Go Dig a Hole: Recent Episodes
Go Dig a Hole
Go Dig a Hole is a podcast that explores all things related to archaeology, with a mission to make better archaeologists and build a more inclusive archaeology.
Folks on this Podcast:Chris Sims (he/him)Elliot Helmer (they/them)Travis Corwin (he/they)Freeman Stevenson (he/him)Kirsten Lopez-Picklesimer (she/her)General notes:Several years ago, the Go Dig a Hole podcast joined a large conversation across the discipline of archaeology to talk about what organized labor could look like for us. Check out episode 79 for what we didn’t know would be the prequel to this episode!Freeman Stevenson and CRM’s renewed fight for better working conditions. Links Archaeologists are Organizing to Dig Out of Poverty Wages:https://jacobin.com/2024/04/archaeologists-unionizing-utah-wages-teamsters Go Dig a Hole - Episode 79 - Unionizing in North American Archaeology https://soundcloud.com/godigahole/ep79 Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigaholeLike Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
The Go Dig a Hole podcast is back! This time Lauren Jensen from ARtGlass joins us to discuss how augmented reality is here right now, and it's making heritage more accessible and available to people who haven't traditionally had a shared narrative in the heritage professions. Pretty cool stuff!Check out these links while you listen:ARtGlass https://artglassgroup.com/ARtGlass on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/artglassgroup/ARtGlass on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/artglass_group/?hl=en
Past guests and friends of the podcast joined Chris and Katie for a fun wrap of 2022 and a hopeful look ahead to 2023.Annelise Baer, Travis Corwin, Elliot Helmer, Chelsea Reedy, Chris Sims, and Katie Tipton talk holidays, current and future projects, and our hopes and goals for the coming year.LINKS:Annelise Baer on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@annelisethearchaeologist?lang=enAnnelise Baer on Twitter https://twitter.com/annelisebaerTravis Corwin on Twitter https://twitter.com/LeftistDadJokes Elliot Helmer on Twitter https://twitter.com/ArchHelmer Chelsea Reedy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/the_cycling_archaeologist/ Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigaholeGo Dig a Hole on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@godigahole_ Go Dig a Hole on Twitter: www.twitter.com/godigaholeGo Dig a Hole on Instagram: www.instagram.com/godigaholeLike Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
TikTok sensation, Annelise Baer, and YouTube big-timer, Bill Farley, join the pod to talk about the efficacy of public archaeology on social media. How can archaeology make relatable, easily digestible content that is both scientifically meaningful and compelling to consume? The answers may surprise you.Links Annelise Baer on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@annelisethearchaeologist?lang=en Annelise Baer on Twitter https://twitter.com/annelisebaerBill Farley, ArchaeologyTube on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@ArchaeologyTube Bill Farley on Twitter https://twitter.com/ArchaeologyGame Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigaholeGo Dig a Hole on Twitter: www.twitter.com/godigaholeGo Dig a Hole on Instagram: www.instagram.com/godigahole Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
Elon Musk’s recent purchase of Twitter for $44Bn has a lot of people leaving the social media platform for a variety of reasons. Quite a few archaeologists and science communicators have voiced their concerns over Twitter’s new ownership and are leaving or planning to leave the platform. The main questions are, “where are they going and why?”In this episode we look at some of the reasons archaeologists are using various social media.Folks on this Podcast:Chris Sims (he/him)Paulina Przystupa (she/her)Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigaholeGo Dig a Hole on Twitter: www.twitter.com/godigaholeGo Dig a Hole on Instagram: www.instagram.com/godigahole Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
We’re at a strange point in cultural resource management (CRM) where there’s simultaneously tons of companies hiring archaeologists, and very few qualified people to fill those jobs. Today we’re gonna talk about how we got here, and what the path ahead looks like.Jeff Atschul and Terry Klein published an article in the most recent Advances in Archaeological Practice called, “Forecast for the US CRM Industry and Job Market, 2022-2031” that outlines the factors shaping the next 10 years of factors that will shape careers in CRM archaeology.Folks on this Podcast:Chris Sims (he/him)Kirsten Lopez-Picklesimer (she/her)Katie Tipton (she/her)Links Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigaholeGo Dig a Hole on Twitter: www.twitter.com/godigaholeGo Dig a Hole on Instagram: www.instagram.com/godigahole Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
Welcome back for another NEW EPISODE of the Go Dig a Hole podcast. We’re back with friends of the podcast, Elliot Helmer and Travis Corwin. This time we discuss the tragic death of archaeologist, Kaylen Gehrke, heat stress, and general thoughts on field safety in archaeology.
For bonus points, try to drink 26 fluid ounces of water while you listen to this episode!
Links Kaylen Gehrke Memorial Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/kaylen-gehrkes-funeral-services
CDC-NIOSH Heat Stress Calculator App: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/heatstress/heatapp.html
OSHA Heat Stress Guidelines: https://www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/calculator
Walla Walla Public Schools Heat Index Protocols for Outside Activities: https://www.wwps.org/images/WWPS_Heat_Index_Procedures_for_Outside_Activities.pdf
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Go Dig a Hole on Twitter: www.twitter.com/godigahole
Go Dig a Hole on Instagram: www.instagram.com/godigahole
Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
Welcome back for another NEW EPISODE of the Go Dig a Hole podcast. We’re back with friend of the podcast, Elliot Helmer.
On this episode we discuss the different types of public audiences, and how modes of engagement factor into the “multiple publics” of public archaeology. We go into detail on how historic preservation laws provide a framework for consultation with public stakeholders, but don’t necessarily protect archaeological sites.
Links
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Go Dig a Hole on Twitter: www.twitter.com/godigahole
Go Dig a Hole on Instagram: www.instagram.com/godigahole
Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
When we talk about "cultural resource management" (the other CRM), we usually mean archaeology. But there's a lot more to CRM that actually isn't archaeology - it's architectural history. Join the Go Dig a Hole crew as we talk with architectural historian and tiki aficionado, Garret Root, as we talk about all things above the ground (and a few things below the ground too). Learn how architectural history can improve our communities by providing incentives to fund infrastructure and revitalization.
LINKS Follow Garret Root on Instagram www.instagram.com/retroroot Follow Tahitian Pearl on Instagram www.instagram.com/the.tahitian.pearl Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole Follow Go Dig a Hole on Instagram www.instagram.com/godigahole Follow Go Dig a Hole on Facebook www.facebook.com/godigahole Follow Go Dig a Hole on Twitter www.twitter.com/godigahole
Chelsea Reedy is a professional cyclist, professional archaeologist, and grad student. Balancing all of those demands is a challenge, yet she manages to excel in all of those areas. Chelsea joins the Go Dig a Hole podcast to talk with Chris Sims, Kirsten Lopez-Picklesimer, and Katie Tipton about making it work and making it fun.
LINKS LA Sweat Women’s Cycling Team: http://www.la-sweat.com/
Tulsa Tough (Chelsea’s fav race): https://www.tulsatough.com/
American Crit 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sodWUMmDweU
American Crit 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0nI74CyYTI
Joe Martin Stage Race in the Ozarks https://www.joemartinstagerace.com/
Path Less Pedaled (party pace!) https://www.pathlesspedaled.com/
Dustin Klein (PNW-specific gravel and cycling tips) https://www.youtube.com/c/DustinKleinEBD/featured
Global Cycling Network https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/
Zwift (virtual racing): https://www.zwift.com/
Wahoo Systm (another virtual racing platform): https://www.wahoofitness.com/systm
Echelon home trainer https://echelonfit.com/
The Vegan Cyclist https://www.youtube.com/c/thevegancyclist
Presidio San Saba https://texasfortstrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/presidio-de-san-saba
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Go Dig a Hole on Twitter: www.twitter.com/godigahole
Go Dig a Hole on Instagram: www.instagram.com/godigahole
Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
Happy Halloween!
This year we decided to bring double the fun with TWO NEW EPISODES of the Go Dig a Hole podcast. There are also TWO WAYS TO LISTEN: episodes 81 and 82 are available individually and as an all-in-one double header! The double-header is linked above.
EPISODE 81 - Archaeology in Folk Horror and Haunting w/ Travis Corwin Individual show link: First up, Travis Corwin tells a frightening tale of an archaeological site in the murky swamps of Florida where horrifying events happened to the archaeologist who worked there. Travis also discusses the idea of "haunting" as a way to relate traumatic events of the past being temporal anomalies that shatter linear concepts of time and our relationships to the past. PLUS, he had "City of the Dead" (1960) playing on a massive projector behind him so Chris could watch a classic folk horror movie.
