Mapping Buildings and Burials at Gloucester Town

Recent blog with the Fairfield Foundation:

Aerial view of Gloucester Point VIMS campus, with burial locations indicated

What happens to archaeological collections and associated documentation when the dig is over? Two weeks ago, fellow Colleen Betti wrote about her analysis of collections from the large slave quarter yards and midden at Fairfield (click here to read Colleen’s blog). Colleen’s research will culminate in a senior honor’s thesis at the College of William and Mary, which will be available to future researchers through Swem library. In a similar way, salvage and contract archaeology often concludes with a comprehensive technical report. In Virginia, these reports are available in the Department of Historical Resources (DHR) archives in Richmond. Archaeologists planning new field projects consult these site reports in order to get a glimpse of what other researchers learned and perhaps what they can expect from excavations. But what happens when numerous organizations and contract firms have excavated in the same area? It becomes much more difficult to piece together the history of a place and its residents unless all the various research has been synthesized.

Over the past year and a half, I have been working with the Fairfield Foundation to research the history and archaeology of Gloucester Point. In particular, we are interested in Gloucester Town, a thriving colonial port located on the York River and the present-day site of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). Gloucester Town’s history of archaeological excavation extends back decades, primarily spurred by the expansion of the VIMS campus. These efforts led the placement of the Gloucester Point Archaeological District on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. As a colonial port town, it has great comparative potential with sites like Colchester, recently excavated by Fairfax County archaeologists, and Yorktown, just across the river. Our goal is to add to the extensive body of research on Gloucester Point, writing “biographies” of Gloucester Town residents, overlaying historic plat maps on the landscape, and relocating previously-excavated archaeological features using GIS.

The high density of human burials is an endemic problem for archaeologists at Gloucester Point. While some contract firms elected to shift construction in order to preserve burials in situ, other firms fully excavated human remains, taking advantage of their research potential. Between 1983 and 2005, more than thirty burials were uncovered within the confines of historic Gloucester Town. My goal? Map each burial location – whether or not an individual is still interred on that site – in order to preserve extant human burials and determine known burial areas. The challenge? Mapping technology in the 1980s and 90s doesn’t come close to what we use today. I scanned site maps from the DHR, geo-referencing them (transforming them to a known coordinate system using a set of control points) in ArcGIS. I then digitized burial features, entering reference data in an associated table. The result? A clean map of burial locations on the VIMS campus, indicating key areas of historic burial concentrations. In particular, I note an area where seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Gloucester Town inhabitants were interred, a Revolutionary War era cemetery associated with Cornwallis’ siege of Yorktown and Gloucester Town, and a nineteenth-century burying ground postdating Gloucester Town. 

Beyond these goals, I have been researching the mortuary contexts and skeletal biology of individuals interred at Gloucester Point, contextualizing data using social history – a research model I take from Julie King and Douglas Ubelaker’s report at Patuxent Point, Maryland. I hope that this research – and the contributions of other Fairfield Foundation staff and volunteers – will add to the rich history of Gloucester and the Chesapeake region.

A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp

Unlike cadeaux, swamps are not generally thought pleasant things.  William Byrd II, the famous Virginian diarist, certainly didn't think they were pleasant at all; during a surveying expedition establishing the border between the colonies of Virginia and North Carolina,  he called a large intermittent swampy area the Great Dismal Swamp.  And, after a week in that swamp, I can definitely see why.

Edge of the Great Dismal Swamp, along a 20th century canal

In June, I spent a week volunteering with American University's field school in the Great Dismal Swamp.  It was a pretty incredible experience, specially for someone who's used to urban archaeology, or simply arid archaeology.  Swamps are wet, muddy, and full of all kinds of critters: turtles, frogs, snakes, mosquitoes, bears, flies, deer, you name it.  Who on earth would want to live in a swamp?

The study area is just over the border into North Carolina

In the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, escaped slaves, also known as maroons, formed communities in largely inaccessible places like the Great Dismal Swamp.  These maroon societies functioned apart from the rest of the world, their inhabitants making use of objects left by previous Native American occupation, or whatever they could carry into the swamp themselves.  Though it's hard to imagine living in a swamp, it was worth it to these people.  They risked their lives in order to escape from slavery, then again to find their way to communities in the swamp.  It really says something about how much they valued liberty.

