DMS Big Dig

Starting to Label - Ryan A. - Period#1

2007-10-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

Dig Diary (10/12)

Today was our first day not digging. We started to turn our artifacts into data that we can use to find the hominid group that we dug up. The process is pretty simple. There isn’t really an order but we all work together to find which order works best. What my group did was first we took pictures of all our artifacts with the artifact number, class number, layer number, and quadrant number. We had 20 artifacts to get organized but it didn’t take too long. The next step was to make an information card for each artifact. It was the same process as taking the pictures except we had to write it on a piece of paper (like a museum). After making a card for each artifact we had to write the artifact number on the artifact it self (example below).

More Labeling - Ryan A. - Period #1

2007-10-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

Dig Diary (10/15)
Today we finished up what we couldn’t do on Friday. We drew out our artifacts that we found on each layer on a “master” sheet which included all four quedrants. After we were done with that we drew what we wanted our artifact booth to look like. We had to draw a board with all the artifacts that everyone in the class found. We will attach the artifacts to the board with wire and hang some artifacts from the ceiling

dig diaries days 1-5 nick l.

2007-10-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

Day 1 We started to map out the dig site… we decided to dig near by a garden because most of the artifacts were centered in this vicinity. We observed many particular rocks non native and chipped we believe that they are from either the Old Stone Age or the New Stone Age. The artifacts could also be from the Homo sapiens sapiens. We are going to excavate a 2 cubic meter hole. Then go down about 1 foot because the area were at seems like the rain has eroded the landscape pretty thoroughly so we shouldn’t have to dig far. My hopes are that we won’t get any more rain coming down. The soils soft all ready and I don’t think it needs to get softer. This dig is on some prime land seeing as this is my first time with this type of dig where the artifacts are so numerous, I’m kind of worried about making a mistake and destroying the dig site.
Day 2 We’ve begun to dig…we started by locating and collecting all the artifacts from the surface. D.R. Pugh and I found what looks like a small hand axe but we still have not collected enough data to make an analysis. We also found a as D.R. will would call it “small rock shilling” unfortunately we have not found any organic material. Now we have truly started the dig a search for truth in a pile of dirt. As we began to sift down a layer I saw a piece of rock that looked like a hand axe we marked it up and continued our search. Buckets loaded we began to sift through the small amount of dirt that we uncovered. Going very steadily me and will sifted the dirt from quadrant A. during the sifting we found one valuable artifact that we over looked on our original dig. It was a good thing we sifted I thought. In the aftermath of this seemingly successful day I believe that my worries about destroying the site were uncalled for. One of my goals for this dig to find the how why and where phases of a society as so notably described by Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Day 3 We struck gold! Though we did not have anything more eventful than the other days it was amazing how fast that changed. We started out mid afternoon there was not a cloud to be seen but we where frozen solid. It was the wind, the ice cold chill that swept over the dig site. We couldn’t sift because of this chill, so everything went extremely slow. D.R. Pugh and I worked in our section on the outskirts of the site. Completely boring, we did not find a single thing or if we did it I cannot remember what it was. So when we were about to wrap up D.R. Ostini made a miraculous discovery. “Look” she said “it’s a log!” we all rushed over to see it. Though unfortunately we had to leave for the next day, which was after the holidays. I was a bit nervous about doing this because even though it’s protected from the rain by the tent puddles could form and it wouldn’t be much fun if we had a lake for a dig site.
Day 4 There we were back from the holidays checking for an unknown artifact in an unknown place that was stolen. There it was our needle in a hay stack. It was a tooth we all thought it had not been there last before but our doubts were cast aside in light of the great find. Still I find it hard to believe but I guess I’ll have to wait until we get it carbon dated. Alas the dig goes on its kind of hard to believe that it’s been four days it seems like we’ve been working for months. Today our corner turned interesting D.R. Pugh and I were working at the dig site and we found a red and blue bead this makes me feel like the people who lived and worked here were of the more advanced human cultures. It was quite an experience to be holding something that may or may not have been held by someone else thousands of years ago. I also believe that this might be the answer to part of my goal, the where stage of society. Another possibility is that we are just discovering that stage as I type. We may never know, but I can try.
Day 5 Today we finally switched sites D.R. will and I moved from the outskirts of the site to a place right in the center. We found today another red and blue bead as we marked the beginning of level two. Other than this the day has been pretty uneventful. I am starting to feel that being in that far off corner made me feel more secure than I should have been. I do not think I was prepared for the bead. I did not relies it was there until later, being used to the uneventful side of the pit. My hopes are that we may be able to carbon date the organic material that we have found. In both the tree branch and in the tooth to compare the difference in the data. So that if a kids tooth came out and they threw it in the dig site. I believe now that I was correct in assuming that this is the where part in society because it was not just one person making one bead. I think it was one person making many beads.

Dig Diaries - Day Eight Sunita W. Period 3

2007-10-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

Dig Diaries – Day Eight
10-16-07
Today we get to dig but we labeled and took pictures.
My group went through all of the four stations and did the job that we were suppose to. But we found out that a lot of our artifacts. For example all the stuff that we found in the layer 0 we couldn’t find. So we had to work with what we had. At the end we ended up with 5 artifact total for the Da Dirt group. On the first table we had to take a photo of the object with other information. In the photo we had to include how big the object was next to a ruler. Then on the bottom we had to tell what period we were in and the number of the object. On next table we had to describe what the artifacts looked like. And also take a guess at what they might have been used for. Then on next table we actually had to write on the artifact. You had to write on it, what period you are in, what layer you found the object in, and finally what number that object is. Finally on last table we had to draw the artifacts on a piece a paper in your own quadrant. All of our artifacts were either found on layer one or layer two. So when you put all the pieces of paper together you can see all the things the class found on our dig.

