Journals 10/15/07

Week 4 at the FBC and Week 1 at the Nightingale Brown House
N.B. Last week, October 8th was Columbus Day so we didn't dig

Mark

Week 4: FBC & Nightingale Brown House

This week's fieldwork provided a fun and informative look into remote sensing technologies, with the ultimate goal of mapping and finding underground structures around the lawn of the Nightingale Brown House. However, the day started on a different note. While walking down Benefit st. towards the Nightingale Brown house, I heard a distinct "MARK!" shouted out the window of a passing car. Confused, I turned around to see kate leaning out her window, telling me to come with her to the FBC to open up some trenches. I hopped in, and within 10 or 15 minutes I was hard at work in Trench D1 alongside Stephanie. The digging was highly productive in this trench; we unearthed numerous glass shards, a few pieces of brick, and finally a piece of what appears to be animal bone. Upon seeing this bone, we stopped digging and cleaned around it carefully so that we could document it as a special find. We photographed it and measured the coordinates of all of its sides. I will be curious to clean it off and attempt to figure out what animal it may have come from.

After about an hour's work at the FBC, the small group with which I was digging was sent to the Nightingale Brown house, where we assisted in using a Magnetometor and a GEMII to remotely sense what is underground in the yard. Due to our team's small size, we were incredibly efficient in our work. Unfortunately, the batteries to both machines died. While we were unable to salvage the GEMII without many hours of charging, a 5 minute charge on the magnetometor rendered it operational for long enough to finish the job. The machines were very easy to operate; all it entailed was the ability to walk in a straight line. I look forward to seeing the data that results from our work--perhaps we'll find out that there are more archaeological projects to do right here on college hill!

Stephanie

Week 4: October 15, 2007 This week, our time was divided between excavation at the First Baptist Church and learning about remote sensing at the Nightingale-Brown House. At 1, I headed over to the Nightingale-Brown House, where for a while I was the only student there! Eventually a few other people showed up, and we learned about how to set up lines across the property so that remote sensing can be done at even intervals, or transects, to control the physical parameters. We were almost done with setting up the grid when I had to leave for my 2 pm class.

After my Chinese class, I decided to head to the First Baptist Church to dig first. There was a small group there, and I ended up digging in the famous D1 trench with Mark. Within a couple minutes of digging, I had found a bone right in the middle of the trench! It was very exciting! Now I am no bone expert, but it looked to me something like the end of a humerus maybe, a couple inches in length at most, with that sort of double rounded end. Kate thought it was probably animal (hopefully it is!), and Mark and I went through the procedures to make the bone a special find, recording its coordinates, etc. Before I could really even get into digging again after the find, Mark found another piece of bone! It was quite the exciting day at the church, considering we only spent about an hour excavating! Discovering the bone pieces really made me think about how they may have gotten there in the first place. Why did we only find two pieces of bone at one particular horizontal layer? Is it simply because the other pieces of the skeleton decayed, or is there a more complicated explanation for how those particular pieces of bone were deposited? I am hoping that once we go into the lab, some of these questions can possibly be answered.

At a little after four, the four of us switched with everyone else at the Nightingale-Brown house. It was really interesting two learn about how magnetometry and electromagnetic sensing work. We each got to take turns walking lines with the GEM II, keeping a steady pace with the machine close to the ground for accurate readings. The purpose of the GEM II is to pick up anything in the ground that is electrically conductive. Scott, Mark, and I ended up staying a little extra after class to help Tommy finish the walking the lines across the property. The weather was really nice, and I enjoyed spending some quiet time in the beautiful yard of the Nightingale-Brown house. I am really anxious to see the results of the remote sensing tests we performed to see how much information they can actually convey. Who knows, maybe something really exciting will show up in the results!

On another note, I really enjoyed this week's section. Jason Urbanus came to talk to us about the history of Providence. I had no idea it was so interesting! I am not from around here, so I definitely learned many 'fun facts' about Providence that I didn't know before. Even though it was 9 am, I stayed wide awake for the entire section!

Overall, I must say this week was certainly both very productive and fascinating too!