A black bear got into the supplies during the night

The Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study (GDSLS) is focused on documenting the occupational history of the swamp, primarily the eighteenth century.  There's not a whole lot of heavy-duty digging - features are pretty shallow in the soil.  However, this was certainly the most detailed screening I've ever encountered at a site.  While screening with 1/4" mesh is common, and 1/8" mesh is used for feature fill, the GDSLS uses 1/16" mesh for all but the uppermost "root cap" layer.  Additionally, they run a magnet over the screens before dumping the organic material.  Both of these methods help to catch smaller artifacts like small pieces of metal or a flake that would otherwise be lost.

Getting ready to hike out of the swamp at the end of the day

This was definitely one of the coolest projects I've worked on.  Just hiking in and out of the swamp in waders and snake chaps - and digging with the snake chaps still on - was an adventure.  It was also an great opportunity to understand just what people were willing to put up with in order to gain freedom on their own terms.  So while I can understand William Byrd II's attribution, especially pre-bug repellent, I didn't find the swamp dismal at all.  I suppose it all depends on your perspective.

Virginia Heritage: Colchester

Digging is one of my favorite Saturday pastimes.  After spending a long week in the stuffy, air-conditioned office, it's wonderful to spend a day in the fresh air.  However hot, it's a pleasant way to decompress and (quite literally) get my hands dirty.

While in past years I've spent many Saturdays volunteering with Alexandria Archaeology at the Shuter's Hill site by Old Town Alexandria's Masonic monument, this February I started volunteering with the Colchester Archaeological Research Team (or CART) in southeastern Fairfax County.  CART focuses on the excavation of both historic and prehistoric site components on county-owned land around the Occoquan River and the Mason Neck.  I've spent a few fun Saturdays excavating at the historic tobacco port town of "Old Colchester," which is located just across the river from Occoquan.  The town dates primarily to the second half of the eighteenth century and though there's only one original structure left, there's a wealth of history underground.  It's still early on in the project - it seems like every time I'm there the team has found a new mystery structure or soil anomaly.  I definitely recommend checking out CART's blog if you're interested in following the excavations.

An especially fun unit I was working on back in April - I think they eventually had to saw out this tree/root

Since I be moving back to Williamsburg for grad school next month, I won't have as many free Saturdays in Northern Virginia.  However, I look forward to continued volunteer days with CART and Alexandria Archaeology during breaks!

Virginia Heritage: Menokin

Some of you may have noticed that I occasionally disappear Monday-Thursday.  This is why!  I've been working on an archaeological project at Menokin, a site near Warsaw, Virginia.  It's not your typical ground-truthing project: we're actually excavating rubble from a house, part of which is still standing.

Menokin's northeast corner

Menokin, the home of Francis Lightfoot Lee (signer of the Declaration of Independence and brother of Richard Henry Lee) and his wife Rebecca Tayloe, was built around 1769.  It was inhabited until the 1930s, after which it fell into disrepair.  The Menokin Foundation would like to rebuild the mansion with structural glass.  This would protect but still show architectural elements of the house, and be a great way to teach about historic architecture.  DATA Investigations has been excavating rubble from Menokin, room by room, since 2006 (I believe).  During this field season, we cleared out a large portion of the southeast cellar room, and rubble around the exterior.  My job?  I screened a lot of dirt, and found a lot of nails and window glass.  Doesn't sound particularly exciting, but it's fun to see the progress we're making on the project - especially when the weather's as beautiful as it was this past week!

We reached the floor!

My time at Menokin, interestingly enough, lined up with the liturgical season of Lent.  The first week of the season, I rushed home from a dusty day of excavation to shower and go to Ash Wednesday Mass - where I was reminded that I am dust.  It's a sobering thought, and not one that is easy to forget while working at Menokin.

The backdirt pile (or "mountain") - it's even bigger now!

This coming week I will be working down in Gloucester at the Fairfield Foundation.  I'll be gone from Northern Virginia, but should have slightly better access to the internet!

