FINALLY Arba Minch…!

We left for Arba Minch this morning, 6 in one car, 7 in the other. I was the(not so) lucky one who got to sit in the middle of the front seat on the armrest/console. The boys were wonderful though and geryrigged a back strap for me as well as held a pillow against their knees the entire ride to Arba Minch so that I would have a backrest! The ride out was bumpy to say the least since at least 80% of the way was on dirt roads but it wasn’t overly uncomfortable. The other landcrusier jammed out to Taylor Swift and Beyonce (Single ladies) and a few others the ENTIRE ride there. It was entertaining to pass them on the road and hear the same song playing every time. We did not have a radio, so we made up our own songs including renditions of Ke$ha (“Wake up in the morning feeling like an archaeologist”) and “99 artifacts left to plot, 99 left to plot! Plot one here, plot one there, 98 artifacts left to plot”, among others. It was interesting to see how the scenery and temperature changed as we got farther into the rift valley. We followed a huge lake the majority of the three hour journey and it became more tropical (bananas and mangoes became prominent) as we approached. Arba Minch was definitely more touristy than we were used to and we saw many frenjies (foreigners like ourselves). After lunch we arranged for a boat ride out on Lake Chamo to the National Park so we could see wild animals!!! The ride to the boats was pretty sketchy, off-roading through dense undergrowth with no boat ramp in sight until suddenly we turned a corner and there were all the boats and we were right on the edge of the lake. We all got in one boat and our captain guided us out to the middle of the lake. The lake was HUGE and offered fabulous views of the surrounding mountains. We journeyed around to the National Park all on the look out for our first glimpse of animals. Our first animal spotted…was a hippo! Actually two. Beyond them was a flock of Egyptian geese interspersed with crocodiles at least 3 meters long that looked like they could easily swallow me whole. They were so ancient looking and fierce watching us. We got within several feet of the shore but remained in the boat. There were also many Hippos that would watch us warily with their eyes and ears just peering above the surface. Hippos are the most deadly animal in Africa and so we made sure not to get too close. We also warthogs (Pumba!!) and hornbills (Zazoo!!). We made our way back to shore very satisfied with our first African animal adventure (“Its like Animal Kingdom, but a thousand times better!!”) and attempted to find a place to eat.

Best News Ever

Yay! Its official, we get to go to Arba Minch tomorrow! We have been planning a field trip to Arba Minch for quite some time but due to difficulties with the vehicles we kept postponing it but Dr. Brandt was able to find us a rental car/driver so we will be able to go. We are so excited!!!

Updates from the field!!

February 17th
Second day excavating G9. We're mostly finding charcoal and a few occasional flakes. Its predominantly part of a hearth feature.
The past two nights thunderstorms took place within minutes of entering our tents. The winds made the tent walls suck in and out all at once. Roaring winds and mild thunder with flashes of lighting. The first night it frightened us. We were afraid that our tents would blow away.
From a cultural perspective, male friendship is different here. The day we arrived at the airport in Addis, we saw a man with his arm around another man on a bench and for a split second we thought they were gay (the same scene in America would have likely been a gay couple), but we remembered Dr. Brandt mentioning how in Ethiopian society men holding hands while walking or having their arms around each other is a common way of showing friendship. We’ve seen it repeatedly since then. The children are also usually hanging on their friends. They always come up and hold our hands when we are walking around camp.
An important part of archeology is the cultural aspect and how the people interact because this directly relates to the artifacts. We watched “Woman the Toolmaker” on the projector after dinner. The film is about the Konso and the few remaining hideworkers that still use stone tools for scraping goat and cow hides. It was interesting to watch it again now that I’m here and have a better understanding of the context. The movie mentioned that a source for their stones is picking up old artifacts from archaeological sites. Now that I’m here, it seems like an obvious option. There are artifacts everywhere; on all of the paths, right on the surface. There’s even a large flake of obsidian embedded in the dirt right in front of my tent. Hopefully we will have the chance to visit the Konso and meet the workers and see how they made and use their tools as an analogue for the past.