Scott

Today we returned to fieldwork after a break because of the Columbus Day holiday. This week the period was divided into two parts. For the first half, I worked at digging in Trench D2 with Veronica. After about an hour digging there, we walked over to the grounds of the John Nicholas Brown Center at the Nightingale-Brown House, about a ten minute walk south on Benefit street from the FBC. There we continued the Near-earth geophysical survey that the other half of the class had started.

Digging in D2 was mostly uneventful as we worked in SU's 6 & 7. The soil has mostly shifted over to clay from top-soil fill. We found a couple of pieces of glass and brick, but that was about it, other than the many grubs which populate this trench. I find it rather curious that each of the three trenches i have so far worked in, though not that far from each other, all have their differences. D2 is full of grubs, C2 is home to a family of yellow jackets and in the ground are lots of centipedes/millipedes, while D3 was rather light such creepy-crawlies.

At the JNBC, four of us worked in a group on the survey, under the guidance of Tommy Urban. For half of the time there i walked lines (or transects as they're called in the technical lingo) every half-meter across the lawn with the GEM II. This piece of equipment (invented by a Brown Grad-student) measures the electrical conductivity and magnetic susceptibility of anything in the ground. It sounds complicated, but using it is actually very simple. All I had to do was hold the equipment, which looks like a wooden board with a box on it, and walk at a relaxed pace, pushing a button at the beginning and end of each line in order to start and stop the data collection. There was unique requirement for working with it though: I had to search my wardrobe and put together a metal-free outfit, since any metallic objects on our bodies could interfere with the GEM II. It doesn't sound so difficult, but it's not something I'm used to taking into account. Eventually the battery had to be re-charged, and after that my job was to position the tapes across the lawn that we followed when walking the equipment.

I wish i could say what we found with the survey work, but the data has to be loaded on the computer and analyzed, filtered, and compiled first, which is Tommy's job. It would be very cool (in a very technical way) if the survey revealed something in the ground other than modern infrastructure.

Appendix Saturday, October 20, 2007 Today was "Community Dig Day," an arrangement with the Church so that interested members can come out and see what we're doing, and if they're interested they're free to actually help with the excavation work. Kate put Stephanie and me at Trench D2, where we worked at leveling out SU7 and 6. Although we didn't work for quite as long as we do on Mondays, we came across a full share of objects.

Stephanie and I both found a "pottery cluster" in SU7, her's in the north half, mine in the south section. These consisted of a bunch of broken ceramic pieces all bunched together. The cluster I excavated - after taking measurements of its N-S, E-W and depth coordinates - consisted of more than 30 pieces of a thin white pottery, ranging in size from a dried pepper flake, to as big as my thumb. The really fascinating thing about the cluster was that the pieces were all piled on top of each other in an extended shape like a finger, not in a round clump. It will be really interesting once we get back in the lab to see what we can make of these finds. Maybe we can even re-construct the shape of the original object.

Veronica

Today, I only worked in the field in tranch D2 for a short period of time, but Scott and I still found a few small objects. We found pieces of brick, glass, and more metal (a large warped nail). This is in the same area that the skelton was found in last year so I feel that if we dig a bit deeper, we mght find something else along those lines. The reason that so little time was devoted to digging at FBC was because the class is leaning to use a magnetometer at the Nightengale Brown House for future excavation. Perhaps in the future, we can use it at the FBC

Tyler

Field Day #4: Silent Story-Telling

As Jason Urbanus's passionate cadences ricocheted off the dark walls so as to seem omnipresent and the silvery projection of his colorful presentation floated surreally through the lazy morning air, I could not help but note the intent, the awe evident my classmate's concentrated countenances as the narrative of Rhode Island unfolded to their enthralled minds and lulled them into wonder. Shown a reality that was and that they had never seen nor known, both they and I were captivated. Seeing something outside our existence that nevertheless created the existence we know today, we felt part of a higher, more expansive existence, I think. We delight in having our ordinary, present reality, the names of streets and whatnot, explained through the lens of the past, as it seems to order our existence and incorporate us into a story greater than ourselves, more vast than our own existence.