Virginia Heritage: Buckland

I'm still alive!  I've just been running helter-skelter across the state, and into D.C. and Maryland as well.  This past Thursday/Friday I voyaged to Williamsburg to go apartment hunting with my former-and-future roomie, Angela.  I will be returning to William and Mary as an MA student in the fall - and I cannot express how happy I will be to live in Williamsburg (and to live with Angela) again!

Springtime in CW

I have been working and volunteering at several archaeological sites over the past few months, so I thought I'd devote one blog entry to each.  All the sites I've been working at lately are "historic" sites, which means that he written record, in addition to archaeology, is used to study the past.  Hopefully by the end of the summer, I'll have at least one Virginia prehistoric site to write about!

Broad Run and the Buckland Mill

I spent several weeks working with a team of archaeologists at Buckland in Prince William County.  (For more information see: Buckland Preservation Society).  Built alongside Broad Run, the small town of Buckland was established in 1798.  By around 1830 it home to a large distillery and a grist (flour) mill, among many other buildings.  Today there are several historic structures still standing - including the old mill, a former post office converted into a residence, and a tavern.  There are additional buildings across Rt. 29 as well.

Our job was to carry out survey testing in the hopes of locating the distillery.  We dug shovel tests - about 1x1 foot round holes, about 1-3 feet deep - to determine stratigraphy (soil layers) and artifact type/density.  We didn't find the distillery (well, probably not), but we did find a lot of interesting "junk" from multiple centuries, from old pottery and oyster shells to industrial 19th century iron to old buckets and chunks of cement.  Further investigation north of the mill shed light onto the foundations of another structure - perhaps a woolen mill mentioned in documents.  Since much of the surveyed land was in a floodplain, cultural deposits have been obscured by seasonal and hundred-year floods.  Sounds like ground penetrating radar (GPR), other remote sensing, or geoarchaeology may be in Buckland's future!

A shovel test reveals a foundation

This coming week I'll be working at Menokin, on Virginia's Northern Neck.  I'm looking forward to some great digging weather!

Twenty Years

Please forgive my long hiatus.  It has been a busy month, between state-hopping, holidays, job-searching and grad school applications.  I'm currently enjoying a relaxing stay with Paul's family in New Jersey.  My Christmas shopping is done (well, almost), my gifts are wrapped, and I'm getting a good rest before the baking-and-wrapping extravaganza that will be Wednesday and Thursday.  Come mid-January I will be starting a post-graduate certificate in Geographic Information Systems (yay!).  In the coming weeks and months I hope to have official news about jobs and graduate school.

In a previous post, I outlined the basics of repatriation and legislation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) Act.  In honor of the 20th anniversary of NAGPRA, George Washington University held a symposium in mid-November.  Those two days were an illuminating experience, revealing the deep hurt difficult conflicts that are an inevitable part of the repatriation process.  Scientists, curators, and Native Americans spoke of their divergent experiences and perspectives.  It was a very moving experience - an chance to see human faces rather than the simply sherds and bones and dirt of archaeology.

The difficult: The sorrow of Native people whose continued efforts have been unsuccessful.  The hurt that has a place, even in successful repatriations.  The yet unresolved disagreements between scientists and Native people.  The inspiring: Beginning and ending each day with prayer.  Inspiring stories.  Academics and curators with the courage to admit wrong practices.  The opportunity to learn from the experience of so many others.

I continue to be glad that I decided to take time off before grad school.  I am learning so much from these unique opportunities, things I most certainly would have missed had I decided to push on through.  As I anticipate returning to the hotbed of academic theory and thought, I do not want to forget the human faces - the the human experience that unites us all, regardless of time period, culture, or language.

National Museum of the American Indian

Field Archaeology 101

It occurred to me a couple weeks ago that the practice of archaeology is a pretty abstract idea in most people's minds.  What do you think of when you imagine an archaeologist working in the field all day?  It's probably a lot different from what you would expect.  Yes, we dig holes, and yes, we collect artifacts - but we also take photographs, keep very exact measurements, make maps of our units, and spend a lot of time recording anything and everything about the soil.