LINKS: Follow Travis Corwin on Twitter www.twitter.com/leftistdadjokes Eleanor Scott 'Randall's Round' (1929) https://hauntedlibraryblog.blogspot.com/2014/11/randalls-round-eleanor-scott.html Hellebore (folk horror zine) https://helleborezine.bigcartel.com/ Sarah Surface-Evans, Amanda Garrison, and Kisha Supernant 'Blurring Timescapes, Subverting Erasure' (2020) https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/Surface-EvansBlurring
EPISODE 82 - An Ancient Shrine and a Real Ghost Story w/ Annelise Baer Individual show link: https://soundcloud.com/godigahole/ep82
Annelise Baer is an archaeologist and TV documentary producer who works on a fascinating site in Albania on the margins of the Classical archaeology world. She has a high-impact public archaeology presence on Tiktok. And she's seen a ghost. Hear about her eerie experiences with apparitions and ancient shrines. LINKS: Follow Annelise Baer on Twitter www.twitter.com/annelisebaer Follow Annelise Baer on Instagram www.instagram.com/annelisebaer Follow Annelise Baer on Tiktok www.tiktok.com/@annelisethearchaeologist?lang=en
Annelise Baer is an archaeologist and TV documentary producer who works on a fascinating site in Albania on the margins of the Classical archaeology world. She has a high-impact public archaeology presence on Tiktok. And she's seen a ghost. Hear about her eerie experiences with apparitions and ancient shrines. LINKS: Follow Annelise Baer on Twitter www.twitter.com/annelisebaer Follow Annelise Baer on Instagram www.instagram.com/annelisebaer Follow Annelise Baer on Tiktok www.tiktok.com/@annelisethearchaeologist?lang=en
First up, Travis Corwin tells a frightening tale of an archaeological site in the murky swamps of Florida where horrifying events happened to the archaeologist who worked there. Travis also discusses the idea of "haunting" as a way to relate traumatic events of the past being temporal anomalies that shatter linear concepts of time and our relationships to the past. PLUS, he had "City of the Dead" (1960) playing on a massive projector behind him so Chris could watch a classic folk horror movie. LINKS: Follow Travis Corwin on Twitter www.twitter.com/leftistdadjokes Eleanor Scott 'Randall's Round' (1929) https://hauntedlibraryblog.blogspot.com/2014/11/randalls-round-eleanor-scott.html Hellebore (folk horror zine) https://helleborezine.bigcartel.com/ Sarah Surface-Evans, Amanda Garrison, and Kisha Supernant 'Blurring Timescapes, Subverting Erasure' (2020) https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/Surface-EvansBlurring
Paulina Przystupa and Meghan Dennis join this new episode of the Go Dig a Hole podcast to drop tons of puns and talk about the upcoming launch of their public archaeology project's beta test. Paulina works with data visualization, programming, and stats; and Meghan works with user experience (UX) and archaeological ethics. Together, they've created a data literacy program through the Alexandria Archive Institute that offers a chance to learn fundamental skills with digital tools in archaeology. LINKS: Alexandria Archive Institute https://alexandriaarchive.org/ Data Literacy Program https://alexandriaarchive.org/data-literacy-program/ Follow Paulina Przystupa on Twitter https://twitter.com/punuckish Follow Meghan Dennis on Twitter https://twitter.com/GingeryGamer Women in Archaeology podcast https://womeninarchaeology.com/ Follow Go Dig a Hole on Twitter https://twitter.com/godigahole Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole
This episode aired sometime in 2015 and, while many of the archive episodes have been omitted due to dated or inaccurate info, this one still feels as relevant as it did 6 years ago. Here are some of the questions we explore:
How do you make yourself stand out as an undergrad? What does a good job applicant look like? Where do you start when you're building your professional network from scratch? These are the big questions we struggle with early on in our careers as archaeologists, but there's something on your side if you're still in undergrad - opportunity.
LINKS Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole
This episode is shorter than we usually do, but we wanted to get the word out for a very important panel discussion organized by The Black Trowel Collective on Unionizing in North American Archaeology. It’s streaming live on Thursday, June 24 from 1-3pm Pacific Time and will be recorded to be watched later.
We also offer some of our thoughts on labor conditions in cultural resources archaeology. Links Register for the Unionizing North American Archaeology panel: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScWEmyRWUd5tzbATRL7jiIP1Wik6ypzrdn2NI7kJqRe9xQXQg/viewform
Black Trowel Collective microgrants program: https://blacktrowelcollective.wordpress.com/microgrants/
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Tia, Tipton, and Chris rode their bikes to a cemetery in Portland because we thought it would be quiet. While it was peaceful and quiet in person, the microphone picked up a LOT of environmental noise. After a week of tweaking the levels, adaptive noise filters, and trying to cut out the noisiest sections without destroying the content, we finally had to just put this out there. Being the first time we've gathered in person, we experimented with an outdoor mic that picked up such wonders as: someone revving their truck because they got stuck on a pedestrian path, low-flying planes, and the crows that the PNW is famous for. Anyway we kept the noise because there were some good discussions and we were so stoked to see each other in person for the first time in a year.
LINKS: Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole
So last time when we covered the "essentials" for doing archaeology, we kinda threw the kitchen sink at the episode and covered a lot of ground without going into much detail on any of the specific points.
This time we tackled a question that everyone interested in archaeology faces - how do you get your first job?
Spoiler alert - network! network! network!
Easier said than done, right? We have some advice for that.
LINKS Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
Pivot! Pivot! Well, kind of a pivot for the show. During the last several years, Go Dig a Hole went from focusing on early career development and coaching for college students, to sustaining a career in archaeology, to discussing heavy issues in the field, to four archaeology buddies drinking beer in an airstream trailer having a good time, to nerding out over building codes. So we decided it was time to get back to the building blocks. In this episode we start to tackle some questions that will likely take us a long time to answer: What classes do you need to take for a degree in archaeology? How seriously should you take undergrad? How do you get your first job in archaeology? Do you talk to your pets?
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Go Dig a Hole on Soundcloud www.soundcloud.com/godigahole
Go Dig a Hole on Facebook www.facebook.com/godigahole
Check out this very special 3-part miniseries all in one place!
Going AFAR in Belize - AFAR Miniseries Episode 1
Recorded from the AFAR Program's 2016 Belize Field School, host Christopher Sims speaks with AFAR's director, Mat Saunders, about this unique organization.
The People Behind AFAR - AFAR Miniseries Episode 2
Hear from the people who help make the AFAR program possible, and learn what it means to them.
The Students in AFAR - AFAR Miniseries Episode 3
Hear, in their own words, what AFAR does for the high school students who participate in the program each year.
LINKS AFAR - www.goafar.org Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon - www.patreon.com/godigahole Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook - www.facebook.com/godigahole
Special guest, Steph Halmhofer, joins the Go Dig a Hole podcast for this year's spooOOooOOky Halloween episode. We share stories of (probably) haunted places, and places on the National Register of Historic Places that are creepy.
Links
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
Steph Halmhofer’s blog, Bones, Stones, and Books: https://bonesstonesandbooks.com/
Follow Steph on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cult_archaeo
Follow Steph on Instagram: www.instagram.com/cult_archaeo
Ok last time we put out a new episode of the podcast, we talked about how NIMBYs hijacked the process for designating historic properties and weaponized neighborhood associations in Portland, Oregon. The notorious Eastmoreland case happened when a homeowner partitioned their lot into 5,000 "trusts" so they could outnumber community members and take a bigger vote.
We're back with more of Portland's historic resources codes. Fresh from the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, the Historic Resources Code Project is an impossibly dense block of text, photos, and diagrams that we tried to make some sense of. How does this code relate to problems like livability, houselessness, historic preservation, or gentrification? We tried to figure that out.
Kassie Rippee, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Coquille Tribe and frequent guest on Go Dig a Hole AND Women in Archaeology was recently featured in Atlas Obscura for a highlight on her work protecting archaeological sites during wildfires ( https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/archaeology-wildfire?fbclid=IwAR1EjtLsVBZ58vT68lH0rqqoNgEspWCk3f037ij0q0e31PjquC47Av2T0b4 )
Links Louisville Street Medics: https://venmo.com/LouStreetMedics
Don't Shoot PDX/Fires Igniting the Spirit, Warm Springs mutual aid drive: https://www.facebook.com/1457002541253558/posts/2847419708878494/?extid=EEnFe7SLV5FF07NG
Don’t Shoot PDX Mutual Aid Directory for Black Lives Matter: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1N6EIPMpaORqzrngnu1r95-At62K2pZMgrDYhtKgANds/edit#gid=0
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
City of Portland Historic Resources Code proposed draft: https://www.portland.gov/bps/hrcp/historic-resources-code-project-proposed-draft?fbclid=IwAR2Msh4LZYzUwJM5GD-SpHCePfZSHPaSV6wSExFb_n8oTkn2zBnH9unSix4
City of Portland Historic Resources Map: https://pdx.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=9b7e5b99790d44608d440f6bce15451f
OPRD/Oregon SHPO has proposed changes to the National Register Program process based on challenges that arose in recent years around the Sellwood nomination here in Portland. The Sellwood nomination resulted from one landowner creating 5,000 “land trusts” on their quarter-acre plot of land in a Portland neighborhood to gain an outsized representation in the NRHP process.
In this episode, we interrogate the notions of ownership and how the National Register of Historic Places operates. Is it a tool for protecting communities, or a tool for gentrification?
Links
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation: Incorporation of Publications by Reference and Effective Date of Rule: https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/PRP/Documents/PRP-RUL-Agenda_Item_9.pdf
It’s been a few weeks since our last new episode, so we wanted to start this one off with a very important message:
All of us at Go Dig a Hole are committed to antiracism and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. We also condemn the long history of acts of police brutality against communities of color in the United States.
We hope our listeners also join us in remaining committed to doing more, and doing better.
This statement alone doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of building power for an antiracist movement, but we hope it can serve as the start to more meaningful dialogues of racial disparities in archaeology and our broader society.
For info about the work black archaeologists are doing, check out the Society for Black Archaeologists - a link to the organization’s page is below these notes.
You can also check out the Black and Highly Dangerous Podcast, The Arch and Anth podcast, and episode 17 of the Go Dig a Hole podcast - for highlighting the work of black archaeologists. Once again, links to all those episodes are linked below.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created interrelated crises in public health and economic stress that has rippled through virtually every aspect of our lives. Decades of austerity cuts and political pressure against funding for humanities programs have left many heritage workers in precarious positions.
