Oct. 1 - Survey

Today I was part of a team that surveyed the whole of the Quiet Green. We partitioned the Quiet Green into six smaller areas and had six surveyors, positioned five meters apart, surveying for whatever they could find. I think the spacing was adequate; we covered a large area in a reasonable amount of time and the survey was relatively thorough (although, yes, there aren't a whole lot of things to find in the Quiet Green).

I had recording duties for the first two walks. Drawing the map was a simple task, yet it was surprisingly challenging given the rather large number of features (trees, human beings, manholes, lampposts) to record. The surveyors found mostly pieces of plastic and paper trash (food-related), although I believe Ariana found 74 pieces of glass, presumably belonging to a single bottle. I don't know how she had the patience to count to 74.

In the remaining walks, I was a surveyor myself and despite the general cleanliness of the Quiet Green, I found some interesting things that I believe were helpful in that I could practice thinking like an archaeologist through them. For instance, I found a pile of presumably canine and relatively fresh excrement (never assume anything without some evidence!). I also found a surprising number of white feathers, which was strange because I didn't recall seeing too many birds on campus. There was also a small bottle of liqour imported from France near the west side of Hope College, which immediately got me thinking about who bought and consumed it, and how it ultimately ended up where I found it. However, the most exciting thing I spotted in a way was a roughly circular patch of grass that had clearly been torn up by someone or something. That reminded me of how archaeologists aren't necessarily only looking for material remains; we're looking for any and all signs of human activity, and the landscape itself is of course always in constant contact with human agencies.

Also, my five meters = seven steps.