The tools: tarp, buckets, dustpan, trowel and brush

One of the most important things to keep in mind about archaeology is that we record everything.  We want to know exactly where we are digging horizontally (this is where satellite technologies like GIS and GPS come in handy), and vertically, which means taking constant measurements of elevation.  Before you start to dig a unit, you have to plot its location on a map, and lay out its measurements with nails and string.  When you're trying to get a feel for how people used the landscape in the past, you have to be exact.  Most of what you'll learn from an artifact comes from its location (in archaeology jargon, its provenience).  That means digging a unit within the boundary of the strings, and also in vertical levels based on how the soil was deposited.

This unit has already been dug, but I need to document it

Units are usually measured in meters, except occasionally at historic sites.  The photo above is a 1x1 meter unit - this one was part of a midden, or an area where people deposited their refuse.  We find all kinds of things - pottery sherds, flakes from the construction of stone tools, charcoal, bone, and a whole lot of sandstone that was used for construction.

First thing's first - clean off all the crap!

Since the student and adult participants at Crow Canyon do most of the digging, my job is to take care of residual documentation, and get units ready to backfill (throw the dirt right back in).  I first clean the unit, and make sure we have reached sterile soil - that's what was there before people used the land.  It usually has a high concentration of clay, so it's the yellowish-red color you can see above.  This unit looks done - the brown stain in the lower half of the unit was probably caused by rodent activity.

The surface of a pit feature

Sometimes, however, once you get through a layer of soil, you can see the imprint of a feature, something caused by cultural activity that can't be removed from the ground and studied like an artifact.  The above photo represents a pit that was cut into the yellowish-red clay by people who lived here 800-900 years ago.  My job is to excavate the feature, taking lots of notes (and photos!) along the way.

I bisected the pit feature to look at a profile of the fill

All done!  A final photo for this midden unit.

Once everything in a unit is excavated, I take final photographs of the unit.  It is important to provide shade for photos with a tarp, so that the difference in color won't distort the picture (my earlier photos would not be appropriate for a site report - the ones above are much better).  There should always be an arrow or a trowel indicating north in the photo, to best record the orientation.

The tools: clipboard, graph paper, pencil, ruler, line level, tape measure

Finally, I finish up the unit by drawing a profile map to keep track of the change in soil color and texture.  We use a book called the Munsell soil color chart - just imagine a bunch of paint samples in dirt colors, bound together in a book - to try to be as objective as possible about the soil color.  It's more tedious work, but important for understanding how the soil layers were deposited, and thus learning about the relationship of one unit and its artifacts to another.

After that is another story - stay tuned to learn about artifact processing back in the lab!

Destination: Mesa Verde National Park

Durango & Silverton Railroad (2004)

Right now I'm sitting outside a hole-in-the-wall bagel shop in Durango - about 50 miles east of Cortez.  This morning I drove one of the interns to the airport at oh dark thirty, so I figured I'd enjoy the change of scene out this way.  Durango is definitely a tourist town - complete with artsy shops, a historic railroad, and a lot of unique places to eat.  It's definitely a treat to get a bagel - you don't see them very often between St. Louis and well, California.

Mesa Verde at dusk

Today completes week four of my internship.  I just about have the weekly routine down (including unofficial field trip Fridays) and time is starting to pass a little more quickly.  This past week the interns got a taste of Crow Canyon's weekly program for students and adults who come to learn about archaeology.  We got to tag along with the adults in the lab, and the lab interns (also known as "labbies," we are "fieldies") got to come dig with us.  The week also included a field trip to Mesa Verde National Park (making it my second consecutive Friday in the park) about an hour southeast from Cortez.

Balcony House

Last Friday, I took a trip to Mesa Verde while most of the other interns were networking at the Pecos Archaeological Conference (I figured I'd save my networking for the east coast).  I drove around the park, getting a chance to see all kinds of pithouses and cliff dwellings.  I also took a tour of Balcony House - which meant climbing a 30-foot ladder to get to the site, and crawling through a narrow tunnel to get out.  It was a neat site - though I don't think Mom would have liked the heights very much :-P  In the evening I stuck around the park to hear George Mason Professor James Snead give a lecture on his research concerning ancient roads.

