只触及表面

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发布于2024年5月31日

米歇尔·马修斯

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Cemeteries make the most peaceful neighbors. April Livingston’s backyard, on an oak-shaded 莫比尔市中心附近历史悠久的白玉兰公墓正对面的一个角落 异常. 最近一个周二早上，唯一扰乱安静的声音是 chirps of birds and the scraping of a masonry trowel across concrete.

泥铲是利文斯顿和十大玩彩信誉平台其他九名学生使用的工具之一 学生们在进行第二周的长时间挖掘时正在使用 to see what history they might uncover beneath the grass.

学生们都穿着长裤和结实的靴子，带着防晒霜和虫子 spray, were in Sean Coughlin’s class 人类学 355: Field Work in Archaeology. It was one of 70 so-called Maymester courses at the 在春季学期结束和开学之间只运行三周的大学 暑期班.

利文斯顿的后院满是整齐的1米乘1米的洞 总共10个测试单元. More than halfway through the three-week course, they’d unearthed 混凝土板、大理石和石板以及一些有趣的发现， 比如一个金属做的玩具飞机和一个写着“美国”的圆形徽章 Coast Guard,” as well as a dirty strand of Mardi Gras beads.

利文斯顿是一名艺术家，自称“历史大书呆子”，曾在纽约州立大学任教 十大玩彩信誉平台和其他学院的学生对她的财产很好奇 因为她和丈夫在奥克利花园历史街区买了房子 in 2018.

在玩了金属探测器并自己做了一些挖掘之后，“我想 get an archaeologist involved,” she said, so she contacted 南’s Center for Archaeological Studies. 当她得知该中心的历史考古学家考夫林 在他的野外学校班里只剩下一个名额，她认为这是偶然的机会 signed up — offering her backyard as a possible site for their dig.

有一段时间，在她现在的财产上有三个额外的建筑. “我们知道这是木兰保险公司，”她指着各种各样的桑伯恩说 不同时代的地图. “It was a triple lot across the street from the Helsing 纪念碑的公司.”

That tracks with what the students had been finding. “Archaeology is a process,” said Coughlin. “这对国家史迹名录来说非常重要.”

任何有研究潜力的考古遗址都可以揭示一个主题 from the past is eligible, he said. “The deposits we are finding can provide information 并解决20世纪中期有关纪念碑和金库行业的研究问题 《十大玩彩信誉平台》杂志以及同一时期有关小企业的信息.”

当他们在地表以下50厘米处挖掘时，学生们 他说，是否“试图在自然地层中挖掘，以确保我们没有混入人工制品? 来自不同的时期.” As they are revealed, any artifacts related to human activities are carefully placed in plastic bags.

在发现了四个混凝土跑道后，考夫林和学生们开始思考 混凝土是与拱顶制造有关的u形建筑结构的一部分. 当另一组学生在附近挖掘时，他们发现了两个相似的跑步者 第一次发现它们是相关的并且是某种结构的一部分 从1950年代开始.

当她通过齐腰高的筛子筛选一个大塑料桶里的东西时， Brandy Chunn found pieces of glass and a few nails. “Sean always says it’s like putting together a puzzle without the picture on the box,” she said. “我们正在努力弄清楚 出来.”

春恩于2022年在南方获得人类学学士学位，并开始工作 作为印第安人Poarch部落的历史保护专家. 她报名参加了考夫林的课程，以支持她在部落历史保护方面的工作 办公室. 

“We’re learning methodology,” Chunn said. “This is giving me an opportunity to be 亲自动手的.”

All of the students seemed to enjoy the experience. As the breeze stirred the trees 幸运的是，在利文斯顿阴凉的后院，高年级学生格蕾丝·巴伦丁(Grace Barrentine)坐在一棵新树上 出土的石板，装满了一桶黑土，一次一铲，之前 筛选它.

“I love archaeology,” she said. “I definitely want to do this every day. 我会很难过 当野外学校结束时.” Originally a marine science major, she took an intro class that “changed my trajectory,” she said. She switched to archaeology, with a minor 她计划通过成为一名水下考古学家来结合她的两个爱好.

利文斯顿看着院子里挖得整整齐齐的方形洞，说她觉得自己 might plant a tree in one of them. Eventually, she would like to build a sculpture 她房子旁边的工作室. For now, the archaeological field work going on in her backyard 让她相信她想继续自己挖掘，只是为了满足她的好奇心.

到了下午三点半，老师和学生们，指甲下都沾满了污垢 and streaked on their cheeks, called it a day. Barrentine noted that she has been 每天挖地后身体都很累，所以她晚上睡得很好. “It feels good to get dirty,” she said. “This is what humans need to do all day instead of sitting at a desk in front of a computer.”

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