Chicago’s Field Museum has a staff of under 500 workers who have felt this pressure and, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, management and workers struggled to find a solution that was equitable for the staff moving forward.
Links Society for Black Archaeologists: https://www.societyofblackarchaeologists.com/
Black and Highly Dangerous Podcast (episode 114): https://www.blackandhighlydangerous.com/single-post/2020/03/22/Episode-114-Black-Archaeology
Arch and Anth Podcast (episode 110): https://archandanth.com/episode-110-interview-with-justin-dunnavant/
Go Dig a Hole (episode 17 - society for black archaeologists): https://soundcloud.com/godigahole/ep17
Follow Jackie Pozza on Twitter @museonerd42 https://twitter.com/MuseoNerd42
Email the Field Museum workers: FMNHworkers@gmail.com
Save the Field Museum - Action Network Petition for Field Museum Workers: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/save-the-field-museum
Field Museum paid internship for Native American students: https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/careers/internships
DSA Organizing Committees: https://www.dsausa.org/committees/
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
Steve Johnson, “Field Museum workers petition management to try to fend off COVID-19-related layoffs”. Chicago Tribune. June 10, 2020: https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-ent-field-museum-workers-layoffs-petition-coronavirus-0611-20200610-spstclsn2rf65nnmxzbrehgyme-story.html
Albert Lee is running for congress in Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District, which is the most diverse of Oregon’s 5 districts, and has the highest population density. Oregon’s 3rd District encomasses urban, suburban, and rural communities ranging from Portland’s industrial inner east and north sides to the communities on the shoulders of Mt. Hood. The incumbent congressional representative is Earl Blumenauer, a democrat who has served since 1996, when Ron Wyden was elected to the Senate. Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District is ranked as the second most democratic-leaning district in the country, behind Washington’s 7th District, up in Seattle.
Albert Lee offers a bold alternative to the incrementalist, concessionary leadership that has allowed inequality and disenfranchisement to worsen in the area. He also offers a different approach to serving Oregon that is, by any metric, a better representation of the people who live in the district.
He’s a veteran, a person of color, and his personal experiences have shaped his vision for leadership, and advocacy for housing and support for victims of domestic violence.
Links Albert Lee for Congress 2020 www.albertlee2020.com Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
The whole crew had their own dang happy hour and some of their loved ones made brief appearances.
Tia, Kirsten, Katie, and Chris talk about how they’ve had to adjust to working as archaeologists during a pandemic, the frustrations of “productivity theater”, and trying to find happiness in the full collapse of late capitalism. We also talk about tattoos, cats, and food - as is the custom.
This episode is a little freeform, but the crew always finds a good groove together despite repeated disruptions to the format.
Stay safe and keep on keepin’ on!
LINKS Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole Follow Go Dig a Hole on Facebook www.facebook.com/godigahole
In this archive episode, we hear from one of Chris’ early peers and role models, Matt Tuttle. Matt ran the blog, Anthroprobably, as a way to give back to the archaeological community by sharing his experiences. Anthroprobably was a big influence on Chris starting Go Dig a Hole and focusing on managing realistic expectations.
This episode originally aired sometime in 2015, so it’s interesting to revisit the discussion of the archaeology community on social media five years later.
Matt Tuttle joins the show to talk about his blog, Anthroprobably, the work he's been doing at Colonial Jamestown, grad school, mentors, and lessons he's picked up along the way.
LINKS Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole Go Dig a Hole on Facebook www.facebook.com/godigahole
Michael Ashley and Leigh Anne Ellison are part of the team at Codifi, a startup that makes mobile apps and databases for archaeology. Prior to joining Codifi, Leigh Anne worked with Digital Antiquity and tDAR, The Digital Archaeological Record - so she’s been on the leading edge of digital archaeology during some interesting times for archaeology as a whole.
SPEAKING OF INTERESTING TIMES
We’re about a month into the SARS-COV-2 pandemic and most states are operating under stay-at-home orders or similar lockdown measures to limit the spread of coronavirus. While we adjust to incredible disruptions to our lives, there are opportunities to change the course of archaeology through digital tools.
Most importantly, we have to be flexible and safe.
But social distancing and remote work can be offputting for what it means to be human. So Michael Ashley prefers the terms “digital distancing” or “physical distancing” rather than social distancing.
The current environment for archaeology is tricky because work isn’t slowing down for PaleoWest or Codifi, but agencies are struggling to keep up due to social and political obstacles for “business as usual”. In the face of decades of austerity cuts and unchecked disaster capitalism, there’s an urgent need for archaeologists to be able to work safely and smartly.
How will digital archaeology and paperless tools secure the legitimacy of the field? Check out this discussion to learn why now is the best time for archaeology to go paperless.
Links
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole Check out Codifi www.codifi.com Check out PaleoWest www.paleowest.com
Jordan Reese, a student at University of Central Florida and longtime veteran of the AFAR field school in Belize, posed some interesting questions to host Christopher Sims. He brought in fellow AFAR staff, Drs. Stan Guenter and Marc Zender to answer these questions and talk about the importance of literacy and good note-taking in archaeology. This is a must-listen episode if you've ever thought, "who even reads this anyway?" when taking notes in the field.
Links Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole
As Cheryl Crow sang, "every day is a winding road", so is life during the coronavirus pandemic. Join Katie, Chris and Kirsten as they discuss how archaeology is adjusting to the virus, and some of the challenges and opportunities. They also talk about the weekly Go Dig a Hole "Digital Happy Hour" and an upcoming Movie Night.
Stay safe and take care.
LINKS: Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole
Howell Dawdy on Bandcamp https://howelldawdy.bandcamp.com/
Kampf et al. "Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents". 2020. Journal of Hospital Infection. https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(20)30046-3/fulltext?fbclid=IwAR1OT2k_wF5ICgix6miqJSh2_rZEbh5Ha28WnEi_0rab0VL3nei4L1Q3arw Lee Fang. "Key Medical Supplies Were Exported from U.S. for Foreign Buyers, Records Show". April 1, 2020 https://theintercept.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-medical-supplies-export/
Well, we tried. We had one of the best guest discussions yet, and it was the first call-in guest we've had on the show in about two and a half years. But the program we use to record in the studio crashed and we lost about an hour of discussion. The files that could be salvaged won't make a full episode, but we'll gather what can be saved and release it as a Patron-only teaser.
In the meantime, here's a discussion summarizing Lewis Borck's Puebloan Rebels of the Southwest field school, COVID-19's effects on conferences, and the banter you know and love from the whole crew. There's a lot more in store. We're happy you've joined us.
LINKS Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole Like Go Dig a Hole on Facebook: www.facebook.com/godigahole Puebloan Rebels of the Southwest Field School: https://ifrglobal.org/program/us-nm-gallina/ Follow Lewis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lewisborck
It is February 2020. The oceans are melting crustaceans alive. Fire, flood, and famine threaten billions of lives. And it’s time for undergrads to register for field school, and archaeologists to line up their plans for the 2020 field season. LET’S GO!
THE WHOLE CREW is back to talk about archaeology field schools and what undergrads should consider while they're looking for one of the most important things an early career archaeologist can do.
We discuss what makes a good field school, and what sets the truly good ones apart.
- Fort Vancouver field school (public archaeology/historic focused) titled “PSU Field School in Colonial Archaeology of the Pacific Northwest”
- Field methods in Indigenous Archaeology (UW) - Grand Ronde, Oregon
- WSU Archaeological Field School - Indigenous Collaboration, - Landscapes, and Heritage Management - Shannon Tushingham in North Central Washington - Colville https://labs.wsu.edu/tushingham-lab/field-school/
Not quite ready to do a field school? Not sure if archaeology is the right fit? - Volunteering or attending interest group meetings are a great (free) alternative to build a skill set before diving into a field school. Mostly costs your time and transportation.
Shoutouts! Women in Archaeology Archy Fantasies Bill Auchter’s projects - Still Digging Archaeo RPG Rituals and Rolls Arch & Anth Podcast The Transect The Sprocket Podcast The Trillbilly Worker’s Party
Links Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Queer Archaeologists guide to queer-friendly fieldschools: https://queerarchaeology.com/field-schools/
James Madison’s Montpelier 2020 fieldschool: https://www.montpelier.org/archaeology/field-schools
Kirsten, Katie, and Chris recorded their first episode from the new studio! We learned the ropes on a professional soundboard and discussed how to weather rejection in archaeology. Plus, Chris coughed a whole lot and it sounded great on the new mics!
Recommended links:
Women in Archaeology podcast https://womeninarchaeology.com/
This episode was originally aired sometime in 2015 on The Archaeology Podcast Network. It has been edited for content and sound as a rebroadcast without their branding or advertisements. I’ve said this before as I’ve re-edited some of the other archive episodes, but it’s an interesting experience to go back in time for the Go Dig a Hole podcast and take stock of how much I’ve grown as an archaeologist, and as a podcaster in the past several years. When I was in undergrad, and even in grad school, I didn’t have many opportunities to learn about Native American tribal consultation. Similarly, I didn’t encounter tribal consultation as part of cultural resource management until I moved from Kentucky to Oregon, where coordination with Native American tribes is much more common, and also my roles as an archaeologist have changed to where it’s been essential for me to learn about and build relationships with tribes in the area. So, the last few years have been a learning process for me to say the least. When I first had this conversation with Jessica Yaquinto of Living Heritage Anthropology, who also co-hosts the Heritage Voices podcast, I was really new to the whole thing. I still have a lot to learn, but this podcast episode marks somewhat of a starting point for me in learning about tribal consultation. For more about this super important aspect of anthropological archaeology, I recommend checking out the entire catalog of episodes at the Heritage Voices podcast. There are a lot of important indigenous perspectives shared there, and they’re chock full of knowledge.