RECORDING, LABELING, DRAWING, OH MY!-by Athena L.-Period 1

2007-10-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

Athena L.
10/15/07
Period 1
Dig Diary:

Today, Monday, was another fabulous day of recording, labeling, drawing, etc. Sounds like hard work? It’s really not; just a lot of repetition and numbers. Today Zena was gone so it was up to Sean and I to complete recording for “The Dirt.” We finished photographing our artifacts and we finished drawing them on the master artifact map. After all that I have concluded that our group, who excavated quadrant B, got the short end of the stick. Compared to the other quadrants, we found diddly-squat. Or did we? Hmmm… The reason I say this is because all we found is a large rock that was chipped and SEVERAL pieces of chipped pieces of rock. To us kids that may seem like nothing, but to archaeologists in the real world, chipped pieces of rock say a lot about an ancient culture, climate, or environment. If only we middle-schoolers had an equal level of education, experience, and expertise as real-world archaeologists, then we could draw an important conclusion from these pieces of chipped rocks. Maybe we can. I don’t know. But I do know that even if we can’t find the answer to whichever hominid group we have, we can make an educated guess as to what they are.

Record, Label, Draw- by Athena L.-Period 1

2007-10-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

Athena L.
10/12/07
Period 1
Dig Diary:

Today was the first day of recording our artifacts after the dig. We have three tasks having to do with the process in which we record our artifacts. First, we have to photograph each item under bright lights and put a ruler against it so its length can be identified at a glance. Then, we must make a card for each item displaying information such as its label and our theories on what it was used for. Next, we need to physically label the artifacts with a pen including information about where it was found. Lastly, we have to draw our quadrant’s findings on a large map of all the quadrants. There are four pages we need to draw and label the artifacts on, one for each layer of the site. Today, our group “The Dirt” completed all the tasks except the photography and drawing of our artifacts. Soon we will be putting Period 1’s artifacts on a science-board type display. We need to come up with an idea on how to display our artifacts on Monday…

Dig Diary Day seven by: Sunita W Period 3.

2007-10-15T19:06:00.002-07:00

Did Diaries - Day Seven

Today was our last day on the field digging. The weather didn’t help much either when people were digging. It was really coldand chilly. Since my group and the Muller were done we talked during the digging time. I think it was quadrant C that foundseveral pieces of leather. I think this indicated that the hominid that we are digging up had leather as part of their clothing. Also quadrant A found another well-sized rock in their quadrant.

Dig Diary Day six by: Sunita Period 3.

2007-10-15T19:06:00.001-07:00

Dig Diaries - Day Six
Today we did something else then go digging on the fields. Instead we played a game based on facts about the early hominids. My group the Da Dirt placed second. The winners right now are the Chinese kitties also known as the Copperlets. But you never know what might happen when we finish the game next week. Hope to write about our archeological dig the next day in my dig diaries.

Dig Diary Day Five by: Sunita W. Period 3.

2007-10-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

Dig Diaries- Day Five
Today I thought was the most exciting day so far on the field.
Today we found as a class about 5-6 new artifacts. I think quadrant A was the one who found two early hominid skulls. When they dug up it up it was all moldy and messed up. The Da Dirt group found another small arrowhead. Other than that everything went well and we got tired and sweaty. Sadly I think that we only have one more day on the field.

The last day :( Rebecca B Period 2

2007-10-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

Dig Day#6

Dig Diary,
Today was a working day in the classroom. Each group labeled their artifacts, drew a map of them, and took a picture the artifacts. It was a very productive day for the Flag Stickers. Cyrus was not there so it was me, Ally, and Cassie working with the artifacts. We did everything accept take pictures of the items we found in at the digging sight. Most groups didn’t get to finish that either. I think we are going to do that on Monday. I think my favorite part of today was getting to draw the layered map of the artifacts. We had three pieces of paper, one paper for every layer that we dug. On sheet one, we recorded the objects that were found on the top layer or layer zero. This was the layer that was visible without digging. Sheet number two was layer one, and we recorded the artifacts that we found in layer one and the same for sheet number three and layer two. Hopefully we get to finish taking pictures today. If not maybe tomorrow.

2007-10-15T17:30:00.001-07:00

Dig Diary Entries (By: Laura)

2007-10-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

Tuesday: Today we found our site to excavate. We worked in an area near the garden. We put flags anywhere that there were rocks and dirt that seemed out of place. We placed more than 25 flags. Our class chose the site by seeing which area had the most flags. We picked a point and measured out a 2 meter square. The excavation site was marked by orange string and stakes. Although it was only about 8:30-9:00 AM when we were at the dig, the sun was beaming down on my back and it was very hot.

Poem:
We didn’t dig
Too bad
Gosh darn it
So sad
I wish I could see the artifacts beneath
But we didn’t dig
Too bad
Gosh darn it
So sad

Wednesday: Today we finished measuring our site and split it in to four quadrants. Mackenzie, Devon, and I got quadrant A. It has a lot of dirt clods and a patch of grass in the middle of it. We started digging today and we haven’t found any artifacts yet. Hopefully we will find some artifacts soon. All the digging archeologists do takes a long time and sometimes after spending all day in the sweltering heat you don’t find anything but dirt rocks and it is disappointing. I found out that digging with small trowels is very difficult and that digging with rakes is surprisingly easier and more efficient.