Mug House

Yesterday we toured Mug House - a pretty out-of-the-way cliff dwelling on Wetherill Mesa (to the west of Chapin Mesa, the main attraction).  We really had to do some adept rock-crawling to get down to the site, but it was worth it.  We got to see a painted kiva, and some pretty cool other structures.  The interns also drove to Spruce Tree House on Chapin Mesa.  It is splendidly preserved, and it was pretty awesome to give it a look with a more discerning eye than I had at 16 (when I visited Mesa Verde with Mom and Dad).

Otherwise, I've been doing a lot of chilling out, tasting the local beer (the writers of Dear Beer Friend would be proud), and working my way through the first season of Glee and The Columbian Exchange.  I wanted to thank everyone SO MUCH for sending me mail.  It is really nice to come back from the field and find a letter or postcard in my box.  You guys are awesome.

Interns at Mug House

This weekend: relaxation.  Next weekend: the great Salmon ruins and Chaco Canyon expedition.  It's going to be pretty epic - so keep your eyes peeled for an excited post mid-week six!

"We can make squirrels!"

Hello again, loyal patient readers.  It is after 10pm and therefore far past my bedtime, but I thought it was high time to start writing again.  Right now I am sitting in Crow Canyon's basement lab, also known as the land of electricity (I live in a "primitive" cabin).  The environment has improved significantly since Elizabeth (one of my fellow interns) and I cleaned the muddy floor, and Jennifer (another intern) removed the putrid smelling mystery skull from the animal bone shelf next to me.  It's a pleasant enough work space - I am surrounded by archaeological supplies, books about Native Americana, and some very large blue and white speckled pots next to a box labeled "zooarchaeology cooking supplies."  Yep.  It pretty much delights my nerdy heart.

 Hanging out with my fellow RPAs Eric, Sarah, and Katy on the ferry to Surry, Virginia

But alas, wasn't I just in Williamsburg?  Yep.  Another place that delights my nerdy heart.  The NIAHD program, much to my chagrin, ended in mid-July.  It was certainly a unique experience - sharing the floor of a dorm with 20 high school girls - but I really loved spending time with them and my fellow RPAs (Resident Program Assistants).  On the last day of the program, we awoke to find that the girls had made us t-shirts.  Mine read "Top ten reasons to <3 RPA Laura" listing everything from my silly facial expressions to my tendency to distract them from their work (and yes, the one time when I blurted "we can make squirrels!").  It was a fun program - touring (as a chaperon) historic sites all over Virginia, teaching the students to do a bit of archaeology, and getting to know some really awesome people.

 Third floor RPAs - Jen, Amelia, Nichole and me - wearing our t-shirts

I had about three days at home - just enough time to stuff myself with Mom's amazing cooking, do laundry, bake pie and eat it with friends, and catch up on my TiVo before the trip out west.  But alas, I have an early breakfast call and a midden that needs to be dug tomorrow morning - so it'll have to wait.

Getting Caught Up

Over a year has passed since I returned from Guatemala - and quite a year it has been! I was excited to finish my undergraduate degree in Anthropology and History from William and Mary (hit "refresh" a couple times) this May, and have slowly but surely been making plans for the next year and beyond.  I wanted to revive this blog to keep everyone updated on my adventures.

Right after graduation, I volunteered with Alexandria Archaeology and George Washington University's field school - on "Shuter's Hill" by Alexandria's Masonic Monument - helping the instructors and guiding the students on archaeological method.  I am currently in Williamsburg, serving as a Resident Program Assistant with a Pre-Collegiate program in American History.  I'm essentially a mentor to the students, making sure they have the best experience possible.

When the program ends in mid-July, I will have a few days to do laundry and pack for the next stage of my summer journey, an internship with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, Colorado.  I will be a field research intern, working at Goodman Point, at a tenth through thirteenth century Pueblo Indian site.  After that?  We'll see what opportunities life decides to send my way.

Lasts

Hi all! It's hard to believe that a week from not I will be arriving into Dulles Airport. These four months have gone by so fast! (Though I must admit sometimes time seemed to drag by) Now begin the "lasts" of my time Antigua, as I think of what I need to get done before I go.