February 22nd
More catalog computer work, transferring the 2k+ entries into the database. Only a few more pages left. Yay!
After work Jessica, Tommy, Lindsey and I went for a hike. Yesterday we hiked the ridge to the right of camp. Today the left. Saw some amazing fields. Crowds grew as usual, especially as we took pictures. We ended up in front of a house, and then another, and then a third. They pulled out a bench and insisted we sit. We sat, watching the sunset behind a hut. They brought out a basket bowl filled with warmed kolo nuts. I felt bad eating the nuts while the kids all watched, but the adults insisted and I ate handfuls. I think I had a permanent grin on my face.
As we were leaving, the kids all ran up to grab some of the nuts from the bowl (they had been waiting the entire time). I tried to give my remaining nuts to a small kid. His mom (assumption) then scooped up his big handful into my hand (me: “no, no, no…!”). I felt bad taking the kids nuts, especially since I’d already had so many.
Everyone here treats us with utmost respect. We all feel very welcomed here, by virtually everyone. We greet everyone we see, and they greet us back. I often feel like people are excited to see us. People would never be this friendly in the Western world. There’s a lot less of a personal bubble here. Kids poke their heads into your tent, trying to see what you’re up to. Crowds form when you’re out. It’s hard to get used to.

Feb 23rd
Today we had a large tea time lecture while we were down in the cave about the geological and archaeological history of the cave. It was fascinating to hear what the hypotheses were on the formation of the site and it was especially interesting to mentally feel all the pieces fit together, that sense of “Ohh, that’s why that’s the way it is”. Dr. Fisher has been working with the German Geomorphologist who is here to analyze how the cave formed and they were able synthesize a plausible hypothesis on how the cave formed and how that influences the stratigraphy and the archaeology. They have some intriguing ideas on how water influenced the cave and how it drained throughout the site. They had excavated several geological trenches to get a better idea of the overall design of the various stratigraphic formations in order to form a better picture of where to best look for archaeological evidence and explanations of why we are finding the artifacts we are finding and why they are there.
Through this lecture we learned the importance of collaboration to provide answers and an overall picture of what was really taking place during and around the time that the archaeological deposits were made.
We’re excited to continue excavating tomorrow!

Events for the day: excavating made time go by very fast. Coffee break at ten thirty, back to excavating before lunch. Lunch was delicious; we had enjer'a with shiro (lentils). It’s a local dish of flat bread made with teff that looks like a pancake but tastes like sourdough.

It was Dr. Fisher’s birthday so we got cake with nutella frosting for dessert. Yummm!!
Tonight for dinner we had chicken!! Or more accurately, rooster. It was very spicy and tough but we were happy to have chicken!

Excitement in C9!

We found a hearth feature! Along with the hearth we have found several obsidian bifacial points and many other flakes and microliths. Unlike M15 where they find 300 artifacts a day, C9 is more laid back and less hectic. C9 does have some very interesting aspects, being that very little of it has been dated, and the fact that it is located in the back of the cave with signs of habitual occupation make it something to look forward to.

Woop! WOOP!

Happy Valentine’s day!

There were hyenas in camp last night. Quite literally. The guards had to spend the night chasing them out and you could hear their woop! Woop! cries as well as their growls and even their eerie laughing. It was so unnerving to hear them seemingly right next to our tents and I’m just so glad I didn’t have to need to go to the shintabit (our bathroom/outhouse).