Thursday: *Field Trip* NO DIG!

Friday: Today I had an orthodontist appointment and missed most of the dig. In the five or so minutes that I was there Devon and I found a blue marble. We were excited to have found an artifact. Mackenzie was leaving for Portland, Oregon that day so she missed out on our exciting discovery! Unlike the sweltering heat that we were complaining about on Tuesday today the temperature was much cooler. We were all complaining about the cold and on top of that it was rather windy as well.

Monday: *Columbus Day* NO DIG OR SCHOOL!

Tuesday: Today we continued to dig on layer one. Mackenzie was back and we had our whole group there. Today we dug and dug and were hoping to come along another artifact. After many minutes, which seemed like hours, of digging we were nearing the end of the class period. I was sad that we hadn’t found anything. But, when Mackenzie gave a startling shriek saying that she had found what she had thought to be was a hand axe I was happy! I rushed over from sifting and looked at it. We don’t know for sure if it a hand axe yet but we think it could be.

Wednesday: Today we finished digging on layer one and began layer two. The temperature today was just right. Today we found three artifacts. The first one that we found was what seemed to be like another hand axe. The second artifact was a really long stick that seemed to be burnt or worn at the edges. Last but not least we found something that had sticks woven together. Today was an interesting day in the field. Ryan, Clint, and Kevin found a cool skull but touched it so now we can not date it. I think now we will begin to find and uncover many more artifacts.

Thursday: Today we finished excavating our site. Over the course of many hard working days filled with digging, sifting, recording, digging, finding artifacts we are finally done with all that work. Today was just like any other day of this dig. Finding artifacts and digging like crazy is well… fun. Today our class found many artifacts including hand axes, a bowl, burnt wood, a spear, and a shelter type thing. I think we didn’t uncover all the artifacts because it seems like we didn’t find as many as we should have and also because we had to go out of our quadrant a little ways and extend it to get a few artifacts.
Friday: Today instead of digging we recorded our artifacts. There were four different stations and at each station we had to do something with our artifacts. At the first station Mackenzie and I were at we had to label our artifacts with our period number, quadrant letter, artifact number, and the layer that we were digging on. Example: P1L2A7 would mean that Period 1 found it on layer two and it was the 7th artifact that quadrant A had found. Mackenzie and I figured out that it is very difficult to write on burnt wood and on small objects. Fortunately we have small handwriting to begin with or else we would have probably had a difficult time making it legible. At the second station we were at we had to draw our artifacts on a big artifact sheet for layers zero, one, and two. Next, Mackenzie and I made labels for each artifact and wrote on a piece of paper our period number, dig quadrant, layer number, and artifact number. Plus, we also wrote a description on what we thought it was.

Our Big Dig!!! Beth M. p. 2

2007-10-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

Tuesday-10/02/07
Dear Dig Diary,

Today was the first day of our Archeological dig. To start out with our class chose the
location that we thought would be the most fit to examine. Each team member took three flags and marked the items we found to be the most out of place. We looked for sharpened rocks and disturbed grasses and placed our dig perimeters around that area. When we decided upon the place to set our grid we measured out a two by two meter square. One of the sides had to be oriented north-south so we used a compass to point it in the right direction and then to make each angle 90˚. After marking four sides with string we decided it was a little uneven so instead of cutting the grid into one meter squares we just divided into four parts. We were very excited to mark out our digging spot and can’t wait to continue the process of excavating tomorrow.

Wednesday-10/03/07
Dear Dig Diary,

Today we started recording our first artifacts. Starting with the surface we sketched the items on the top layer. To do this we were divided into groups. Each group has their own quadrant. Ellen, Georgina and I began working on quadrant C. We found a couple rocks that seemed odd for the surrounding. I believe that they could be arrowheads or spear points. Some of the rocks we found seemed to be made of sandstone and the others made of shale. We named each artifact using the format of labeling the quadrant and then the order in which we found it. (I.e. C1) We also sifted each bucket of soil to find any missing artifacts. We will be excavating in layers and using this process for each 20 cm layer. Overall it was a great first day of excavation.

Friday-10/05/07
Dear Dig Diary,
After talking note of layer zero we started digging into the dirt. We started off using trowels but soon started using shovels. As we began digging we uncovered a huge rock, we were about to pry it out when we realized that it would be best to dig around it so that we could even out our square. We found that it was pretty difficult to dig in our quadrant because it was mostly clumped dirt that we had to brake up with the shovel and rake. However we broke up the dirt and have almost reached 20 cm down all over the hole. We have the rock half uncovered. One of the other groups made an amazing discovery. They found a rock with cave art on it. It was a great day, a little dusty though.

Tuesday -10/ 9/2007
Dear Dig Diary,
Today we made some very exciting discoveries. We continued to dig into our first layer and revealed some strange artifacts. We switched quadrants so my group is now excavating quadrant B. Unfortunately the quadrant that we left was heavily supplied with interesting artifacts. As a class we found a very nice axe with a wooden handle. It was beautifully made and quite artistic. Also to do with the arts we found some wonderfully painted stones. One was quite large and had a buffalo on it. There was also a smaller rock painting and some interesting instruments. In quadrant B a team of students found what seems to be a flute, it was quite an interesting day and we have hypothesized that the group that left behind these artifacts must have been very artistic.