Jessica Yaquinto joins host, Christopher Sims, in this episode to chat about working with tribes. Her work through her company, Living Heritage, and affiliation with other organizations lets her use the full range of skills available to anthropological archaeology. She guides listeners through key concepts in working with Native American communities from the very beginning, and explores what it would take to build a more inclusive archaeology - one that includes Native voices.
LINKS: Living Heritage Anthropology http://livingheritageanthropology.org/ Heritage Voices Podcast http://livingheritageanthropology.org/heritage-voices-podcast
Tia, Kirsten, Katie, and Chris hosted a "goodbye party" for the airstream studio in NE Portland and friends Kate Ellenberger and Guthrie Straw joined the farewell podcast. Fear not! Goodbye to the airstream is not goodbye to Go Dig a Hole! We are moving to the XRAY FM studios in January and will have a lot more technical capabilities to offer, so look for some fun new perks for Patreon supporters when we re-launch in early 2020. In the meantime, enjoy this fun episode where we discuss how a "space" makes a "place", cats, dogs, nonconsensual touching, and what Tia did to deserve a "bless your heart" at a grocery store in Texas.
The whole crew is back for another new episode of the Go Dig a Hole podcast! Tia Cody, Kirsten Lopez, Chris Sims, and Katie Tipton talk about spooky archaeology - ghost stories, creepy things in the field, and dark history. Enjoy this frightful episode!
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon and get a free sticker! www.patreon.com/godigahole
We got the whole crew back together in the Airstream studio after a very busy summer! We were all really excited to catch up, so hope y'all enjoy hearing us hem and haw for a bit and giving some updates on archaeology events in the Pacific Northwest!
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon! www.patreon.com/godigahole
Kassie Rippee joins Katie and Chris in the Airstream studio in Portland to chat about traditional cultural properties, or TCPs. People often wonder what happens to their land if an archaeologist wants to "list" it. Find out what exactly that means in this new episode of the Go Dig a Hole podcast.
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole
Chelsea Blackmore and Megan Springate join the show to talk about queer archaeology how they're "queering" the field. We explore what queer archaeology is, why it's important, and how to be an ally. LINKS
- "How to Queer Identity Without Sex: Queer Theory, Feminisms, and the Archaeology of Identity" by Chelsea Blackmore https://www.academia.edu/199628/How_to_Queer_Identity_Without_Sex_Queer_Theory_Feminisms_and_the_Archaeology_of_Identity
- NPS LGBTQ Heritage Initiative https://www.nps.gov/heritageinitiatives/LGBThistory/
- Book - 'The Bioarchaeology of Socio-sexual Lives' by Pamela Geller http://www.springer.com/gb/book/9783319409931
- Early Hominid Footprints at Laetoli (Tanzania) http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/behavior/footprints/laetoli-footprint-trails
- NPS LGBTQ Theme Study https://www.nps.gov/subjects/tellingallamericansstories/lgbtqthemestudy.htm
- SAA Archaeological Record Vol. 16, No. 1, "Towards an Inclusive Queer Archaeology" http://www.saa.org/Portals/0/Jan_2016_Record.pdf
- Queer Archaeology on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/QueerArch/ & Twitter http://www.twitter.com/queerarch
- SAA Queer Archaeology Interest Group http://www.saa.org/ForMembers/InterestGroups/QueerArchaeologyInterestGroup/tabid/1511/Default.aspx
- Go Dig a Hole on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/godigahole
Bill White, Alexandra Jones, and Jordan Reese join the show to talk about the Society of Black Archaeologists, public archaeology, racism, and overcoming adversity. Dr. Jones has some stellar advice for anyone trying to make it in archaeology. LINKS:
Society of Black Archaeologists http://www.societyofblackarchaeologists.com/ Archaeology in the Community http://www.archaeologyincommunity.com/ Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN) http://flpublicarchaeology.org/ Succinct Research (Bill White's blog) http://www.succinctresearch.com/ National Parks Service - Passports in Time (volunteer archaeology program) http://www.passportintime.com/index.html Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/godigahole
We plopped a mic down at the dinner table with the Desert West Environmental crew at the end of a long day in the field on a project in Arkansas. We discuss the theme of professionalism, among other things like "field mouth" and safe spaces. In the end, we hope this episode helps you level up your career in archaeology with some reassurance and encouragement from this team.
This episode features a discussion moderated by Maxime Lamoureux-St. Hilaire, who you’ll remember from episode 25, “Ancient Politics in the Present”. Max recently got his PhD, so congrats to him! This panel at the recent meeting of the Society for American Archaeology focused on comparative approaches to Maya Archaeology. The panel discusses complexity, and comparative approaches to understanding politics of the past – specifically in the Maya region, but this is a valuable approach for addressing complexity and politics of the past elsewhere.
The discussants here were Arthur Demarest, Keith Eppick, Rachel Horowitz, Patricia McAnany, David Mixter, Luis Muro, Olivia Narro-Farr, Mat Saunders, Evan Parker, Whittaker Schroder, and Brent Woodfill
This is a special episode recorded at the request of the panelists, and with the permission of the SAA. We at Go Dig a Hole are very grateful for the opportunity to present this discussion to a wider audience.
SUPPORT GO DIG A HOLE ON PATREON AND GET A COOL STICKER www.patreon.com/godigahole
FOLLOW GO DIG A HOLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA www.instagram.com/godigahole www.twitter.com/godigahole www.facebook.com/godigahole
Kirsten and Chris are back in the airstream studio after a busy month of conferences, travel, and work!
This episode catches us up on the rapid implosion of the Society for American Archaeology, and touches on the importance of solidarity and labor in organizing around activism and advocacy. We can do better as archaeologists, but it takes the will to actually do the work to make a more inclusive field.
We also lighten it up with some fun recaps of movies and pseudoarchaeology, AND Chris tells the story of the wild journey the latest batch of Go Dig a Hole stickers took before going to the new Patreon supporters!
GRAB YOUR GO DIG A HOLE STICKER! BECOME A PATRON TODAY! www.patreon.com/godigahole
Dai s'la - "welcome, friend" Kassie Rippee, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) for the Coquille Tribe in Coos Bay, Oregon joins the show to talk about the opportunities and challenges of tribal archaeology. The Coquille Tribe is a good case study in the difficulties faced by tribal members past and present, and highlights the need for building strong trust relationships. Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon: www.patreon.com/godigahole
Yeet! We're back with a new episode with the whole team in the airstream!
Tia Cody, Kirsten Lopez, Katie Tipton, and Chris Sims discuss preparing for field schools, getting back into the field or going to your first crm job. We also discuss how to sustain a career with healthy work-life balance.
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole
Follow Go Dig a Hole on Facebook www.facebook.com/godigahole
Follow Go Dig a Hole on Instagram www.instagram.com/godigahole
It's the chicken enchilada episode!
Chris' personal trainer - his brother, Jonathan Sims, joins the show to talk about fitness. No, not fitness whole enchilada in your mouth, they talk about functional movement, the social construction of fitness, and separating fact from fiction in an increasingly commodified field. Jonathan breaks down short term and long term issues for fitness that archaeologists need to think about - especially if you want to avoid destroying your knees, shoulders, and back after a career in the field. LINKS: SUPPORT GO DIG A HOLE ON PATREON! www.patreon.com/godigahole
Functional Movement Screening (FMS) http://www.functionalmovement.com/fms
Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) http://www.functionalmovement.com/certification/sfma
Introducing Our Guests Tia Cody recently graduated from the Anthropology Masters program at Portland State University. Her thesis, titled LIDAR Predictive Modeling of Kalapuya Mound Sites in the Callapooia Watershed, Oregon, uses geospatial approaches to analyze settlement patterns in a culturally significant region south of Salem, Oregon near Brownsville.
Katie Tipton is a grad student at Portland State University who’s working to build a database to connect archaeological resources in Oregon with public knowledge and collections.
“Archaeological material and cultural resources are finite resources, which means we all have the responsibility to ensure that these resources are protected. Besides the trowel, archaeologists and many others utilize many ways of engaging with the past in order to preserve these finite resources. The database established through this project is one way to minimize the impact of archaeological investigations on cultural resources.”
The Government Shutdown So, the shutdown is just horrendous no matter how you slice it. We all know archaeologists who are losing paychecks. I reached out to a couple folks to see if they’d speak, but that pesky Taft-Hartley Bill keeps government employees from organizing labor or speaking out in anything that could be interpreted as protest, so they need our help speaking up for them.
Some excerpts from a recent letter from the DSA Labor Commission:
“Trump is trying to divide the working class as part of his racist agenda, but DSA members who are federal workers are speaking out and building solidarity.”
“ call your congressional representative and both senators and demand they end the shutdown immediately and backpay all furloughed government workers as well as contractors. Ask that they work with Rep. Pressley to ensure that contractors as well as federal employees are backpaid for all time lost to the shutdown.”
