Hello,
My name is Carmell Dennis. For those that do
not know me, I was one of the students that participated in the 2015 field
school at FSJ. After the field school, I worked alongside my colleagues in the
FSJAP lab helping count and catalog artifacts into the PastPerfect database. I
later graduated in the Spring of 2017 with a BA in Archaeology.
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| Carmell Dennis taking in the scenery after a hard day of working in the field. Photo Credit: Unknown |
Regarding
my passion for archaeology, where do I even begin? From an early age I had a
love for history. My grandfather and I would always watch the history channel,
talk about castle construction and architecture, and discuss a variety of
historical topics. We would bounce ideas off one another about the ‘what ifs’
in history, we even loved playing historical games such as Empire Earth. So, my
interest in history is pretty much my grandfather's fault. This fascination
carried over into my college studies and eventually into archaeology. Being a
part of the FSJAP really prepared me for my career in archaeology. The projects
we worked on and the environment we worked in really helped me as a field
archaeologist.
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| A lithic artifact Carmell discovered on the job. Photo Credit: Carmell Dennis |
A
few weeks after I graduated, I started my career in cultural resource
management traveling all over the United States. I am very fortunate to work
for three different companies and seven plus offices spread across Louisiana,
Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio,
Illinois, Michigan, Wyoming, Colorado, and California. Since I’ve been working
in these areas, my life has been nothing short of an adventure. I have stepped
on a rattlesnake, been chased by a cottonmouth, driven through tornadoes,
worked in arctic conditions, charged by a black bear and bulls, been caught in
a flash flood, walked through alligator infested water, and tried every popular
IPA I could get my hands on. All of
these things may seem off putting, but after thinking back on all of these
crazy adventures, I would not change a thing.
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| Rattlesnakes are a common job hazard for archaeologists in the southwest. Photo Credit: Carmell Dennis. |
Working
in so many different places and terrains has allowed me to work on a variety of
different projects, and to see a wide range of different artifacts. The FSJAP
and my WMU education has not only prepared me for my career as a field
archaeologist, but it has also spurred my curiosity in getting to know many
different types of people. Since I travel all over the country, I really try to
take the time to get to know different types of people in each region of the
country I go to. Getting to know how people think and why they think certain
things really has given me a sense of personal growth and understanding.
Meeting so many people has also given me the opportunity to share what I know
about history and explain and teach people how to properly do their own
research in search of facts.
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| Carmell Dennis and friends, hanging out at the waterfall during their off hours. Photo Credit: Unknown |
Although
this year has not gone as planned due to Covid-19, I still plan to be working
all year in various locations up and down the Sierra Mountains, in Los Angeles,
and in Las Vegas. Miles and miles of survey hiking will be involved, but I am
very eager and hopeful to start excavations on a prehistoric obsidian lithic
site that I was lucky enough to do a survey of last year.
I wish everyone a
safe and happy rest of their year,
Carmell Dennis