Wednesday-10/10, 2007
Dear Dig Diary,
After switching quadrants and not finding anything we were very determined to make a discovery. We worked hard using the shovels and rakes, braking up the hard dirt as we went along. We kept digging and finally got through layer on and started layer two at 20 cm. After emptying buckets of soil we noticed a pointed rock that was white. It seems to be the shape of a tooth; we decided it might be a Saber tooth or a wooly mammoth tooth. We were very excited to finally make a discovery. After sketching our new found artifact and recording it in our journal we got back to digging and soon uncovered a large stone. We dusted it off with excitement to find that it too had a large painting on it, this time a horse. Amazingly quadrant B found a string of big glass beads around the same level that we found our new artifact. I believe this group of hominids must have been very advanced and artistic to have had this amount of detail in their work. We had a long dusty excavation period, however I think that we have uncovered all of the objects and our whole pit is equally around 40 cm deep. I am very glad that we uncovered some artifacts and cannot wait to date them in the lab of Mac.

Thursday 10/11/2007
Dear Dig Diary,

Today was very interesting looking back at all interesting artifacts. We started by labeling each item with sharpie to match our records. Then we took special photos with them that included their length and item number. For this we used a special station with bright lights and a mounted camera so that the picture would be crystal clear. Then we sketched each item into a full diagram including each layer and every quadrant so that we could see what items were together. This would give us a better idea of what the artifacts were used for. We are very excited to come to our final conclusion and are setting up a museum with all of our exhibits from different dig locations.

Yes!! Maddie C p. 1

2007-10-11T20:06:00.001-07:00

Maddie C.
Oct 11
P. 1

Today we finished digging up our whole. We found some pretty interesting items though. We found a fortress and a spear, along with many chipped rocks and half of a gourd. The spear was a long piece of wood, carved into a point at the end. The fortress was made out of wood and bound with leather. I believe that the fortress was made for the people that had to make the spears and chip the rocks. The chipped rocks were again made out of white flaky rock. There must have been around fifteen of them. Now that we are finally finished with our dig I have a theory. The gourd had hack marks that seemed like they were carved onto the sides of there on purpose. I believe that the group we dug up was the Homo sapiens. These people were said to specialize in one area, and make it their job. Because there were so many chipped stones in my quadrant and not in any other peoples I believe that my area was the place where people built spears and rock tools.

Dig Diary- Riley's View Oct. 1-11

2007-10-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

Dig Diary- 10-02-07

Today we didn’t get to the actual digging, but we made some important preparations so that we can get to the digging tomorrow. We started by finding an area to dig up, which meant finding an area with a dense amount of alien objects. These alien objects usually were in the form of rocks that were chipped or a different kind than the dirt balls that composed much of the ground elements. We walked in a line, and put flags at all the spots where there were alien objects, then found the spot which was most densely covered in the flags. We then measured out a two by two meter square with string, and aligned it north. We made sure that all the angles were about 90 degrees, and we measured the diagonals to make sure that those were the same. Finally, we used string to divide this large square into four smaller one-meter squares. Tomorrow each of our 3 person groups will start excavating one-fourth of the dig.

10-03-07

Today we actually started the digging process. We started out with a little bit of explanation on how to write down where we find the artifacts when for when we find some. Mac showed us how to chart down where on the grid that we found each artifact, along with a numbering system, and how to number each artifact. We then charted down where we had found the alien rocks that we had found in our quadrant of the digging site, and began digging. I was churning up the dirt to be scooped, and Charley was scooping the dirt up into a large bucket. I used a small rake-like utensil to break apart the hard dirt so that it could be easily scooped with the small bucket charley had. Charley and I would then bring the dirt over to William, who would search the dirt for more subtle artifacts. We would dump the dirt out onto a sift, and William would sift out the dirt and rocks looking for artifacts. We would then repeat the process.

10-05-07

Today we actually uncovered some artifacts. We started off the day by right to work on digging. Today we wear able to use shovels and hoes instead of just small trowels. This made the work go much faster. Our group first dug for a while, without uncovering anything. We just dug hauling as much dirt as possible, and we put it into a white bucket. We then dumped out the dirt in a large pile, but today we did not sift through the dirt like we had the other day. Finally we found an arrowhead. It was made out of rock, and was rather pointy. We marked down where we found it, drew a picture of it, and wrote a small description. We then put it into a plastic bag for safe keeping. We dug some more and found a large stone with two animals painted on it. We marked this down on the charts with different coordinates than usual because it was on the border of our quadrant and another group’s quadrant. Finally, near the end of our digging time, we found a small axe. It had a stone blade attached to a wooden handle with leather. We marked this one down, and wanted to continue, but Mac said that it was time to go back to class. We cleaned up our tools and brought our artifacts back to class.

10-09-07

Today we continued on with the usual digging process. In order to even things out more, Mac had us switch quadrants because our group was getting all the artifacts. We got quadrant D, which was not really a bad quadrant, it just had a little bit of hard ground in some areas. We dug down, and when se neared the second layer we found some artifacts. We found an acorn, and a piece of rock with a painting of an abstract animal on it. These were both very interesting and we plotted them down on our charts. We also found a stone dagger, but Mac let the other group have it (That was fine, we have gotten lucky two days in a row. After that we just continued digging without success, and finally we went back to Mac’s room with our artifacts.