I sent in my history final essay today - "Maya, Marxists, and the Military: The Role of Indigenous Guatemalans in the Armed Conflict" - and am set to turn in my anthropology essay Tuesday (I have yet to write it...) No worries, it will get done. I have two Spanish exams this coming week as well, but that's not really a reason to stress out, either. I must say it will be nice to be back to the rigor of W&M classes in the fall, though I'm sure I'll complain plenty about it.

This past week we did a couple fun things. Wednesday, Tamara and I attended the Antigua Cooking School and learned how to make tamales (there are three different kinds), guicoyitos rellenos (stuffed round zucchini - in the picture), arroz en leche (rice pudding), corn tortillas, black beans in several ways, and Guatemalan guacamole. Hopefully I'm not forgetting anything. It was a lot of fun - I can't wait to make Guatemalan food for some daring taste-testers.


We took a field trip on Friday to Iximche, a post-classic Maya site. We were supposed to have our own Maya ceremony but our sacerdote's car broke down. However, we got to watch amother ceremony...including a chicken sacrifice. It's really not as dramatic as you would think. We learned the meaning of our month and day of birth in the Maya ceremonial calendar. I am a Kawoq, which means (among other things), that I will make a good teacher and spiritual leader and I generally end up guilty of doing things. Hm.

I'll make a post before I head out next weekend. Can't wait to see you all! It has been too long.

Home Again...four weeks and counting

I'm back in Antigua again after a fun weekend in Honduras! I got to visit my fifth Maya archaeological site (Chichen Itza, Tullum, Kaminaljuyu, Tikal, Copan) and once more see so many of those temples and artifacts we talked about in class. Copan is known for its sculpture, which is very intricate and well-preserved. Most famous is the heiroglyphic staircase, which is the longest of it's kind in the Americas. When it was constructed, every step was carved with glyphs. Intense!!

At Copan's famous Heiroglyphic Staircase

My roomie and I took an exceptionally early shuttle (4am) on Friday to Copan Ruinas, which incidentally is the city a kilometer outside of the ruins. I guess people like to be confusing when naming things. The city is very beautiful, with cobblestone streets like Antigua, and plenty of restaurants, hotels, and souvenir shops. Neither of us had slept much, so we just explored the city and went to the Archaeology museum for the afternoon, then got pizza and drinks and crashed early. A note on Honduran beer: very similar to Guatemalan beer. I tried four kinds - Port Royal, Imperial, Barena, and 'Salvavida', which struck me as kind of funny, as the purified water in Guatemala is 'Salvavidas'. 'Salvavida' means 'lifesaver' or 'saves lives', by the way.

From left to right: K'ak Chan (Smoke Serpent), K'ak' Nab-Kauil (Smoke Jaguar), U'ba K'auil (18 Rabbit), and K'ak Yip Yahchan K'auil (Smoke Shell) - the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fifteeth rulers of Copan.

On Saturday we made an early start - got breakfast and took a tuk-tuk (it's like a taxi, but more like a motor bike with room for passengers in the back) to the ruins. We spent about five hours exploring just the main area of the ruins, which was pretty awesome. Highlights: Seeing tons of awesome Stelae and Altars (especially the unfinished Altar L), the second largest Maya ball court, the heiroglyphic staircase, and the view from the top of the temple of the inscriptions. We got to explore some of the excavation tunnels as well.

Do you remember the tiger of sand from Aladdin? This reminded me of that so I had to have a picture. I'm supposed to be considering sneaking in. The museum at the ruins had a really awesome layout - I was impressed.

We got lunch and then headed to the sculpture museum in the afternoon. A lot of the sculpture from the site is now housed in the musum so that it will be preserved. We finally got to see the real Altar Q (showing all the rulers 1-16). The museum was set up in a way that really goes in like with Maya worldview and conception of life and the underworld. You enter through the mouth of the earth monster and go through a tunnel (which is supposed to resemble the excavation tunnels) to the lower floor - exhibits on the underworld. There is also a lifesize version of the Rosalila Temple in the center of the museum. The upstairs exhibit deals with non-underworld material. A lot of the stelae were set up as they would have been in relation to the temple. Kudos to whomever designed that museum.