It’s Not About the Wall Naomi Klein writes about “disaster capitalism” in her books, The Shock Doctrine and No Is Not Enough. There, she spells out cases where crises were exploited or flatly engineered to erode public services, strain the working class financially, and install privatized services that profit off suffering. In post-Katrina Louisiana, post-Sandy New York and New Jersey, and in post-Maria Puerto Rico, we saw natural disasters take human lives and wreak havoc on communities. In the aftermath, Bain Capital and other nebulous firms stepped in to undermine local public services and replace them with privatized contracts. Mike Pence was instrumental in all of these cases, as he was when he engineered the worst HIV and AIDS epidemic the country has seen in since the 1980s through smash and grab public health policy when he was governor of Indiana. Now we have a senile, openly white supremacist president who’s a failed real estate tycoon that owes foreign investors billions of dollars and the only way to repay his debts is to engineer a crisis that will let him concentrate an obscene amount of wealth in the ruling class.
If you want to hear more about the shutdown and how it is affecting archaeology and the country as a whole, check out the newest WIA episode on iTunes or your favorite Android app, as well as on our website, www.womeninarchaeology.com. Where can we find you online? Kirsten Lopez Twitter @archyfem www.twitter.com/archyfem Instagram @bluejaderose www.instagram.com/bluejaderose Check out Women in Archaeology www.womeninarchaeology.com
Tia Cody
Katie Tipton Arch Database PDX https://archdatabasepdx.wordpress.com/ Links Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole
Urgent Solidarity Needed with Federal Workers https://www.dsausa.org/news/urgent-solidarity-needed-with-federal-workers/
Call your senators and representatives to demand an end to the shutdown https://callyourrep.co/
It's the longest GDAH episode yet!
Hanna Marie joins this episode to discuss ableism in archaeology. Some if the issues surrounding ableism include problematic statements and actions by the March for Science organizers, lack of accessibility at professional conferences, fieldwork and field schools, and the emptiness of claiming intersectionality without actually being inclusive.
Follow Hanna on Twitter www.twitter.com/tinysapien
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole
Colin Omilanowski emailed in some great questions, so Chris Sims had him join the show, along with Emily Long and Chris Webster. We talk about tools and technology in archaeology, and why we use them.
Penny Foreman joins the show to talk about her survey she recently presented at the CAA meeting, an the resulting Code of Conduct. She blogged about it, and her conference attire that sparked some (uncalled for) outrage, and a hearty Twitter conversation erupted. More guests later join the show, live from the SAA meeting, to follow-up on Foreman's comments. These guests - Ruth Tringham (OG Trowel Blazer, and pioneer of feminist archaeology!), Chelsi Slotten (host of Women in Archaeology podcast, and researcher at American University/Smithsonian Museum), Kirsten Lopez (researcher at Oregon State University, and host of Women in Archaeology podcast), and Stephen Wagner (host of CRM Archaeology podcast, and heritage consultant in Calgary) - weigh in with some valuable perspectives.
Whaaaaaaatt, is 2018 almost over already? This year simultaneously feels like it lasted 1,000 years or 15 minutes. Anyway, Chris and Kirsten are back in the Airstream to catch up after a wild ride through this year of unexpected interruptions and frantic scrambles after surprise opportunities.
Chris and Kirsten also talk about must-see conferences in 2019. SCA. NWAC. TAC Heritage Film Festival. We're everywhere...in a tri-state area ;) If you have a podcast or project about archaeology, anthropology, or anything near it go to the Heritage Film Festival https://www.archaeologychannel.org/events-guide/tac-international-film-festival/international-film-festival
If you're in the Portland area, join us in the Airstream! Find us on social media @godigahole www.facebook.com/godigahole www.twitter.com/godigahole www.instagram.com/godigahole
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon for your awesome sticker and more perks! www.patreon.com/godigahole
We're back with another fun episode on tattoos! Rose Guilfoyle joins Kirsten and Chris as the first live guest in the Airstream studio. Rose is a tattoo artist at Optic Nerve Arts in Portland, Oregon who has worked in the industry long enough to see some things change, and how some things stay the same. She ties it together with some interesting archaeological examples from ancient tattooed bodies, to tattooing a friend in Neolithic ruins in Ireland. Rose and Kirsten also bring the perspectives of being tattooed women - needless to say, it's quite different from the experiences related in the previous episode on tattoos.
Follow Rose on Instagram @rosegtattoos www.instagram.com/rosegtattoos
Follow Kirsten on Instagram @bluejaderose www.instagram.com/bluejaderose And Twitter @archyfem www.twitter.com/archyfem
Follow Go Dig a Hole on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @godigahole www.instagram.com/godigahole www.twitter.com/godigahole www.facebook.com/godigahole
Get a sweet Go Dig a Hole sticker and more great perks when you support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/godigahole
Lewis Borck and Dave Witt join this episode of the Go Dig a Hole podcast to talk about tattoos. We chat about what it's like as tattooed people in archaeology, how tattoos have impacted our lives, and some of the culture and history behind tattoos.
Follow our guests online! Lewis Borck Twitter:@LewisBorck Instagram:@the_tattooed_trowel lewisborck.com leidenuniv.academia.edu/LewisBorck
Dave Witt Twitter: @IDontDigDinos buffalo.academia.edu/DavidWitt
If you enjoy this podcast and want to support the public archaeology outreach, education, and advocacy projects organized through Go Dig a Hole, you can support us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/godigahole Supporters at any level get a thank you note, stickers, and more!
You can support Go Dig a Hole without paying anything, just by sharing the podcast or social media with your friends, coworkers, classmates, dig partner, teacher, or person who helps check you for ticks.
We’re back with a new episode from balmy Louisville, Kentucky! Chris sits down after a long weekend at the Mosey On Inn site, a turn of the century home in the Butchertown area of Louisville. Learn about the first public archaeology dig organized through Go Dig a Hole, which will hopefully happen much more often! We used the paperless app, Codifi, to document the dig according to archaeological standards, and to provide an ethical record of our findings for future use. It was a neat project that was a lot of fun to get the public involved.
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon for stickers and other goodies! www.patreon.com/godigahole
The following episode may contain graphic descriptions of disease, infection, injuries, and workplace conditions that some people may find upsetting. We apologise for any disturbance this episode may cause, and encourage sensitive listeners to skip this episode if these topics are too upsetting. Part of the mission of the Go Dig a Hole podcast is to build realistic expectations for working in the field, to build preparedness among professions and better public understanding of what we do.
Hazards in the Field We usually talk about archaeology, but there are many field sciences, and Danielle’s research on parasites certainly encounters those hazards head-on. What are people exposed to when they work in the field? Ticks Leeches Insects Botflies Chagas Leshmaniasis Chiggers (mites) Unclean drinking water & food Guinea worm, giardiasis (“beaver fever”) Parasitic worms - mention Steph Halmhofer’s video on Facebook and Instagram reminded me of parasitic hazards working near livestock… Cestodes, nematodes, protozoans What are the hazards of digging in the soil, as far as parasites go? Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (whipworm, ascariasis, hookworm) Occupational Safety Kirsten - workplace safety standards Small businesses: https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/index.html First Aid: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/medicalfirstaid/index.html Hazardous waste: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hazardouswaste/index.html
Excavation standards Video: https://www.osha.gov/dts/vtools/construction/trench_fnl_eng_web.html Fact Sheet: https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_Hurricane_Facts/trench_excavation_fs.pdf Slips, trips, and falls https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/falls/ Heat injuries Info pages: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/heatstress/index.html Standard: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2001-10-17-0 Video: https://www.osha.gov/heat/graphics.html
More? Outdoor skills: survey--learn to use a compass and map, Trimble isn’t always your friend! Lift feet when walking transects. Other good skillsets and discussion on using hand tools such as machetes: https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/ETA/Documents_Geometronics/Survey-Safety-Manual.pdf
Where can we find you online? Danielle de Carle Twitter: @danielledecarle Instagram: @de_carle Steph Halmhofer Twitter: @bones_canada Instagram: @bones.canada https://bonesstonesandbooks.com/
Daniel Kwan Twitter, Instagram, Facebook: @danielhkwan Curiosity in Focus, Dundas West Games, Ross Rifles, ROM
Kirsten Lopez Twitter: @archyfem @womenarchys womeninarchaeology.com Women in Archaeology podcast, Association of Oregon Archaeologists
Episode 25: Ancient Politics in the Present
Maxime Lamoureux-St. Hilaire (PhD candidate, Tulane) joins this episode of the Go Dig a Hole podcast to share lessons from the ancient Maya. He introduces a "pragmatic" model of governance - both in physical and symbolic structures. This topical and timely discussion of politics on a macro scale bears haunting echoes of present situations in the global sociopolitical sphere. In many ways, human civilization hasn't really come that far...
Maxime Lamoureux-St. Hilaire would like to thank Drs. Marcello Canuto (Tulane) and Tomas Barrientos (Universidad del Valle de Guatemala) for having him on their long-term project, and for their support of his research. Links: Proyecto Regional Arqueológico La Corona Proyecto Regional Arqueológico La Corona (Facebook) Wilk, Richard (1985) Ancient Maya in the Political Present Lowrey, Annie (2017) Why the Phrase 'Late Capitalism' is Suddenly Everywhere Annual Maya at the Lago conference David Stuart's blog, Ancient Decipherment Contact Maxime Lamoureux-St. Hilaire by email mlamoure@tulane.edu
It's field season for many archaeologists in the Northern Hemisphere, and this special season marks a decade in the field for Chris. Kathleen Paul (PhD candidate, Arizona State University) joins this episode for a look back on how our priorities and perspectives have changed a decade into our practice.
