ODE TO INDIANA JONES

If I have anyone to thank for introducing me to the world of archaeology, it’s my mom. I was about six old at home with the flu and completely miserable- due more to boredom than any real discomfort. Sensing this, my beloved mother realized that it was time—that her darling daughter had finally reached the maturity to move beyond Care Bears and My Little Pony videos and into the realm of the action film. With a pop of the VHS tape and the gentle whirr of the VCR, my world was changed forever. Suddenly I was transported from my projectile-vomiting shell into the Amazonian rainforests, the Himalayas, and at last to Egypt.

I fell in love. I fell in love with traveling to exotic locales. I fell in love with Harrison Ford just in time for the sultry scoundrel Han Solo in the re-release of the Star Wars series in 1997. I fell in love with the professor-by-day-swashbuckler-by-night character of Indiana Jones (and to this day Miss. Fox Pitt Rivers harbors a thing for brunettes with a little facial scruff who wear button-down shirts. She can’t help it, she’s been conditioned!). But, most of all I fell in love with the idea of digging up really really old stuff. To put it eloquently.

15 years and one anthropology degree later I realize that Indiana Jones is not the most accurate portrayal of the archaeological life. In fact I’ve noticed quite a few discrepancies between Indiana Jones and what I deign to dub “real” archaeology.

1) There is a noticeable lack of Nazis. I guess now a days they are all too busy looking for Kyle to go on a quest for some sacred relic with mysterious powers.

2) Due to said lack of Nazis the most real threats of bodily harm to archaeologists are snakes, bugs, wild dogs, and angry land owners with guns who speak no English and just want you to get off their damn property.

3) Whisking priceless artifacts of great cultural significance out from under the noses of the local people is in most places a criminal offense called SMUGGLING, even if it does eventually end up in a museum. If caught you will be arrested and really who wants to spend a night in a Peruvian prison over a golden monkey? Granted, this is a relatively new concept, Indiana Jones was just following in the footsteps of his predecessors Hienrich Schliemann and Thomas Bruce, Lord of Elgin.

4) Archaeology can be supremely boring at times. For every Golden Monkey, there are 7.5 billion pottery shards to be analyzed.

5) It is true that by excavating a site, archaeologists are in fact destroying it. This process of destruction however should be done as carefully and painstakingly documented as possible. It is never acceptable to destroy a site by knocking down walls with oversized statuary, blowing it up, or crashing a vehicle into it.

6) After all of your archaeological escapades you must publish your research. Or you will be most likely be fired by whatever institution hires you. With all his gallivanting through the wilderness when does Prof. Jones find time in his office at Marshall College to write and submit articles to the American Journal of Archaeology?

But for all that we can nit-pick on poor Prof. Jones he brought some truly admirable things to the Archaeology table. Most of all, public interest (a rare commodity in the academic world). I once attended a lecture class in which the professor asked all of the students who were interested in archaeology because of the Indiana Jones movies to raise their hands; everyone raised their hands. Indiana Jones is not just a media mogul, but a phenomenon that has sparked the fascination of countless young people in the cultures, practices, events, and remains of the past. And so I give unto you, Professor Henry Walton Jones Jr., a tip of the fedora. Josh Bernstein’s got nothing on you.

And now to sweetly reminisce upon the greatest cinematic scene ever shot...

(I have to link because I have NO idea how to embed a video)

The Job Journey So Far...

Last Friday I had my interview with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. I thought it went as well as it could have. I know I have the experience with customer service, cash register functions, inventory, and sales software that is necessary for a gift-clerk position. I believe the main hang-up is my availability. My current job inhibits the “flexible” scheduling that is preferred, not to mention that I will (hopefully) be leaving for Boston University next August—a fact that my father tells me would have been in my best interest to gloss over, but I haven’t quite gotten into the habit of misrepresenting myself yet. In response my interviewer said, “I’d rather have one good employee for a year then deal with a bad employee for three,” which gives me some hope. And after fervent assurances that they needed this position filled immediately because of severe understaffing and that they’d let me know in two days at most…well, that was 5 days ago. I won’t be upset if they finally call and say “no,” because I understand their hesitancies toward hiring me for the aforementioned reasons; it was great to just get some more interview experience. However, I find very frustrating the attitude of employers that getting back to applicants in a timely fashion is neither important nor necessary. It is blatant rudeness that has somehow become acceptable and indeed the norm in the so-called professional world. I do not approve.

I would also like to take the time to stress the importance of the ability to network. Anyone can network in any environment. Weeks ago I assisted a customer work and we ended up engaging in a conversation on my career goals. The customer then told me he worked for the Computer Sciences Corporation and that there was a position coming available that he thought I would be great for and paid twice as much as I was earning now. He gave me his business card, took my phone number, and called a few days ago to let me know the position had come available on the CSC website. Sure, I may not get it. Sure, it may not be in my field. Sure, it may be sitting in front of a computer all day letting my muscles atrophy and my body fat percentage shoot sky-high. But if I do, it will get me that much closer to the Boston U end goal.

And Now For Something Completely Different…

I feel that for a blog on the journey to become an archaeologist this blog is distinctly lacking in archaeological content. I apologize. And so I will be making the effort to at least once a week publish a blog of archaeological content. Feel free to request topics you’d like to have expounded upon my dedicated…3 readers!

Sunny Day Musings

Mmmmm. If there is one thing I love above all else that this world has to offer, it is beautiful sunny days. As I write from under the dappled shade of Daisy’s dogwood tree, curling my toes into the cool grass, and breathing in the subtle scents of a nearby rose garden, I feel that this is way we were meant to live. And I find a deep inexpressible sadness that for some reason the human race has been unable to find truth and contentedness in this. Instead we find it more worthwhile to quarrel with our neighbors and invest in ideas of power and wealth. Or maybe I’m just upset because I know that in a few hours I will have to drive to the dark windowless world of work because following your dreams is damn expensive; a concept that just feels wrong.

This little moment of reflection is itself due to the fact that my hours at work have been cut back severely. Perhaps this should piss me off because I know it will have a detrimental effect on the Boston U fund, but I can’t help but buoyed by a recent development. I recently received a call from the Jamestown Foundation to come in next Friday for a brief interview. Now, before we all get too excited I feel it necessary to point out that this is only for a position at one of the museums’ giftshops, not one of the several archaeological positions I applied to. Nonetheless, this could be a very very good thing. Not only because it would suppleme

nt my waning wages and look excellent on a resume, but because of the possible networking opportunities it would provide. Never underestimate networking, it will get you further than an impressive resume anyday.

On a sidenote, one of my cats is ill. As I have not yet been blessed/cursed with miniature humans yet, my cats are the closest thing to and thus this amounts to a small tragedy in my eyes. So please pray/send good thoughts Leo’s way. He is a big gray fuzzy ball of adorable.