10-10-07

Today our group finished the digging process of our quadrant. William was gone today, because he was going to the orthodontists to go get his braces removed. Me and charley worked as a two-sum, but we still go the job done, and go the job done well. We traded off doing the shovel work, while the other person went and took the buckets of dirt to the pile to dump them. The only thing that we found today was a feather. The feather was white, and small, with the tip of the feather being black. This may have come out of some small bird, lie a jay, or maybe it was down of a large raptor. We were unable to tell in its condition. After that, things went uneventfully, and Charley and I went and cleaned out the bottom of the pit for and more lose dirt. We marked the feather on our charts, and also marked that the dig was done and that there was nothing else left to do. We took our single artifacts back to class and discussed what we had found as a class.

10-11-07

Today, since we are done with digging out our artifacts, we began analyzing them. First, we found all of our dig charts that correspond to our artifacts. We then got out our artifacts, and made labels for each of the artifacts. The labels included all the key information, including the period, artifact number, layer, quadrant, and a brief description. While we were doing that we drew in where we had found our artifacts on the master chart. There were three of these charts, one for each of the layers that we excavated. We drew in the artifacts that we had found on each of the layers, and labeled the drawings with their artifact number. Finally, we began taking pictures of the artifacts that we had found. We put each artifact on the picture-taking device table, and used scrabble letters to label the artifacts in the pictures. We also put a ruler in the picture so that you could tell how long that the artifact was from the picture. Unfortunately we were unable to finish the picture taking, so we had to put our stuff away for tomorrow.

It's a Done Dig-Athena L. Period 1

2007-10-11T17:48:00.000-07:00

Athena L.
10/11/07
Period 1
Dig Diary:

Today our archaeological dig was finally complete. Over the course of many days have we excavated somewhere near eight artifacts. We have dug, sifted, dug, recorded, and dug. Did I mention that we dug, a lot? Today was just like any other day of the dig, except we excavated our last layer, layer 3. We found a bowl, more burnt pieces of wood, and uncovered the rest of the stick structure. Unfortunately, nothing of significance was discovered in “The Dirt’s” quadrant, B, even though we hit the bottom of the hole. It was still exciting to watch other quadrants unearth their prospective artifacts, and it really is a group effort. I have this strange feeling inside that tells me that we didn’t quite find all of the artifacts that were buried, but I will just have to live with it. The discovery of the burnt pieces of wood was very curious, because the burnt pieces of wood definitely do not support my Australopithecine theory, and they do point to Homo Erectus or possibly Homo Habilis. It is highly unlikely that we uncovered a hominid group that lived any later than those afore mentioned. Also not supporting my theory is the well-made bowl and the stick shelter, because both seemed more advanced than those tools of the Australopithecus. I am beginning to think that we possible have Homo Habilis; or not. I learned a lot throughout this dig about archaeology and hominids, but the best thing I learned is that archeology is not an exact science and that I definitely do not want to pursue a career where I have to record everything and get dirt all over my clothes. Nevertheless, I had fun and I hope that our period can analyze our artifacts and come up with the right answer to that elusive question: which hominids are they?

No Dig Day // Ryne C // 10/11 // Per 2

2007-10-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

D6: We didn’t dig today, instead we looked at our artifacts.

Step 1: We put the artifacts, one by one, onto a sheet of white paper. Lights were shining onto the paper to make it clearer. We labeled the artifact and put a ruler next to it so we could measure it. Then, we took a picture.

Step 2: We wrote our period number, dig quadrant, layer number, and item number on the artifacts.

Step 3: We drew out our quadrant on a grid, one time for each layer.

Step 4: We made labels for each artifact, with our period number, dig quadrant, layer number, and item number, plus notes on what it was.

It took up the whole period, so no digging today.

Period #1 Group Shot

2007-10-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

Everyone's eyes are closed because we are looking directly at the sun

Finished - Ryan A. - Period #1

2007-10-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

Dig Diary (10/11)

Today the shed with our tools in it was locked. The rest of the group that I was in started digging with small bucket while I looked around the garden for forgotten tools. I found a regular sized shovel and then we really got to work. We didn’t find to much of anything today, but something that we did find was something that looked like an almond (not sure what it was). We also found another part of a fence that we believe to be part of some part of a shelter. To make the digging go faster we used two giant buckets, with one being filled and one being emptied simultaneously while I was filling them. We reached the bottom of the excavation site in our part of the grid so if our class does any more I guess we will help them.

Big Dig Sean W Period 1

2007-10-11T15:32:00.000-07:00

Dig Diary Day 5
10/11/07
Period 1

After finding the amazing walking stick yesterday, we really wanted to find something again today. Period 1 started out very different than normal because the shed where we usually get the shovels was locked. So, we got hoes, a spade, and a sifter. Our group “The Dirt” started in our normal area, and digging with the hoes. We didn’t find anything in our group so MAC suggested that we look in a different area. “The Dirt” did just that, but we didn’t find anything there anywhere. Although our group “The Dirt” didn’t find anything, another group found a bowl used for eating with. Now, this really sounds like the group is very advanced maybe Homo Sapiens or Homo Erectus. We are very happy to have found the bowl.