Episode 27: How to Support Public Archaeology
This episode originally aired around June 2017, so the info is not current. However, the great public archaeology programs mentioned in this episode are always worth checking out and supporting. In addition to the programs mentioned in this episode, go support some other great independent, listener supported podcasts that bring unique, important, and engaging programs to the public - Women in Archaeology, yes they’re independent, so update your podcast feeds and make sure you’re subscribed to the correct one; Archy Fantasies, the mythbusters of archaeology have gone indie!; and as always Curiosity in Focus, if you’re curious about anything this podcast is for you.
Listen for more episodes from the archives, as I work my way back in time until all 29 of the back catalog shows are back out there. New Go Dig a Hole episodes are coming in June 2018.
Host, Chris Sims, brings some updates on Go Dig a Hole and talks about public archaeology in Portland and elsewhere. Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon to get your Go Dig a Hole sticker!
Links:
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole
Archaeology Roadshow (Portland, OR) https://www.pdx.edu/anthropology/archaeology-roadshow
Oregon Archaeological Society http://www.oregonarchaeological.org
Association of Oregon Archaeologists http://www.associationoforegonarchaeologists.org
DigVentures https://digventures.com/projects/digging-darrow/
Archaeology in the Community http://www.archaeologyincommunity.com
Episode 28: Archaeology in the Community
Dr. Alex Jones, founder and director of Archaeology in the Community, joins the show to talk about her work in the very public-facing nonprofit organization. Learn what makes AITC a model for how public archaeology should be done.
Go Dig a Hole Episode 29 - Book Club w/ Daniel Kwan
This episode is back from the archives! Look for more of the GDAH back catalog coming soon!
Daniel Kwan, host of the Curiosity in Focus podcast, joins GDAH to talk about his favorite books dealing with archaeology and anthropology. Chris and Daniel cover a lot of ground and discuss the Seasonal Reading List series on the Go Dig a Hole blog.
Archaeologist, musician, archaeogamer, and all-around-boundary-pusher, Andrew Reinhard, joins the Go Dig a Hole podcast for its 50th episode!
Reinhard discusses his latest album, "Assemblage Theory", a collection of open-source samples and found sounds that were put together to form dance tracks - each with a special twist. Archaeological theory and adapted methods guided the creative process throughout.
The best part; it's free to download here: https://bit.ly/2JHalgn
Learn how Reinhard applies archaeological theory to music production, archaeogaming, punk archaeology, and more in this episode of the Go Dig a Hole podcast.
Follow Reinhard and his projects on social media: Twitter: @adreinhard @archaeogaming @nmsarchaeology Instagram: @archaeowhatnow
Support GDAH on Patreon! Get a cool sticker, a nice note, and more! www.patreon.com/godigahole
This episode of the Go Dig a Hole podcast comes LIVE from Portland State University in the sunny PNW. GDAH host, Chris Sims, gave a talk at their Anthropology Department's First Thursday guest lecture series. In this talk, he covers how to use digital media in archaeology to present knowledge - to students, the public, and other researchers.
This talk coalesces many of the themes that have been circulating GDAH for the past year or so, but delves a little deeper into some of the subjects.
Stick around to the end of the episode to hear how archaeological field data can also be digital media, and how it sits in the archaeological tool kit when used in the Codifi paperless data management system. Learn more about Codifi at www.codifi.com
Valorie Aquino and Kirsten Lopez join this episode of the Go Dig a Hole podcast to discuss the March for Science, why public engagement matters, and what we can learn from activism.
Follow Valorie on Twitter www.twitter.com/valorieaquino Follow March for Science on Twitter www.twitter.com/marchforscience Follow Kirsten Lopez on Twitter www.twitter.com/archyfem Follow the Women in Archaeology on Twitter www.twitter.com/womenarchys
Support Go Dig a Hole on Patreon www.patreon.com/godigahole
Often development is viewed as the engine that keeps archaeology going in the United States, but what is the basis for this? Kirsten Lopez returns to the Go Dig a Hole podcast to discuss the NHPA law of 1966 and how it's interpreted in archaeology. We talk about historical preservation, gentrification, and why archaeology needs to clearly demonstrate a service to the public good if it's going to survive.
If you enjoy the Go Dig a Hole podcast and the public archaeology projects we're working on, please support it on Patreon at www.patreon.com/godigahole
Check out the other episodes of the Go Dig a Hole podcast at www.soundcloud.com/godigahole or anywhere you stream podcasts!
What are the contexts in which archaeology is currently situated?
If you listened to the last episode, I switched up the format on you. This one is also a different format in how we switch from a panel discussion to a casual chat.
I was back in Denver last week with Michael Ashley for Codifi. It’s tough to carve out time for things like podcasts when I’m on the road, but I was super happy to sit down for dinner with Chris Driver and Jessi Woods, and have a good chat about ALL THE THINGS. It’s a little all over the place, but what we come away with is a contextualization of archaeology within the current political climate. Codifi is just one part of that, but it’s really resonating with people like Chris who are working hard to do good things for the public and their heritage resources.
If you haven’t heard of Codifi, it’s the tech startup that Michael and I are partners in. I don’t talk about it much on the podcast, since this is entirely listener supported and ad free, but Codifi is more than just what pays my bills, it’s the materialization of my life’s work for most of the past decade. We’re currently an army of two but we’re growing very quickly because the people we’ve been working with to take their archaeology projects paperless have pushed the boundaries of the field, and the limits of what we’re able to do with our technology. Chris Driver is one of those people who have pushed us and inspired us with his approach to archaeology, so this episode was super fun.
While back visiting Kentucky for the holidays, I took my soon-to-be father-in-law and one of my best friends for a drive through the Bluegrass (physiographic region) to visit my favorite bourbon distillery.
I've taken friends and family on tours of this distillery more than half a dozen times. The distillery tour helped me grow some fondness for Kentucky by learning the history behind a beverage that truly shaped its history since Euroamerican settlement. I even did some archaeology work on the grounds of the distillery when I first moved to Kentucky almost a decade ago. I built a deep appreciation for their bourbon when I was still learning the ropes of drinking booze for the actual flavor of it. If Buffalo Trace hadn't become my favorite distillery then, it has certainly become so now.
So we met up with Nic Laracuente at Buffalo Trace. Laracuente is the Section 106 Reviewer for the Kentucky State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and director of Bourbon Archaeology, a volunteer public archaeology venture to explore the innovations and cultural impacts of bourbon.
Laracuente took us on a behind the scenes tour of the Bourbon Pompeii site, the moniker given to a recently excavated portion of the facilities in Frankfort, right on the banks of the Kentucky River. Here's the background story - Colonel E.H. Taylor acquired an already existing bourbon distillery in the 1800s and wanted to replace it with a more modern, industrialized distillery. That facility, Old Fire Copper (OFC), burned down in 1863 and was replaced by an expanded facility in 1873. This building supposedly used riverboats and a pier mounted to the river side of the building.
It was a great, rare experience for us and you can see it for yourself if you have the chance to go tour the Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. The Bourbon Pompeii site is an interesting example of a free, open to the public, archaeology museum that also bridges the public-private sector. It is admirable that Buffalo Trace has demonstrated leadership and a commitment to historic preservation through supporting this project, and it has clearly paid off in visitor attendance.
"Public archaeology is knowing which questions we can ask", Dr. Matt Sanger explains. He elaborates on the importance of understanding that archaeologists have the authority to assign facts, but that they need to relinquish authority over assigning value.
Dr. Matthew Sanger is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Binghamton University in New York, and co-director of the department's Master of Arts in Public Archaeology (MAPA) degree program. He joins this episode of the Go Dig a Hole podcast to discuss the program, public archaeology, and the state of archaeology in much larger contexts.
I open the episode with a couple questions I've asked other archaeologists:
How did you get into archaeology? What has kept you in the field? Sanger explains the experiences he shared with his grandfather during his childhood had a profound impact on his decision to pursue archaeology as a career. He also briefly introduces some of his research on Archaic societies in the coastal Southeastern United States, which sets up some of the directions Sanger has taken his exploration of public archaeology.
“Public archaeology” is a term that gets thrown around a lot, especially lately as some archaeologists have become more vocal about the harm of isolating heritage from the people impacted by it. But what make public archaeology, public? Sanger explains that, on a broad level, public archaeology is any time archaeology leaves academia and reaches another audience. As he elaborates through the conversation in this episode, though, we learn there is much more to it.
For prospective students, it’s key to understand the end result of a program. That’s something that’s often not clearly communicated in other programs. From the MAPA program website:
The focus of the program is the intersection between archaeology and the many organizations that have a stake in the management, protection, study and conservation of the archaeological record. As such, graduates can expect to find careers in private environmental, engineering, energy, and architectural firms, and governmental sectors, such as federal, state, tribal, and local agencies. With training, MAPA students can also prepare themselves for careers in agencies that define policies for educational initiatives, heritage organizations that work directly with descendant communities, institutions that award and administer grants, and museums that are both privately and publicly funded.
The key there is reading between the lines to know that public archaeology is adaptable and applicable to a wide variety of career paths - many of them outside traditional archaeology or anthropology jobs. One of the biggest worries about archaeology is pumping out degrees for jobs that may not exist. It’s refreshing to see a thoughtful approach to training early career archaeologists to seek jobs outside the box.
Sanger explains in greater detail the kinds of assignments and training MAPA students receive in the two-year, thesis-driven program. The true north that guides all of this is a mission to make the field more relevant, to take archaeology "where people live".
Daniel Kwan joins the GDAH podcast for the final episode of 2017. Over the course of this year both he and I have done a lot and been through a lot, and shared much of it on each other's podcasts (check out Kwan's podcast Curiosity in Focus).
