The GSU Collective

In the Archaeology class today, we were asked to make up our own list of ethics we think archaeologists should follow when conducting fieldwork. Here's what we came up with:

1. Maintain a reflexive research protocol.

2. Foster collaboration, multi-vocality, and partnerships with local communities.

3. Consider the consequences, including unintended consequences, of practicing and publishing research.

4. Promote integrity by maintaining responsible and honest research practices, including obtaining consent from all affected parties (i.e., community members, local governments, etc.).

5. Make results available to local communities.

6. Understand the contemporary relevance and historical context of archaeological research for living communities.

7. Foster educational outreach locally and extra-locally.

8. Avoid the commercialization of research.

Why do Archaeology?

Why do we do archaeology? To preserve the past? To find some new meaning to the present? To learn about diet and disease in an area? Or is it just our curiosity getting to the best of us. I love archaeology but this class, Archaeological Practice and Public, has got me thinking. If the indigenous people don't like what we're doing, then why do it? I've thought about this a bit and I just can't come up with a good answer. Maybe because there isn't one. We are curious. We want to know what happened and why. What did they eat? Where did they sleep? What did daily life look like? We have to know! But I don't want to do it if the natives don't want me to. I want to respect what they think and feel.

This really got me thinking when we had to read two articles by Traci Ardren and Timoteo Rodriguez. These  articles were about the Kochol community in Mexico and the archaeological site in their farm lands. Traci had suggested a museum to be built at the site so that the locals could earn income from tourism and promote their past. This doesn't sound like a bad idea but how Traci wrote about the time and how Timoteo wrote about the time are completely different. In Traci's article the locals were eager to learn about their history and to start the museum. Timoteo writes that there were many who didn't even identify with the history the archaeologists were teaching and they were afraid the museum would be a way for the gringos to take over their land. These articles are completely different yet what ultimately made me side with Rodriguez's article was when Ardren suggested the museum to be a living museum. I actually gasped at the thought of that. No! Really? You think it's a good idea to have people dress up and farm "like their ancestors" for tourists to watch? It's like a zoo! I would be furious if someone suggested something like that to me.

Another part of the articles that interested me was about the papaya tree. In Ardren's article she claims that the locals suggested planting papaya trees in the museum since they were grown by their ancestors. Rodriguez, on the other hand, says that the locals planted papaya trees in spite of the archaeologists because of how destructive trees can be to sites. That the papaya tree was a symbol of what the locals wanted. Their land to farm on. He also suggested that the museum was a symbol of what the archaeologist wanted. A validation of their work and of the place.

Whether I would have still sided with Rodriguez's view if there had been a more neutral tone to the articles, I'm not sure. But I do know that if I ever do archaeology with a native population, I will be aware of their cultural identity and their feelings of the land and artifacts before I make assumptions of what they want.

Cute Conversations with my Boyfriend that makes me laugh Pt.1

Sometimes the conversations with my boyfriend makes me smile. Ok, not just sometimes but a lot.

‎"Who sings this song?"
"Me."
"No, I'm serious. I like this song."
"You'll never know."
"It's ok. I'll just search for "hola mi amor."

"You still won't find it because that's not what they're saying."
"Oh right. They're saying "oye mi amor"
"No!!!!!!!!"

Oye Mi Amor - Mana

Hypothetical Class Assignment

If I had to teach a college level class what would it be?

 The whole time I've studied anthropology I always thought I'd want to study Mayan hieroglyphs. I mean, it's perfect for me. I love language and I speak one that uses pictures for words instead of an alphabet. Win win, right? Not really. While I think Mayan hieroglyphs are fascinating and beautiful I have learned that I'm really not a linguist at heart. Yes, I love learning new languages but, really, I'm only mediocre at them. Also there's that one professor who has been warning me not to go into Maya Archaeology because it is over saturated with other archaeologists. In fact, I should just stay away from the Americas all together. Ok, then. That's going to make it harder to find a graduate school once I start looking. And since I already speak Chinese my professor said I should run with that. "China is hot and sexy right now in archaeology." Cool beans. I'll try my luck at archaeology in China. But what would I want to study (or teach for that matter)?

During my Mesoamerican Archaeology class I learned that trade between groups really interest me. It forces me to remember that these societies weren't in their own bubbles. They were connected to each other more then we can ever really understand. It's fascinating to me to learn how these societies interacted with each other through trade or even immigration. This also happened a lot in the Mesoamerican area.

I think if I were able to teach a class it would be on this idea. I would look at different parts of the world and how trade affected their societies. Mesoamerica would obviously be an area I'd teach. But also areas like the Silk Roads or the trade routes in Africa or what is most fascinating are the trade routes in the Polynesian islands! Maybe it's just me but being reminded of how connected these civilizations were is very fascinating to me.

Another class I think would be interesting is on how immigration affects a society. And especially undocumented immigrants. It would be interesting to look into how not only the immigrants affect the society but also how the society's views affect the immigrants. This would take a lot more thought into creating but could be extremely interesting if taught correctly.

Thoughts on the Ideal Gender "Norms"

This is something I've never thought of outside of women's health care rights and gay rights. And it's probably because I grew up with these expectations of what is considered normal in the United States. But today's Gender/Race/Class in Complex Societies class has me thinking what is considered normal for a woman to do with her life.

When I first signed up for the Navy, long ago in 2002, I came across this norm and thought it was weird but never really gave it a second thought. When picking the job I wanted in the military, the petty officer assumed   I wanted to be a corpsman aka a nurse. Nope, not me. I can't stand the coughing, sneezing, runny noses...... if it comes out of your mouth or nose, I'm going to gag. I don't know what it is but spit and mucus really grosses me out. But on top of that, even just the mention of injuries can make me feel like I'm going to pass out. So no, being a nurse is the worst thing for me.

The only thing I cared about was if my job gave me a sign on bonus. aka they give you lots of money just for picking that job. And the job? Aviation Ordinance Man. Ha! This job would have had me loading bombs onto jets. Thinking back I'm glad I never ended up doing this job. I finally got a great job in the military: Cryptologic Technician Interpretive. Or for layman's terms - a translator. I was a Chinese interpreter for 4 years. And I hated it. But that's another story.

I always found it weird that the man would assume that I wanted a nurse type job. Did he assume that every female that joined wanted this job? Did he ask every woman that entered the navy if they wanted to be a corpsman? I'm not sure.  I am sure he didn't make that same assumption with the men that joined the Navy. "I know what you want to be. A Navy Seals!" Yeah, maybe he did. Why not?

It was odd to think that I would want a nurturing type of job only because I am a woman. He was even surprised when I told him that was the last job I'd want to be in. I was "the first girl to ever tell him that". Is it really that common for women to become nurses in the Navy? Though afterwards I still ended up in a female dominated field. Even though the military is around 80% male, my job was about 50-50 or slightly higher female percentage. So maybe I did still end up in a job that was seen as "socially normal" for a woman.

This was a photo from my 5th year anniversary. Looking through my photos I realized I took very little photos of myself in my uniform. 

The day I graduated from boot camp. With my dad who came all the way to Chicago from Atlanta to see me. I'm look extremely tired because the day before I had run battle stations which is when you run around the base all night and perform tasks you might need to do on the ship in an emergency. At this point I had been up over 24 hours.