Breathtaking Discoveries, by Mac

2007-10-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

We had yet another day of breathtaking discoveries as we continued our excavations. First period finished excavating their pit and trekked back to the classroom with an intricate construction made of sticks and leather bands, as well as other new discoveries. Second period, having finished their dig, was engaged in numbering and photographing artifacts. Third period located several mysterious rocks, seemingly decorated by pigments, as well as many fragments of ostrich egg. Fourth period had perhaps the most intriguing discovery of all: an unidentified mud and twig object, pictured above. WHAT COULD IT BE???

More Artifacts-Athena L. Period 1

2007-10-10T18:44:00.001-07:00

Athena L.
10/10/07
Period 1
Dig Diary:
Today was even more exciting than yesterday, and considerably much more than I thought it would be. I believe we found five artifacts, all in different quadrants. Never in the history of our dig have we found so many. Today I dug again for our group, but I also sifted a little and helped record. It was very hard to dig in our quadrant today because we got the mini shovel. Those of you who participate in the dig definitely know what I am talking about. Despite this setback, we found many interesting pieces of chipped rock. In fact, all of the groups found many pieces of white, flaky rock. Our most significant finds today were a crude skull, an ancient stick formation (probably a bed mat), and a very long spear-like stick that was charred on the end. The excavation of the stick was most interesting because it was in quadrant A but it was so long that it extended a little into our quadrant, B. Because of this I helped Mackenzie excavate it, and we were surprised to see the burnt end. Our new artifacts have led some people to believe that the group we are excavating is Homo Erectus, especially because the used fire and the stick was burnt, but I do not. I am sticking to my Australopithecine theory. Each â€œtoolâ€ we find is not made with the skill or care that Homo Erectus would have taken to make a tool. I also think that the burnt edge on the stick was caused by a lightning strike or natural occurrence. The skull is very short and the teeth or large. The jaw is also protruding. This leads me to believe that it is Australopithecine because their jaws were protruding and they were more ape-like. Another theory of my is Homo Habilis, because of the tools. I hope tomorrow we will find even more.

Digging Maddie C p. 1

2007-10-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

Maddie C.
October second the first day of our archeology dig. Our whole class placed flags next to visible artifacts or unusual looking objects. Then we all stepped back to observe our flag placement. We decided to dig where the most flags were congregated. We girded out our land two meter by two meter with the expertise of Donna the mathematician. Then our class broke off into smaller groups of three. Anouk and Merrill are in my group. I will be the digger, with all of the dirt I dig up I place it into a bucket that Merrill will sift. Anouk will be the recorder. She will travel around with a clip board and record everything we find. And she will also draw the whole at the end of the day.

Digging Maddie C p. 1

2007-10-10T18:12:00.002-07:00

Maddie C.
Mac p. 1
Oct 3 2007

Today we all split into our groups and finished our grid. Each side length is two meters and twenty cm. We split the square into four quadrants. My group was assigned quadrant D. Before we did any ground breaking we drew our quadrant and shoed all of the rocks and sticks on the ground. On the same sheet that we drew our quadrant we wrote down any artifacts that we thought were important, and bagged them up. Today we started digging. Our plan was to dig ten centimeters a day, but we did not exceed our goal. First we had to take out the rest of the rocks and sticks in our quadrant. After we did that Anouk, Merrill, and I started digging out all of the big hard pieces of dirt. After all of the big clumps of dirt were gone, I started digging. Anouk helped dig and Merrill sifter through the dirt that we put in the buckets.

Digging Maddie C p. 1

2007-10-10T18:12:00.001-07:00

Oct 5 2007
Maddie C.
Macs period 1

Today was our third day of excavating our sight. Anouk and I dug to ten cm. deep all around the whole until it was level. Merrill sifted through our dirt. We found three artifacts that looked like they were mini arrow heads. The rocks were white and they seemed that they crumbled easy, because we found one that was crumbled. They were chipped around the edges as if someone had tried to make the rock sharp. They came to a point at the end so that leads me to think that they were not made by natural causes. None of the other quadrants found objects like this so that leads me to think they are something special, and not usual rocks. We drew our artifacts, and where they were placed in the whole placed them in a plastic bag to keep. Hopefully soon we will find some more artifacts that help us crack the mystery of what we are digging up.

Digging Maddie C p. 1

2007-10-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

Maddie C.
Macs class p 1
Oct 9 2007

Today we found two artifacts, but we think that they are not old artifacts. One of them was a mire piece, another quadrant found mire pieces too. Also we found a huge long stick. We have not excavated the stick all of the way yet, tomorrow we will see how deep it goes. We were going to switch quadrants today but we convinced Mack to let us stay in the same ones. Anouk, Merrill and I shared the digging, recording, and sifting, because my elbow heart today. Our whole is about 20 cm deep all the way on the bottom so tomorrow we can start on a new layer. Hopefully we will find new artifacts tomorrow; Mack said there should be more tomorrow.

Digging! Maddie C p. 1

2007-10-10T18:08:00.000-07:00

Oct 9
Maddie C.
Mac period 1

Today was out fifth day of excavating. Because we have been recording our sightings by photography too today I helped Devon upload pictures to a web sight that has been reporting about all of our digs. Then I went to help dig, we found a hut looking object in our whole, it is very big. We did not dig it up all of the way yet because we had to stop digging. We also found many rocks that look like they were tools. They are white and chipped at the sides and are the size of a half dollar. Because they have a hand made shelter it seems to me that they were not one of the most primitive groups.