But as I think about it, it would seem that humans are alone among Earth life in this historical fixation and that it is an affinity to the past before our existence that determines our thoughts and thus makes us human... Indeed it is hard to imagine a world in which our actions were not based on what came before. But we have to ask ourselves where that knowledge of events outside, and more specifically before, our existence comes from. How do all Americans today know who George Washington is, that he had false teeth, that he chopped down the cherry tree (even if that is not a tru history) - all realities or constructed realities beyond their own existences. I wonder if it is fair to say that animals live as infants thoughout their lives, intelligent maybe, but without the communicative tools to explore the past and learn from it. A chimp infant does not know of his great-great grand-chimp-father, yet I know about my Prosper P. Foote born and dead more than a century ago. It is the acculuration of story telling that makes an infant a true human, it would seem. Is that what sets humans apart - the ability to communicate, to understand, to ponder the past that is inaccessible without story-telling and collective remembrance? Is it is story telling that allows us to advance as humans? It is this anthropology that I ponder as I dig this week.

Does this focus on the past hinder us in a way? Is there a whole universe, if you will, that we are missing by not thinking about the future. I think most people would like to think of themselves as forward-thinking, but perhaps forward-mindedness is simply an ability to interpret and rework the successes and failures of the past...What if we were creatures concerned only with the future? Would there be progress in this future oreinted-world (thinking about it, it ironically seems that progress is indeed a product of prudence with regard to the past and not forward-thinking), and is that future-focus even possible, given its nature? If it was possible would it be conceivible to the human mind that is apparently so wired to the past?

How does the future differ from the past, really? Yes, the past has happened and the future has not, but both are intangible and incomprehsible to those that exist in the pres without the communicative

But philosophical musings aside, here's where the archaeology comes in: Or is the past really that incomprehensible without books and without grandma whimsically recounting those "good ol' days"? I wonder if archaeology has evolved as a way to understand the reality of the past where the people's words - spoken and written - have gone silent. By digging into the Earth and unearthing a preserved piece of that reality, a parcel of the past that the shroud of time failed to hide from our present eyes, it silently tells us of the continuity of humanity.

As I hutched awkwardly over the topographic idiosyncracies of the D3 trench this week, pulling out pieces of glass, coal, and corroded metal with Nicole and Doug after the surreal experience of trying to learn about the past by walking transects across a lawn with funky equipment (can we learn about past people in this passive way?), I contemplated my very concept of history - its like a company I feel as though I helped found but was out of the office most of the time and had to have my secretary fill out a "while you were out" message slip to fill me in on the office's happenings. The world that we are born into is one that we inherit, a world shaped by what was before and that we in our existence shape for those of the future that will.

It is interesting to think that individuals so similar to us of the present are made intangible by a mere boundary of time, but somehow the intangible message of their tangible materials can tell us of their existence.

Again, archaeology seems the foil of history - the latter is essentially the study of records made possible by communicative technology, but the former is the study and interpretation of merely what is silent, that has no established meaning as words do, and in that sense, I think, it is more quixotic.

I'm sorry, it probably sounds absurd in words, but if you have stuck with me through my effusive ramble this far, perhaps you will understand: I genuinely wonder if you can listen to the future, if an archaeology of the future is possible, just as that of the past is possible?

It was as a freshman - in my first week at Brown - that I noticed the bold, declarative engraving on the side of the John Carter Brown Library, and I have now walked by many times since. Somehow there always seemed to be a meaning beyond what I was seeing: a mysterious understanding of that which I did not understand.

"Speak to the past, and it shall teach thee" it says. As an archaeologist and as a historian, I now understand.

Shhhhhhhhh... The artifacts are speaking!...