I snuck a kiss with Yax K'uk' Mo', the founder of Copan's dynasty. (Don't worry, he's been dead for 1600 years).

We headed back to the city in the evening and got dinner and drinks with our classmate Sarah and her friend Noel. Caught the 6am shuttle back this morning - I've gotten used to traveling in the wee hours of the morning. Mom and Dad come to visit this Thursday and I'm really excited - it should be so much fun :)

Early morning sun from the van on the way back to Antigua.

Midweek Update

Hello All! Somehow time passes all too quickly, and I find myself wondering, where did it all go? Life is difficult, but beautiful (as usual). Thank you to everyone who has sent me e-mails, messages, or who I've been able to talk/skype with lately. It really does help me so much.

I think I missed the "two thirds" mark, but now I'm into the last third of the program. It is strange to think of everything wrapping up. Mom and Dad are coming to visit in just over two weeks - I'm so excited!! Perhaps you all know the feeling of being excited to show other people the places you have come to know and love. Coming to Guatemala has completely removed me from life in the States and the familiar people, places, culture, and language. It will be fun for them to see my life here for themselves rather than through my eyes. How strange it will be to go home!

We are in the midst of Holy Week, and all of Antigua is going crazy making alfombras (carpets of colored sawdust or pine needles and flowers) over which the processions cross. Each church has its own processions, so I can hear the solemn music about every night from my house. Tomorrow begins the Easter Triduum, the three days of Holy Thursday (Jueves Santo), Good Friday (Viernes Santo) and Holy Saturday (Sabado Santo). The Mass of the Lord's Supper is on Thursday night and the Easter Vigil on Saturday night. This is a very special time of prayer and I'm excited to see all the celebrations in the city. From what I hear, there will be plenty of drinking going on in the city as people make the alfombras. I think some of the students and I are going to Easter dinner at a place called the Earth Lodge outside of Antigua. There's supposed to be ham, pumpkin pie, and so much more - American style :)


Yesterday we made an expedition to the City to get our tourist visas renewed, and somehow I got everyone to come with me to the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia y Etnologia (National Archaeology and Ethnology Museum). It was pretty much a dream come true (I'm not even joking!). Got to see so many artifacts, stelae and altars that we studied in Mesoamerican Archaeology last semester. I was told I was acting like a kid on Christmas morning (that's pretty much how I felt). So cool. The above picture is me with Stela 10 from Kaminaljuyu, dating from around 50 BC - AD 50 (though some archaeologists will give it a later date). I wrote a paper about this last semester, and the long hours paid off, just being able to see it. Other cool pieces: the ball court marcador from Tikal (to commemorate Spearthrower Owl!), jade inlaid or otherwise modified teeth, jade masks, incensarios, stelae and altars from Piedras Negras...you name it. Incredible. (End nerd rant).

I'm off for now - hope you all have a beautiful Easter. I miss you all so much! I'll let you know about the Easter celebrations next week.

Peace

Hello all! It's been a nice, lazy Saturday for me here in Antigua. We have the entirety of Holy Week (Semana Santa) off from classes, so after catching up on internship hours yesterday, I decided to relax today. I went out walking before breakfast (about 6:30am) and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Watched a bit of a movie, caught up on e-mails, and started to browse through some of the shops. I think we're going to go out dancing tonight, which should be fun. I don't intend on being this much of a bum all week!


I owe you all a bit more information on last weekend's excurisons. We headed out of Antigua around 4am Friday morning and arrived in Sayaxche in Peten around mid afternoon. Peten is the northernmost department in Guatemala (the big pink one), and Antigua is due west of Guatemala City. It was a long trip. We had an incredibly refreshing lancha (speedboat) ride to Aguateca, a terminal classic Maya site in the jungle, known for its defensive crack - which we got to hike through! We took the boat to our hotel (by this time it was dark and the stars were out, so we tried to pick out constellations since it was so clear), which seemed pretty luxurious to those of us used to paying for $5 beds in hostels when we travel.