Adventures in Sodo

Today most of us went down to Sodo, the nearby town down the mountain. To get there we hiked down the mountain through small trails the local men that work at camp know. While we made our way down the mountain and across the nearby hills we were able to witness some of the most spectacular views of the area. While walking down we met a few of the local children who would walk with us for some time and then slowly break off from the group. When we finally got into Sodo, we walked around with wide eyes glimmering with excitement of seeing something new. The people in the city were not as intrusive as we were told they would be. We got many stares and several times young children asking for Birr, but nothing that wasn’t totally bothersome. We visited a small museum, the actual museum was closed because it was a Sunday and most businesses are closed due to the religious observation of the day, but we were able to walk around the grounds and take pictures. After the museum we found a restaurant to eat lunch at and then headed out to find the bazaar. There was a small entrance price to get into the bazaar, 5 Birr, but we paid and went in. It was small and had very little traditional goods, but it had mostly things that the people living in the city would need on a daily basis such as plastic jugs, belts, shoes and other such things.
On our way back from Sodo Dr. Brandt picked all of us up in the Land Cruiser. We crammed 11 people into the Land Cruiser, in the rain. We made our way to the mountain and then at the foot of the mountain, at the dirt road the rains really started to fall. We all looked around the Land Cruiser with worry in our eyes, but excitement at the roller coaster we all knew was coming. Once Dr. Brandt pressed the gas, we knew this was going to be one hell of a ride. The cruiser slid, and fish tailed, we got stuck in the mud and we all had to pile out of the cruiser in the rain, but we finally made it up the mountain with a sigh of relief and left over nervous giggles.

Lord of the Flies...emphasis on the Flies

The flies are incredibly annoying. There’s a wall in the cave that is coated with them and if you walk too close, the wall literally comes alive, buzzing and swarming. These African flies go places no American flies would dare, like up pant legs and down shirts. They are so irritating!! But luckily only really come out in the afternoon sun... The dust was bad too the first couple days during backfill removal. It make our noses run and our throats hurt (occasionally) and made me cough and sneeze but now its not that bad.
We’re done with work for the day. Jessica and I managed the data catalog and numbered new artifact bags and I’m hoping we rotate excavators soon.

Today we actually began excavating. I am working in unit M15 with Andrew and Clemont, a French archaeologist. Our unit is the smallest, only 1 meter square and only about 2 feet deep. The level we are currently working in is believed to be from the Holocene Era and it is so cool to be unearthing things no human eyes have seen in nearly 10,000 years!

(photo by Andrew)

Today we finished digging out the units and I got to brush off dirt/dust from the excavation site in one of the units. I’m happy that the all of the units have finally been dug out and excavation can finally begin.
We got to take showers afterward! The water was cold and the flap to the tarp did not close all the way so we only spent roughly 20 seconds in the water on average, but it was worth it. It feels amazing to be clean.
As the sun was setting, we played with the kids. We took their pictures (and a few adults asked to have their photo, too), but after a while we had to say enough. The kids begin to grab at our arms and cameras, eager for us to take and show more photos. we met a few of the kids and tried to learn their names. They played volleyball and patty-cake with us. Eventually it was pretty dark and an older guy told them to go home.

(photo by Andrew)

Good news – no one has gotten miserably sick yet! We were all exceedingly worried about this after all the stories we heard from last year but so far so good. Today we continued removing the backdirt from the site. The entire cave was hazy with a fine cloud of dust making it difficult to see and breathe. It was really hard work. We were all commenting on how tan we were, until we went to wash our hands for lunch and realized that our “tans” were really dust!! Most of the excavation units had sandbags and tarps to protect the fragile walls and there were many large rocks thrown into the pits as well to provide stability.

our first day

Emerging from our tents this morning, we found ourselves confronted with a breathtaking view of the rift valley with the Gamo Highlands shimmering in the distance. It was slightly shocking to realize that there were houses where we thought was total darkness the night before and how close to the edge of the mountain we actually were. We walked down to the main camp area and assisted in setting up the research tent and organizing all of the supplies. We had noodles for breakfast/lunch then made our way down to the cave for the first time. Upon walking to the cave, we were struck by three thoughts –
1)the cave was much bigger than we expected
2)the cave was so beautiful! Especially with all the overhanging greenery and the trickling waterfall across the mouth
3)the overall wow factor – the sense that, yes, we really were here in Africa.