Tyler

Maia

Week 5: This week we changed our routine. Instead of digging at the First Baptist Church the whole time, half of us first went to the Nightengale Brown House on Benefit Street. Last week we had a guest lecturer speak to us about archaeological geophysics, which uses non-invasive techniques to learn more about the area possible excavated. The two methods we used were Electromagnetic Induction, which measures the electrical conductivity and magnetic susceptibility of the subsurface, and thermoramification, which measures the amount of heat the subsurface radiates. These two could be potentially helpful for finding clay pipelines and anything metallic. Both of the instruments were set at different frequencies so that many layers of the subsurface could be tested at the same time. During this process I first helped moving the tape measure along which the instruments followed. The increments were set at every half meter, I believe. At the end I got to use the Electromagnetic Induction instrument (they definitely don’t make these for small people). I had to be careful to walk at a moderate pace and not wobble the meter too much. I noticed that there was a lot of beeping as I walked in the front of the house. Perhaps the signal is picking up on drainpipes? I’d be curious to know what the charts look like once the information has been downloaded onto the computers.

For the second half of the class I went to the First Baptist Church, where I worked on different test pit, D2. Compared to C2 the soil was much more rocky and had a lot of yellow sandy looking soil. Cindy, Hannah (a prospective student) and I only worked at the site for about forty-five minutes so we didn’t uncover as much, but Cindy found a bone joint, which was exciting. Kate thought that it might be faunal since it was so small. I guess we’ll see in lab what it is! From the two sifts that we did, we uncovered for the most part mostly brick pieces, some shell pieces and rusted nails. Here a picture Kate of me holding some of the bricks…

After doing all the research for the CRM report, I’m curious to see if we’ll find any more colonial objects. I’m really hoping that we’ll get to find some more porcelain! Now that I’ve learned more in detail about the history of the site, I’m much more curious to see what we’ll turn up. It’s really quite amazing to think that hundreds of years of artifacts could be buried on this small plot of land.

Nicole

Today my time digging was short- but for good reason! Down the street at the Nightingale-Brown House I spent the first hour and a half of class learning about and using remote sensing equipment with a small group of my classmates. We used two different methods- one that records things that are magnetically charged (the direct method) and things that are not magnetically charged on their own but become magnetically charged when a current is sent through them (the indirect method). Both methods allow for a better picture of what is going on underneath the surface, and it was exciting to entertain all the things that might exist under the nicely manicured lawn surrounding the house...I hope to see the results sometime this semester!

Then I went over to the first Baptist Church site and worked at site D1 again. Although this site still seems to be the most fruitful in terms of volume and number of found artifacts, there were fewer items today than the last digging day. The type of items were similar- nails, glass, pottery sherds, etc. but there was definitely less to count. It seems that the trench is starting to get deep enough now, SU4 (started SU5 at the end) that we are reaching a 'time period' where there was less activity or items used were not preserved in the soil...we will have to wait until the next digging day to see if the artifact numbers keep tapering off!

Maddy

This week we only dug briefly, because for most of the afternoon we were at the Nigthingale Brown House doing magnetic tests. The tests were very interesting, especially when I got to walk the lines and listen to the beeps indicating what was underneath the earth (and hopefully not just indicating the presence of cars on the street). When we finally got the the FBC, however, I opened trench D4 and began digging again. Although I see the importance of rotating trenches and trying out new conditions of digging, I really enjoy digging the same trench week after week, because I get to see for myself how it changes and the new items it brings forth. I have so far worked twice at D2 and twice at D4, and found it extremely satisfying to see the work progress for longer periods. This week the trench was muddy from last week's rain, but it had gotten a lot more interesting since when I had dug it on Week 1. We suspect that it contains refuse from the renovation of the church some decades ago, characterized by charcoal, nails (both rusted and unrusted) and hunks of what is probably asphalt. The most interesting feature, however, is the vertical interface between two stratigraphic units, one of sandy soil and one of mostly charcoal and dirt, which forms an extremely straight and distinct line. Although it perhaps is no great mystery how that feature arose, it is still interesting to look at and dig around.