The next morning we had another lancha trip back to Sayache, then took the van to Tikal. After lunch we spent about five hours exploring the site, and saw a bunch, though not nearly everything. It was so cool to pick out architectural details and understand a bit of their significance as it was to climb the pyramids and enjoy the view. We were pretty wiped and dehydrated for the trip to our lodging for the night. We stayed at a cooperative set up after the Peace Accords were signed, but I can't tell you much more than that, because I was sick and missed the presentation. I'm still alive, though, and mostly just relaxed during the long van ride home Sunday. I was even feeling well enough to eat Wendy's when we stopped for dinner that evening.

Looks like I'm out of time. Take care all, I miss you very much. I'll keep you updated with my religious revels this week :)

Sweet Water

Actually a decent picture

Pirate Face

Wench Pose

Hm...

No swimming...really?

Hello All! I know it’s been incredibly long since I’ve posted. Things have been going well and now I am officially halfway through the semester. After a project as well as written and oral exam in Spanish class, I think we’re going to get “midterm” grades. We only have six or seven weeks of classes left, come to think of it.

Through all my travels on weekends, I have remembered that what I love best is just to be at home. Whether that’s home in Clifton or Williamsburg, or home-away-from-home here in Antigua, that’s where I am happiest and most comfortable. So while there are a lot of places I’d like to visit, I’m going to keep the weekend trips to a minimum from now on. (It might also help to mention that I generally get sick when I travel…) That said, next weekend we are making the much anticipated trip to Petén. Yes, that means Tikal, and a few other sites as well. I’m pretty darn excited. Kelsey and Anna, I’ll say hello to the spirits of Spearthrower Owl and Yax Nuun Aiin (or however you spell it) for you.

Last weekend Tamara and I ventured to Rio Dulce and Livingston. A quick note on the name ‘Rio Dulce’: the noun ‘dulce’ can mean a sweet, cake, or pastry. The adjective can mean sweet, fresh, or tender. It probably translates to ‘Fresh River’ as this is where the river meets the sea (ten points if you’re thinking of the John Denver and the Muppets song). And unlike the popularized term of the same spelling, ‘Dulce de Leche,’ it is pronounced [d-oo-l-se] – not [d-oo-l-che]. Dang Argentineans (just kidding).

We spent Friday traveling: a van to Guatemala City, where we caught a bus to Rio Dulce. I sat next to a French guy and realized how badly I speak French now that Spanish has taken over. It was 5:30pm by the time we got there, so we got a luxurious hotel room – private shower in the room and everything! However, I feel obligated to add that there was no door separating the shower from the room… We got dinner at a place by the water and watched the evening light fade on all the boats harbored there, enjoying the smell of not-quite-the-ocean-yet.

Saturday after breakfast we headed out to the Castillo de San Felipe, a fort built in the sixteenth century to keep the dastardly pirates away. At one point I tried to make a pirate face, but realized how miserably I fail at it. After way too many bad pirate jokes and silly pictures, we headed back to Rio Dulce (the town). We got lunch at a hippy joint and took a scenic boat ride up the Rio Dulce (the river) to Livingston. It was beautiful –and there is nothing like that feel of the wind on your face as you speed through the water. I wasn’t feeling too well by the time we got to Livingston, so we got a couple beds at a hostel and I passed out. I wasn’t too up to dinner that night, but enjoyed watching Tamara eat her tapado: seafood stew that contained (literally) a whole fish and a couple cut up crabs and shrimp with plantains. She kept saying that the fish was staring at her. I would be inclined to agree.

We wanted to check out the music scene, but as ten o’clock rolled around and places still weren’t open, we dug in for the night. I’m a little sad I didn’t get to see more of the Garifuna culture in Livingston, but hey – I don’t have dengue or malaria, so I’m not complaining. We spent Sunday traveling home: boat to Puerto Barrios, taxi, double-decker bus to Guatemala City, taxi, and chicken bus back to Antigua. Somehow, that turned out to be a pretty efficient trip: 6:30am-2:30pm.

It was a pretty fun trip, although I’m sad I didn’t get the chance to drink rum in Livingston. ¡Que lastima! (what a shame!) I made up for it by going drinking and dancing, Guatemalan style, on St. Patrick’s Day. Don’t worry, I didn’t drink that much. I have to have my wits about me to beat off the men with sticks. Just kidding! Well, sort of ;)