Day #2 Yeah!! Rebecca B Period 2

2007-10-10T17:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Dig Diary,

Today we started the initial dig. After some brief explanation of the excavation process, our class started to dig in our assigned quadrants. The Flag Stickers, Allison, Cassie, Cyrus, and I started to uncover a whole lot of dirt and rocks. We sifted, examined, and searched for any artifacts. We also looked for anything that might have been left behind by the early group on hominids that once inhabited the area. We found nothing, but our hopes are high. We have a good feeling we are going to uncover some amazing artifacts from the past.

Back to Digging - Ryan A. - Period #1

2007-10-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

Dig diary (10/10/2007)

We devoted the whole class period to digging. Since Kevin was here today we got a little more done. We dug up a wide variety of things in our part of the grid today. We found a human skull and a lot of sharp sharded rocks and a huge block of concrete (not sure if it’s an artifact or not). We went back to sifting today after a lot of finds in other parts of the grid. Some other people in our class found; a walking stick, more sharded rocks, and some sort of fence looking thing that is held together by metal. Tomorrow we will probably be finished excavating and later on in the week we will come to our conclusions of what group these items came from.

(it says I spelled 'sharded' wrong. Is there another way to spell it?)

The Start of Our Exavation Rebecca B Period 2

2007-10-10T17:14:00.000-07:00

Rebecca B.
Social Studies10/2/07
Period 2
The Dig Diary
Dig Diary,
Today was the start of our class archeological dig. We mapped out the digging sight with flags. We put flags by things that we thought was different of unnatural from the rest of the surroundings. We then fount the area that was most cluttered by flags and mapped it out with bright orange string. We aligned one of the sides of the sight with true north using a cool green compass, and then made a perfect square. After some heated debate on which way was north, our class made four 1 meter by 1 meter equal squares in the big square. We tried to be as careful as we could with the area inside of our squares because we didn’t want to disturb the sight too much. Our class left the sight with a lot of progress made. We are ready to start the excavation tomorrow!!

Day Number 4!! Rebecca B Period 2

2007-10-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

Dig Day #4

Dear Dig Diary,

Today was a day filled with some absolutely amazing discoveries. We started out by switching quadrants. Each group rotated one quadrant counterclockwise. After that we started the archeological dig for the 4th time. Some of the groups started to dig down into layer two of their quadrant. Our group, Ally, Cyrus, and I, (Cassie was absent.) couldn’t make the time to dig too much farther because we uncovered some pretty amazing artifacts from the past. Ally made the first dig and we uncovered the tip of an interesting piece of wood. After a while, we found another artifact. A dagger was found in the upper left corner. After the dagger there was an ancient cave painting uncovered from the rocky, dry, dirt. After that there was an item that was thought to be either a flute or a bone of some sort. It was a major day in the excavation category of the dig. We hope to find more artifacts tomorrow too.

The Big Dig...Last Day Rebecca B. Period 2

2007-10-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

Dig Diary Day #5

Dig Diary,

Today was a very fun day out at the Big Dig. We found many interesting artifacts. As the groups moved the dirt shovel full by shovel full, we began to uncover objects that were both obvious and objects that were very peculiar and hard to tell what they were. My group, the Flag Stickers, (Don’t ask why we are called that we just are.) found a necklace that was made of what we thought was marble or some sort of polished stone. On top of the necklace was a stitched doll. We also found a face that was carved into a small piece of wood. The last thing that we found was the strangest artifact of all. It was what appeared to be a skull that was brutally bashed. At first we thought it was a bowl but after a brief examination we found it to be a skull. At the end of our class period, we hit the bottom of our pit and finished the dig. After a small and quick celebration, we took a picture of our class and packed up our tools. We found many interesting artifacts and we will soon draw conclusions to which hominid group’s artifacts we uncovered.

DMS Big Dig Sean W Period 1

2007-10-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

After finding the handaxe, Period 1 really wanted to find another substantial artifact, and that's just what we did. We started by grabbing some shovels, and shovling dirt. After about fiften minutes, we found a walking stick- it was in The Dirt's quadrant, and Laura's group. Our group "The Dirt" also found a lot of chiped rocks.

Did Diaries Day Four By: Sunita W.

2007-10-10T15:45:00.005-07:00

9-10-07
Today I think was the most interesting day of all. First of all we found a cool deer antler. It was white with stripes and it felt soft.I think they ate the deer first and then used it for a weapon. The other artifact we found was a small arrowhead. It was gray on one side and brown on the other side. It looked like it was worked on for awhile.The best part of the day was when Quadrant B found bone marrow that still was seeping from the plastic bag.So far Da Dirt group has found 7 artifacts in four days.

Dig Photos

2007-10-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Dig Photos

2007-10-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

DMS Dig Photos

2007-10-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

What Are We Looking For? By Mac

2007-10-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

As the excavation progresses, each class is uncovering a unique group of artifacts. Ultimately, each class will have to make an educated guess about which hominid (early human) group left their artifacts. Click below for "Hominids in a Nutshell." Once at the site, click on hominid names for a more complete description.