Each year's end is a time for introspection and reflection, and 2017 sure has had a lot to warrant reflection. Kwan and I discuss the big changes and moves we've undergone over the past year, and it's important that he joined the podcast for the final episode of the year because we began the year by forming a friendship that has energized and sustained each other's work through collaboration. Both of us have been very busy and, as workaholics like us will tell you, it's often difficult to turn it off. However, if you can't have a gratifying personal life, then what it is all for? So we touch briefly on the importance of work/life balance, and making time for your loved ones.
For Kwan, the year has brought the conclusion of his doctoral dissertation and loads of publications stemming from his research on the rise of ceramic technologies in ancient China. It has also brought a lot of work outside academia. It may surprise many to hear that Kwan's next career path probably won't include a hunt for tenure-track professorships. Instead, he plans to grow his newly formed business ventures in tabletop gaming, counseling, and podcasting.
For me, the year has brought an engagement to my now-fiancé, some big shifts for Go Dig a Hole like forming it into a nonprofit, big moves with Codifi, and exploring new directions in my personal and professional life.
When I first started off in archaeology I was told, "it's a good thing you're unmarried and childless, because you can't have a family in archaeology". Kirsten Lopez joins this episode of the podcast to bust that myth.
Kirsten Lopez was the first archaeologist I met when I moved to Oregon. She got me linked up with the Oregon Archaeological Society (the public-facing outreach and advocacy group), the Association of Oregon Archaeologists (the professional group), and Portland State University's First Thursday Talks. Equivalents of these groups are present in most urban centers, or at least state-wide, and are highly recommended for early career archaeologists to make productive connections for work or study.
Lopez is one of the hosts of the Women in Archaeology podcast and contributor to the Women in Archaeology blog, an important project sharing important perspectives in archaeology. She's also a grad student at Oregon State University. Her area of study is paleoethnobotany - the study of baskets that were made by people in Oregon's northwestern corner of the Great Basin at the end of the Ice Age, the plants that made those baskets, and the environments where those people and plants grew. Lopez' path to this research, like most paths in archaeology, took the scenic route. As she recounts in the podcast, her early field school experiences shaped her research interests in the early prehistory of hidden ancient landscapes. She has worked in Malta, almost moved to Edinburgh, and done countless field investigations throughout the Great Basin and Pacific Northwest. Her current research takes her into the Alford Desert, a physically and logistically challenging place to study on many levels.
Lopez' academic and professional flexibility is balanced by the stability built by purposeful time with her family. This, she says, is key to both her relationship with her teenage daughter and to her partner. Stability is important in everyone's lives at every stage, but is often difficult to find in a career that requires quick planning, frequent travel, and unpredictability. The way Lopez builds stability with her daughter through her ritual of breakfast; every morning she wakes up early enough to enjoy a hot breakfast together before she embarks on her long commute from Portland to Corvallis. She makes regular time a priority with her partner, who is a hospital nurse with challenging schedule as well. They enjoy a drink together at a pub down the street from their home, where they catch up with each other.
Financial stability is another challenge endemic to archaeology. Lopez places the trials and tribulations of her path through archaeology in the context of the American financial crash of the late 2000s. Like many college students who graduated around the last economic collapse, she's weary of recent political rumblings. Lopez worked in real estate when the last recession hit. The ensuing months nuked her savings and took her home, her car, and her furniture. She describes some of the larger factors undermining the job market, like job scarcity and people staying in long-tenure jobs well past retirement age. She presciently argues that archaeologists should unionize as a means to stake out some stability in a job market that too often sees professionals scrambling to react to volatility. Indeed, just as other organized trades have prescribed professional standards, archaeologists have standards outlined by the Secretary of the Interior and each state's State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO). On the podcast, discuss some of the goals and perks of organized labor - be it though unions or through the Democratic Socialists of America. Childcare, healthcare, retirement, and protection from the volatile employment conditions most archaeologists face in the private sector. A major take-away for managing financial and professional stability is to be proactive, rather than reactive.
Happy Thanksgiving, ya bunch of Turkeys! This holiday is a time when people recite nationalist fairy tales. Take a moment to learn about the indigenous peoples of the United States, acknowledge what they've been through, and make space for their voices. I acknowledge the Multnomah and Chinookan people of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. They are a testament to resilience and resistance against genocide and settler colonialism in one of the largest urban centers in North America.
These things are time sensitive but if you're reading this in time, then LET'S DO SOME DIRECT ACTION, Y'ALL!
Our National Parks are in trouble and so are we. In a nutshell:
NPS employees have a huge backlog of maintenance tasks and not enough funding, resources, or personnel to do them The Trump administration proposes a park entry fee hike to cover the funding gap. Funding parks is good and we should do that - but the way they’re going about it is craven, disgusting, and disingenuous. They’re placing the burden on consumers - people visiting parks - to pick up the slack for an administration that has demonstrated time and again they want to concentrate wealth for elites and punish the middle and working classes. It’s a band-aid that will never stick. It will directly limit chances for students, families, and travelers. The administration wants to let unsustainable, extractive industries ransack parks for natural resources and this is a clear play in that direction. Go online - https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?documentID=83652 - remind links are in show notes at godigahole.com Comments open until Dec 22 - tell them it’s a bad idea. If the rate hike does go through, the annual parks pass will be the way to go - instead of paying $70 or more to enter a single park for a single day, you’ll be able to pay $80 for the whole year to enter all the parks.
Our Internet is also in trouble. If you enjoy free, independent podcasts like Go Dig a Hole, the proposed repeal of Net Neutrality is going to bum you out. It’s not just a despicable authoritarian power grab that limits free speech on the internet, it will dramatically decrease communication, innovation, and information while consolidating power and wealth. Millions have already spoken up about it and apparently that’s not enough to stop the FCC. Cool. Don’t let that happen. Call your representatives and demand they reject the repeal of Net Neutrality.
Assuming our internet doesn’t slide farther into the hellworld timeline, online tools are good for archaeology. I recently gave a paper at the annual Chacmool conference on this and there, I focused on the teaching aspects of using podcasts, blogs, and social media for archaeology. So, I’ll share some of that here as well as relate it to students and professionals.
Stay tuned for a deep dive into this subject with an upcoming publication, but this episode is just a brief solo discussion on podcasts, blogs, and social media, and their usefulness in communicating archaeology.
Daniel Kwan (host of the Curiosity in Focus podcast) joins this episode of GDAH to continue our conversation about archaeology in pop culture. In this, Kwan and I cover some examples of archaeology in TV, games (board and video), and music.
Kwan, being a pop culture aficionado, blasts through a list of TV shows portraying archaeology in various ways. It is the portrayal of archaeology and archaeologists that says something important about attitudes toward the discipline. From Star Trek's even-handed application of cultural relativism in the Star Fleet's "prime directive", to Hank Hill's indignant frustration with an archaeologist who ruins his yard in King of the Hill, views on archaeology's relevance as a discipline and archaeologists' credibility as stewards of cultural resources run wide.
Shifting to games, we give a nod to the pioneers of Archaeogaming - researchers examining the way archaeology is presented in games, and the ways archaeological theory and method can be applied to built virtual environments, the code itself, and the physical material of game packaging. As for archaeology in board games, Kwan relates examples of archaeological theory and method being applied to tabletop role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and Coriolis.
We take two approaches to discussing archaeology in music - one is the role music plays in our experience in the field; the other covers references to archaeology or the products of its research in song. I mention my secret love of reggae and reggaeton, and how I actually used to hate it until years of working in the Caribbean/Central American nation of Belize got me hooked. There’s a song by Damian Marley (son of Bob Marley) & Nas called “Patience” that references ancient culture, oral traditional knowledge, archaeologists, Indiana Jones, and makes a call against the hangovers of colonialism - a recurring theme in reggae and Rastafarianism. At one point, Nas says “discovering the world before this world, buried in time, uncovered in rhyme”. The music video kinda rules too.
Turning to one of my favorite bands, I can’t believe it’s already been 2 years since this album came out - “Luminiferous” by High on Fire. I was floored when I read this interview with guitarist/singer, Matt Pike, who full-on believes aliens have been among humans since Ancient Sumer. Stoner and Doom metal are subgenres that are rife with references to ancient cultures and pseudoarchaeological claims to the occult. Some of my favorite bands in this style, like The Sword or Electric Wizard, often make (cheesy) references to either real or imaginary ancient material culture to relate themes of power, violence, and life experience in current real-world settings.
There are also passing references in a couple Modest Mouse songs to archaeology. I can’t find the link to the interview but their lead singer, Isaac Brock, apparently studied anthropology in school before graduating with an Associates Degree.
If you enjoy Go Dig a Hole, share it with your friends, students, and teachers. Also, consider supporting it on Patreon! Supporters get a Go Dig a Hole sticker, and much more!
Today’s episode is a little bit different – It’s a collection of segments from several archaeologists. Robyn Lacy, who you’ll remember from the episode about burials and blogging, and Daniel Kwan, who’s a frequent guest on the show and host of the Curiosity in Focus podcast, answer a couple questions I put out on social media.
Why did you get into archaeology? What made you stay?
I’m putting out an open invitation to send in your submissions or set up a time to record with me – I’d like to hear why you got into archaeology – why you stayed in it – or, why you left. Check out the companion blog post on www.godigahole.com for a dropbox link, or reach out to me on social media at godigahole to get your word in.
This was a fun episode to put together, so hope you enjoy it.