Chelsea

The more time passes, the more this class falls into place for me. Originally I was sort of lost, but as I begin to place our Archaeology class in the historical context of Providence, Rhode Island the more interesting it all gets. Monday I went out to the the Nightingale Brown House but I ended up going back to my room and falling asleep because I was sick. I thought I'd be fine, but when I got to the house it was breezy and chilly and too bright and everyones voices sounded like the Charley Brown teacher so I gave up on trying to be present. But Wednesday we had a really interesting section where Jason Urbanis (a really cool graduate student) came to talk to us. He gave us a very brief overview of the history of Rhode Island and Providence and it was absolutely fascinating. The part that struck me most was seeing maps of Roger Williams original settlement (basicaly right next to the FBC). The maps had the plots of land labeled by the men who had owned them and now almost all those strips are the names of the streets on College Hill. They also had Native American trade and travel routes which also all seemed to go right by the FBC. Since Rhode Island is so small, I feel like it's easier to quickly grab a basic understanding of the historical structure. Since North Carolina (where I'm from) is so big, it's almost like there are 3 histories to be grabbed, the coast, the piedmont, and the mountains. For some reason learning the historical background of the literal land I'm standing on really struck me as awesome today. I could look at old maps and see the street corners they showed and picture the buildings that are on those spots now. It's fun to imagine what Providence must have looked like in Roger Williams time.

I'm sad I missed class this past Monday and more than a bit aprehensive about our midterm project that's due day after tomorrow (which due to 3 other midterm papers I didn't get a chance to start as early as would probably have been good), but overall I am super grateful to be in the Archaeology of College Hill.

Whit

Unfortunately, I missed today's field work, but I had a great time in Colorado if anyone is curious!

Cindy

Week 4

This week we went first to the Nightingale Brown House on Benefit St. to do a geosurvey of the lawn. It was a beautiful day, but a little tricky in the sense that it was ambiguous whether a sweatshirt was needed or not. At any rate, first we laid out the chains (not really chains, but that's what Tommy called them) across the lawn, so that we could measure out half meter intervals when we were walking lines. I first did the magnetometer, which involved an intense battery pack harness pole contraption, which was sort of heavy, but since we switched off after about 13 lines, it wasn't an issue. Then a prospective student came, and we explained the project to her and later she helped us dig at the FBC. I later used the GEM II, which has a really cool trademark racing stripe on it. This was a lot easier to handle than the magnetometer. Around 4:20, we switched off and headed over to the FBC, where we took up where the first group had left off. Given that we didn't have a whole lot of time, we didn't get so far digging. I was in D2 again with Maia and the prospective, and we did not quite finish our SU, but we did find a piece of bone, some more brick, and some more shell pieces. Last week we had separated the trench into two SUs split North to South because there seemed to be different soil deposits on one side, but after going through a few more centimeters, we decided that the trench was becoming uniform again, so we tried to level out the two SUs so that we could combine them. We ran out of time before we could acheive this though, so it'll be for next week's crew.

Doug

10/15/07 Today, we observed the metaphysics of archaeology through two distinct philosophies. I walked into the front yard of the Nightingale-Brown House with an insatiable appetite for learning the fine art of slowly walking in a straight line with a fifteen thousand dollar two-by-four. My first step on the dao of remote sensing consisted of moving the guide tape across a measured grid of the yard in half-meter increments. Next, while I patiently escorted it along its grassy path, the GEM demonstrated how truth is uncovered most clearly when sought at a constant, steady, and harmonious pace. My final awakening today at the Nightingale-Brown House came from heavy magnetometer meditation: an archaeologist cannot arrive at remote-sensing nirvana through individual forceful action (i.e. a trowel); rather, only by serving as a tranquil instrument of the natural Law (i.e. magnetism). Having clearly failed to grasp the Zen of electro-conductivity, after a brief revitalizing detour (growing archaeologists get very hungry) I returned to the FBC to practice our usual, more materialistic, approach to finding truth. Like a child tearing through Christmas morning wrapping paper (but carefully sifting it afterwards), I eagerly dug out another SU of D1, finding more nails and glass. Experiencing these methodologies today was enlightening, and has helped me recognize one characteristic aspect of my personality. Although I am interested to see the remote-sensing results, and while I enjoyed being outdoors on a nice day, I found the passive work involved with operating sophisticated electronics to be as exciting as watching paint dry. I must admit, I prefer the instant gratification of digging holes and getting dirty.

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