Found a piece of pottery in a test pit near Taos that changed my whole approach

I was digging a small unit at a site in New Mexico, just going through the motions, when my trowel hit a painted sherd about 30 centimeters down. Seeing that design made me stop and really look at the soil layers around it for the first time all day. How do you guys make sure you don't miss the small stuff when you're tired?

2 comments

2 Comments

brookefox6d ago

That line about the painted sherd making you stop and really look hit close to home. I remember once I was out near the Gila National Forest, just bone tired after a long week of survey work, and I nearly stepped on a small metate fragment half buried in a wash. I was so focused on just getting back to the truck that I almost missed it. Now I make myself take a five minute break every hour to just sit still and look around. It sounds silly, but it forces my brain to slow down and notice things I would have walked right past. Another trick I use is to keep a small notebook in my pocket and jot down even the smallest observation, like a different colored soil stain or a strange rock. That way when I am exhausted and my mind is wandering, I have a physical record of what I saw.

stone.simon6d ago

That little notebook trick @brookefox mentioned is smart. Reminds me of a guy I knew who used to paint little marks on his boot cuffs to remind him to check his compass bearings on long traverses out in the basin.