We spent the morning learning how to use the Total Station that we will be using for plotting artifacts and mapping the various stratigraphy levels and structures. In the afternoon we began the tedious task of removing the entire fill deposited at the end of the last dig season to protect the site.

We left Addis early after another delicious breakfast and headed out to the cave. It was about a 5 hour drive and it was so interesting to watch how the scenery changed from an arid rather barren landscape, to miles of farmland as far as the eye can see, to a more tropical lush highland landscape. We napped on and off but never for long because there was always something new to see around the corner. Driving through the various towns was especially interesting. They all had signs saying ‘Bon Voyage!’ when you exited the limits.

A few times we had to stop and wait for sheep or donkeys to cross the road and as we drove through Hosanna, one of the larger towns, we saw several people crowded around a huge dead hyena, though whether it was roadkill or hunted we didn’t know. We arrived at the base of Mount Damota and had to wait for the others to go pick up food and benzene for the generator in Soddo. While waiting, we got to meet all of the school children who attended school at the base of the mountain. Christopher bought a foot of sugar cane stalk and the children showed us how to eat it. It was really quite hilarious.
Later, it was a dark and stormy night…no, really, it was. We arrived at the Moche Borago campsite just before sundown. The land cruiser had overheated 40km back so we had a late start getting up the mountain. The ride up the mountain was quite exciting. Not only was the scenery of the farm and countryside beautiful, but the terrain was rough and it was not unlike a ride at a theme park. Once at the top, everyone was in a whirlwind of activity. The Izuzu had arrived before us with all of our gear and we were all in a race against both the sunset and a brewing storm. The crew and workers were hurrying to put up the large dining and kitchen tents to store all of our supplies before the storm hit. While they were doing this, we, the students, set out attempting to construct our own tents further up the hill. At this point, it was nearly pitch dark out and the winds were gusting up around 40mph. They were using all of the hammers and tools to set up the larger tents so we used stones as hammers to set our tent stakes. “We’re using stone tools!” We were so proud of our ingenuity and the fact that it was relatively successful. We managed to get settled without falling off the mountain or getting lost in the dark and we curled up in our tents and fell asleep.

(photo by Andrew)

Layover Adventures

We had to change planes in Amsterdam, so to cut down on jetlag and get additional stamps in our passport, we decided to stay the day/night. At first I was enthralled by the city. It's so quaint and old-fashioned. As time went by though, I realized I was absurdly homesick. Not for America, but for Paris! Amsterdam is extremely similar but I was starting to notice the differences. Firstly, everything is English and considerably touristy. Secondly, the people are friendly. While both of these helpful when traveling I found myself distinctly missing the isolated "island unto oneself" feeling. Weird, but true. We went on a wonderful free tour (some new Euro-promo deal, they have them in almost every city and I highly recommend them) led by this hilarious Australian which basically took us around and through the red light district, the various coffee houses and churches eventually ending at the Anne frank house. I remember reading her story in eighth grade but it was still fascinating to actually see where it all took place. The steps hidden behind the staircase were so incredibly steep that it was like climbing up a ladder. I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult it was to live during those times. The second day we went to the rijiks and van goh museums. I loved the rijiks because it was multi dimensional. There were sculptures, pottery, weapons, boats, silver pieces, and massive dollhouses in addition to paintings. It kinda showed a history of dutch artistic culture which I thought was really cool. The van gogh was whatever. I am not a huge fan of paintings so I kinda zoned out after a while, but I did like how the museum was arranged so that you followed his life from beginning on the first floor to end at the top floor. We also went to the I AM AMSTERDAM sign which was super cool.  

Outside it is absolutely FREEZING! all that cold weather blowing in from the North Sea. Taxis were no where to be found and would have been expensive anyways so we basically museum/restaurant hopped our way back to the hostel.

p.s. fun fact learned on the tour: there are more bikes registered in the city than there are inhabitants of the city.