I’ve been on the road for the past week for work in California, and I got to visit Dr. Bill White at UC Berkeley and sit in his course on Ancient African Civilizations. There, I met his incredibly bright students and got a chance to meet a few of them. It was awesome and I hope to do more visits like that in the future. We sat down to talk about why he got into archaeology, and to take a deep dive into the challenges early career archaeologists face in making it work for them.
"Just as white people have to be the ones to fight racism, men need to be the ones to fight sexism" - Dawn Howard
OK, before you do anything else with your day, log onto www.healthcare.gov (or your local health exchange, if it still exists) and follow along! OPEN ENROLLMENT BEGINS NOVEMBER 1 AND ENDS ON DECEMBER 15. The site will be down for "routine maintenance" on Sundays so, as this episode's guest says "if this is a weekend thing for you, it's a Saturday thing for you". Check Facebook for any local enrollment events near you if you want some real-time guidance on the process.
Dawn Howard, CPA joins this episode of the Go Dig a Hole to discuss the importance of getting healthcare and taxes right, and to talk about fighting sexual assault and sexual harassment.
The fight against sexism has received increasing attention in archaeology (and academia at large) in recent years. Some really important conversations came out in the wake of the "Me Too" movement. For anyone unfamiliar, "Me Too" was a trending status on Facebook in which women who had been victims of sexual assault or sexual harassment posted "me too" as their status, sometimes followed by varying levels of soul-baring describing the incidents. Here's the takeaway - men have some real work to do. This is has to entail calling out sexism in the moment, as it happens. Crude jokes, slurs, inappropriate contact, all of it. Stamp. It. Out.
Healthcare is a fundamental human right (or at least it should be), and you shouldn't have to choose between your career and being healthy, yet millions of Americans make enormous sacrifices just to gain access to healthcare, let alone afford it.
Taxes are handmaiden to healthcare, and the way we do taxes is shaped directly by how we work. As a CRM archaeologist, I've often found more in common with freelancers in the creative fields than I with other scientists, because employment tends to be contract-to-contract and the option to be hired onto a project as a 1099 contractor is often available.
So here are some questions Howard addresses in this episode:
Should I choose 1099 contractor, or hourly employee for my project? Do I need to set up a separate bank account if I'm a 1099 contractor? Do I need to set up an LLC for myself as a 1099 contractor? Do I need to file taxes quarterly or annually as a 1099 contractor? When should I hire an accountant, and how often do I need one? How much is healthcare coverage going to cost? Can I set up an FSA or HSA for myself? How do I do quarterly taxes if I haven't had a project in a few months? In short, Howard has all the advice I wish I knew a decade ago. Please, people, share this with your friends, family, classmates, coworkers, teachers, students, whatever. Get healthcare coverage and don't screw yourself over on taxes.
Matt Tuttle is back for the first episode recorded from the Stream PDX Airstream!
The last time Tuttle was on GDAH (Episode xx on the APN archives), we talked about his "origin story" and some helpful advice on getting the most out of your experiences in the field and in the classroom. His takeaway point then, as it is now, is "you have to put in your time" - but this time elaborates that, while putting in your time, it's also important to take moments to appreciate where you are. Indeed, it's easy to get lost in the grind and at times it feels like baby steps for years on end, until one day you look back and realize how much has changed.
Tuttle works both as an independent cultural resources contractor, and as an educator and archaeological site steward with Christopher Newport University. He runs the archaeological field school through CNU, and has recently excavated the Amblers Site at Jamestown and a historic colonial site in Isle of Wight County. The Chesapeake Bay region is rich with historic colonial sites but, as Tuttle points out, there is much more to the story of early American cultural heritage. His experience at the Amblers Site highlights the crucial role of scientific method and solid research design in archaeology - they identified a circular feature in the soil, which they hypothesized was a historic well shaft. Upon further investigation, the dark circular soil revealed numerous pre-contact Native American items, including stone tools and debitage. Does this mean they were wrong? Not necessarily, but it certainly required a revision of the hypothesis to test if this could be a Native American pit house. Carbon dating and artifact type morphology confirmed this hypothesis, and nailed down relative dates of roughly 1,250 years before present. This is a great example of problem solving in the puzzle of archaeology.
On a less uplifting note, Tuttle discusses vandalism that occurred at the Isle of Wight site and the need for an integrated approach to public archaeology engagement that combines education for the public as well as involvement with local law enforcement. Essentially, if the illegality of vandalism isn't a deterrent from site destruction, then perhaps better public engagement can foster respect and appreciation for cultural heritage.
Follow Matt Tuttle on social media, especially if you enjoy seeing the cleanest profiles and floors ever.
The Go Dig a Hole podcast is a little over two years old now, and it's gone through some changes and growing pains along the way. The first few episodes didn't have the best recording equipment and I was still scaling a steep learning curve for editing the audio tracks. I've shed a co-host or two and a whole podcast network, but I feel like the podcast has finally hit its stride, and I have the listeners, guests, and supporters to thank for that.
The Go Dig a Hole Patreon campaign is gaining supporters; the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts are gaining followers; the podcast is now recording from a really amazing studio in Portland; and the public archaeology mission is taking off with speaking engagements, conference presentations, and field trips booked as extensions of GDAH.
I have some great podcasts lined up for the next few episodes, so you can look forward to discussions on ancient Chinese archaeology and cultural representation in mass media; a defense of "screw-ups", politics and healthcare, and financial planning; and colonial archaeology and looting.
I'm taking solo submissions to the following topics:
Why did you get into archaeology? What made you stay? If you left archaeology, why did you leave? What would've needed to change for you to stay? If you're not an archaeologist, what interests you about archaeology? What would you like to know more about from an archaeologist's perspective? Record it yourself and submit your wav file segments to this Dropbox link. They can be anonymous if you prefer. Once I get enough submissions, I'll put them together for a diversity of perspectives on what a career in archaeology actually looks and feels like. There's been a plethora of unrealistic ideas of what constitutes a "career" when you have to cobble together multiple contracts from multiple companies across multiple states. Let's ground truth it, shall we?
This is also a great day to take a moment to give some love to my favorite podcasters and podcasts:
Curiosity in Focus Gratuity Not Included Heritage Voices Women in Archaeology Racist Sandwich Chapo Trap House Champagne Sharks Politically Re-Active Give them a listen, and if you're inclined to support them on Patreon, many of them have fundraising campaigns.
This episode is a collaboration between Heritage Voices, hosted by Lyle Balenquah and Jessica Yaquinto, and Go Dig a Hole. It features a panel of tribal members discussing the issues involving cultural sovereignty as it relates to museum collections. The primary issue here is that museums largely formed their collections during periods when imperialist endeavors were exploiting, displacing, or outright killing indigenous peoples. The drive to collect antiquities as a byproduct of these events not only tokenizes cultural heritage by displaying them as curiosities, but also presents items detached from context since building knowledge was not the goal when tribal items were collected. Descendant communities are tasked with the challenge of locating and identifying items that were taken from their tribes under questionable means, and museums are tasked with the challenge of properly attributing items in their collections that are missing essential cultural data and then repatriating them if necessary.
This panel discussion highlights some of the main problems, but also covers some positive examples of museums doing right by the tribes. Positive ways to move forward are suggested and, as Balenquah suggests, it is crucial to develop lasting and meaningful relationships between tribes and museums to serve to the mutual benefit of each group.
Where does archaeology belong? Colin Omilanowski is back to discuss why archaeology is sometimes aligned more with history, rather than anthropology, and why archaeology is sometimes in its own place.
I try to give a brief history of the intellectual traditions that shaped archaeology since its origins without giving into the rant too much and spinning out of control. I highlight archaeology's roots in imperialism and racism, the critical social theory that stemmed from Marxism and feminism that shaped radical change in the mid twentieth century, and the discipline's pivot in recent decades to contemporary and future applications.
Omilanowski highlights archaeology's relevance to present situations by relating a couple examples from archaeology that bear strong echoes in current events.
We also talk about what the "millennials are killing everything" trope says about society from an archaeological perspective, and briefly talk about the impacts Hurricane Harvey will have on our society.
Closing this episode, Omilanowski recounts his summer in the field, from Portugal and Romania. I also recount what I've been up to with Codifi, including a recent trip to Hawaii to assist with an excavation project.
Robin Lacey joins this episode to talk about her research at Ferryland Burial Ground in Newfoundland. Her work pulls from a diverse range of skills, methods, and approaches. Lacey explains the background of the site and provides a regional context for British colonialism in the mid- to north-Atlantic in North America.
Lacey’s discussion of her research questions and the process of creating a research design is particularly insightful - What began as a project to find the burials at Ferryland rapidly expanded to a novel adaptation of landscape theory, which she refers to as “burial landscapes”.
Related to this overview of Lacey’s research, the conversation
In the end, the take-aways for early career researchers, Lacey urges, are to build skills in research and writing, and to go dig a hole. That is, pick up field experience early and often, as it sets the foundation for a strong and well-rounded archaeologist.
Kate Ellenberger, Kari Lentz, and Nikki Martensen join GDAH to chat about a whole bunch of cool stuff. First on deck is Open Access publishing: we discuss the benefits of publishing without paywalls, how to find good resources to publish your work in an OA platform, and labor issues for early career researchers. See full show notes at http://www.godigahole.com/2017/08/03/podcast-open-access-virtual-reality-and-public-archaeology/
Episode 24: Curiosity in Focus
Daniel Kwan, host of the Curiosity in Focus podcast, joins Chris in Vancouver to talk about his show, why podcasting and social media are important, and how your interests outside archaeology can make you a better archaeologist.
www.patreon.com/godigahole
www.curiosityinfocus.com