Hominids in a Nutshell, from Mr. Donn's History Page

Finally, We Find Artifacts!-Athena L. Period 1

2007-10-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

Athena Lathos
10/09/07
Period 1
Dig Diary:
Today was exciting for Period 1. We found two possible artifacts towards the end of the day. It all started when we were all working hard at our prospective quadrants, digging, shoveling, and sifting. Then, as I was digging our group’s quadrant (B), I saw a rock. But it wasn’t just your average rock, and trust me, we had seen a lot of those already. It was pointed at the end, and looked as though it might have been worked with a little. We recorded it and sketched it on the log, and then picked it up. We (our group, “The Dirt”) believe it to be an ancient crude hand-axe. Just minutes later, the group in charge of quadrant A, and the name of the group escapes me, found a white, thin rock that looks like it may have been an ancient hand-axe or cutting tool as well. These are surprising finds, because our period has been very unsuccessful compared to others when it comes to finding artifacts. My theory is that we are looking at an ancient home site of the early hominid, Australopithecine. That would explain why we aren’t finding any well developed or worked with tools, and why we aren’t finding much at all. Australopithecines were probably the most inactive, insufficient early hominids, and not much is to say for them, so that is why I think they are the group we are digging up. I am happy today was so eventful, and hopefully tomorrow, when we start the second layer, we will find more artifacts.

We Begin the Dig-Athena L. Period 1

2007-10-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

Athena Lathos
10/3/07
Entry 02
Period 1

Dig Diary:
Today we started the period with the completion of mapping and gridding out our site. It was explained to us that each quadrant of the site would be named A, B, C, and D. Artifacts discovered in that group’s quadrant would be recorded by the group recorder as ( for example, if one group was in charge of quadrant A) 1A, 2A, 3A, etc. Our group is in charge of quadrant B, on the upper right hand corner of the site. Today, I was the recorder, Zena was the digger, and Sean was the sifter. We surveyed and excavated the 0, or surface, layer of quadrant B. Us and other groups found no ancient artifacts but some strange rocks and sticks that looked as if they had been chipped or worked with. These could be possible tools but it isn’t probable. We will resume on Friday, and I hope we will have better luck then. Although I knew we wouldn’t find anything on the surface layer of the dirt because it is highly unlikely that an ancient hominid group would have artifacts left from their time when they are so old, so they should be located on a very low layer of the site. Friday we will continue our excavation of the twenty centimeters of topsoil.

Our First Day!

2007-10-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

Athena Lathos
10/02/07
Period 1

Dig Diary:
Today lacked any significant finds, because the entirety of the period was spent choosing and gridding the site we are to excavate. We choose between two possible sites by the one which we believed held more ancient artifacts by the way that mysterious objects were grouped. Also today, we received some aid from the site mathematician, Mrs. Frost. She gave our team instructions on measuring our site square, which is to be two meters by two meters. We learned how to use a compass to accurately measure the angles and sides of the square. We also separated into digging teams and were told what our jobs would be during the week. My team, named originally “The Dirt” consists of Zena Benenati, Sean Wilczak, and myself. They are many possible jobs to be done during the dig. Each day, we will excavate a twenty centimeter patch of dirt and one person will dig that patch in large sections. One person will thoroughly sift the dirt in trays and another will accurately record all findings. After the introduction of the dig and job division, we were allowed to depart for the day. May tomorrow bring new discoveries!

Second Day - Ryan A. - Period #1

2007-10-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

Dig Diary (10/3):
Since the grid from yesterday was so messed up we just started over. It now is as close to perfect as it can be with four even sized grids separated by a web of strings. We also started to dig, sift, and draw diagrams. Because of small buckets we can’t take down the dirt level very fast. After the bucket is filled we take it over to the sifter (Kevin) who sifts through all the dirt to make sure we weren’t throwing away any important artifacts. Sifting and digging sure go faster with two people. Today we didn’t find any important items or anything really but it was fun

First Day - Ryan A. - Period #1(The good one)

2007-10-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

Dig Diary (10/2):
Today we started out by flagging all interesting items that were above ground. The flags will help us when finding the correct spot to excavate. After we finished flagging all items of interest we put a perimeter around the area with most flags. The square that we will excavate will be approximately 2x2 (meters). Since the perimeter at the moment is a very rough square (we ran out of time) we will measure the distance from the two opposite corners to make a much better square tomorrow. After we get a perfect square we will begin to make a grid.

Recent Finds, by Mac

2007-10-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

First Period :
First period has found a range of stone fragments.

Second Period :
Second period has found a wide range of objects, including:
An axe with wooden handle
Several stones embellished with paintings
A dagger
A flute

Third period:
Third period has found a range of stone flakes as well as some small bones, and a finely shaped stone tool.

Fourth period:
Fourth period has located some strange wooden pieces in the first level. A human tooth was also found nearby. Very mysterious.

The Dig Begins, by Mac

2007-10-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, 7th and 8th graders took to the hills in search of signs of early hominid life. First, they canvassed the field in order to decide on the best excavation site. They used sharp eyes to spot unusual stones or other objects, and chose four dig sites with the highest density of unusual objects.

Then, with the help of Donna and her math students, each class gridded out a 2 meter by 2 meter square. The site was oriented North/South/East/West, with the help of a compass. The large square was then divided into four smaller quadrants.

Each class was divided into four teams, and each team was assigned a quadrant. Before excavation could begin, all artifacts from the surface of the site were mapped, numbered, and bagged. Excavation is being carried out in 20 cm. layers. Soil is being sifted to catch small objects that might otherwise be lost. All artifacts found are mapped, numbered, and bagged for further observation.