Hi
there, it’s Meghan. I am a graduating senior at Western and I hope to be
attending graduate school in the near future! I am one of this past summer’s
field school students, and as Kaylee mentioned I am currently working in the
lab digitizing field school notes. The process of digitizing notes is not as
thrilling as working in the field, but the work is necessary and important.
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| Keeping detailed notes in the field |
The field
notes taken for each unit are a way to analyze not only the work completed
during the season, but a way to determine the work that will need to be done in
future excavations. During one of the first weeks of the field school we had a rainy
day and since archaeologists never take a day off work, the field school
students were tasked with identifying new units to open during this past summer.
We all rushed to the binders full of field notes from previous years, because
the binders held information on which units were previously excavated, but more
importantly what was excavated from those units and past student’s
recommendations. The field notes provided us with a way to examine and identify
which units we thought would be viable to open or even re-open.
 |
| Transferring paper notes to digitized notes in the lab |
The
digitized notes create a new way to access the field notes that can be more
easily read. When we are out in the field we all try our hardest to keep our
field notes safe and clean. For example, whenever it would rain, our field
notes would be the first item my partner and I would grab. However, we are not
perfect, so our notes may be illegible or dirt-smeared. Another reason to have
a digitized copy of the field notes is that they are a copy, so if something
ever happened to the notes, there is a back-up version. Field notes are
important in either form, paper or digitized, because they provide a link to
the past, so that future archaeologists can continue to work forward.
Once I
complete digitizing the field notes I will be helping Kaylee create our newest
brochure! I am excited to determine the Project’s recent outcomes and go
through all of the photos taken this past summer. The next big event coming up
for me is Michigan Archaeology Day, which is October 28th this year
at the Michigan History Museum in Lansing, MI. I attended last year and it was
absolutely incredible to see so many people excited about archaeology from all
over the state and the country! I hope to see all of you there!
Meghan
