And that's why it's so important to know the story...the provenance...behind an artifact, so that story can be shared. Indiscriminate collecting and looting removes the context and leaves the story untold.

reply to post by Hanslune
Thanks for the info it is great to have a list of digs in one place.

It's very interesting that new carbon dating techniques have dated wall paintings in Spain to at least 40,800 years ago, with some estimates going back to as long ago as 100,000 years ago. I just heard a podcast at thehighersidechats.com where the guest speaker has some very interesting theories about human existence on this planet. It really made me think in a whole new direction. There were some other speakers on alternative theories that were also interesting. Check it out, and let me know what you think.

Many are aware of much longer history of human existance on this planet. Human race must be much older than 35-40000 years. But it's to us that we prove that theory.

Today's archaeology is basically just digging new sites that already can fit into existing theory, into well known history of place where is site located. New important discoveries are made very frequently, every 10 or 20 years and they usually give new direction in science where a lot of new similiar discoveries can be made.

But very rarely some people decide to actually look further into past or took another perspective and usually they always find something interesting that is absolutely opposite from mainstream science, but that's considered pseudoscience, even though there are really a lot of evidence that not only human race, but civilization is older than we think.

Originally posted by creativespirit
But very rarely some people decide to actually look further into past or took another perspective and usually they always find something interesting that is absolutely opposite from mainstream science, but that's considered pseudoscience, even though there are really a lot of evidence that not only human race, but civilization is older than we think.

So how would you explain paradigm shifts that occur in the archaeological community, like the new consideration of the peopling of the Americas? That kinda kicks the crap outta your argument, wouldn't you say?

Sorry, for the accepted bases of knowledge to change, the bar must be set high...or does one prefer an idiocracy where every cool new musing is treated as proven fact? How about you go to your closest university and state your case...you might get some interesting responses.

If you bother.

reply to post by randomname


What a horrible attitude. Of course they wouldn't let you keep things you find. They are archeaological digs, any findings would be made available to museums for the benefit of humanity. It is people like you who are destroying our historical heritage. How many totally awesome finds are there out there that could shed a whole new light on a particular age or dynasty. But nothing is known because someone like you took that find and kept it for their selfish selves.

Originally posted by spamfish
reply to post by randomname

 

What a horrible attitude. Of course they wouldn't let you keep things you find. They are archeaological digs, any findings would be made available to museums for the benefit of humanity. It is people like you who are destroying our historical heritage. How many totally awesome finds are there out there that could shed a whole new light on a particular age or dynasty. But nothing is known because someone like you took that find and kept it for their selfish selves.

A good question to ask, though, and training...even in a volunteer context...educates one as to the bigger picture.

Im sorry to the OP this should be a new thread and hopefully moderators can make it that way as I cannot make new threads due to my lack of posting. I hope this story isnt already covered but what a find! Sitchin was right on the money all along
viewzone2.com...

Originally posted by MischeviousElf
reply to post by Hanslune

 

Bump
Thank you fantastic,

What a wonderful way as well for many to start the new year, either as an new hobby or to get their hands dirty in an subject they love.

Originally posted by Byrd
reply to post by Hanslune

 

Dearly want to do some Central America stuff ...but good old USA stuff would be fun, too.

You might be able to have your cake and eat it to Byrd

Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of an ancient Mayan city in the mountains of North Georgia believed to be at least 1,100 years old.

When evidence began to turn up of Mayan connections to the Georgia site, South African archeologist Johannes Loubser brought teams to the site who took soil samples and analyzed pottery shards which dated the site and indicated that it had been inhabited for many decades approximately 1000 years ago. The people who settled there were known as Itza Maya, a word that carried over into the Cherokee language of the region.

1,100-year-old Mayan ruins found in North Georgia

Kind Regards,

Elf

Very cool article.

I read that one Cherokee belief is that there is another world that exists underneath our world, and that in this second world things are pretty much the same, except that when it is winter in our world it is summer in theirs and vice versa.
I think people have been in the new world much longer than 12,000 years.