Lab Work

Lab, Week 3: Analyses and Lab Exam!

The ancestral Pueblo people manufactured pottery vessels in their own communities, and they imported pottery from other communities and regions. Over time and across space, pottery changed in many of its features, including the raw materials from which it was made, the shapes of vessels, and the styles of painted designs. This, coupled with the fact that fired clay is quite durable, makes pottery an extremely valuable source of information for archaeologists. Pottery is an important tool in the dating of ancient Pueblo sites, and it can provide insights into a wide variety of other topics of interest to researchers - for example, population size, length of site occupation, patterns of trade, the evolution of technological skill, and the kinds of activities that took place in specific locations within sites.*

During HSFS, we learned ceramic (pottery) analysis and doubled checked the analyses of others before entering them into the computer database.

Pottery Analysis and Data Entry

Pottery Analysis
Emily ponders ... "Carbon or mineral paint; I can't remember which one acts like an oil paint and which one acts like a water color! Do I have to do this?"

Pottery Data Entry
Jessie and Kelsey check other peoples' work to be sure the data they are entering is correct.

Kate B prepares another bag for pottery data entry

Pottery data entry is great!
Can't you tell by the smile on Kate W's face?

"I loved the data entry. It was fun!"
- Tayla

Chipped Stone Analysis

Identification of the materials used for chipped-stone tools, ground-stone tools, and stone ornaments is an important part of artifact analysis. Raw materials for tools and ornaments were obtained either directly from natural sources or through trade. By studying the sources of raw materials vis-a-vis the sites where artifacts of those materials are recovered, we gain valuable insight into interaction networks and the organization of stone-artifact production.*

Robert and Lindsay assist with chipped stone analysis as Lew rambles on about the virtues of bulbs of percussion. "Blah, blah, blah, blah ..."

Jessie, Tayla, and Anne ponder the type of stone material these flakes are made of, while in the background Jamie provides her group of students guidance in the finer details of chipped stone analysis.

Jonathan, the lab's Analysis Manager, poses for the camera.
"I hope there's no spinach stuck between my teeth."

The marker board during chipped stone analysis

"Modified or utilized?
Mudstone or chert?"
Mariah meets the challenge of chipped stone analysis!

Rachel identifies the type of stone material of which a projectile point is made

"I learned that artifacts are taken care of really well and that you have to
write a lot after the excavation, and now I can see that it really helps."
- Arielle

The Lab Practicum ... BUM BUM!

On the last day in the lab, students completed the Lab Practicum, a comprehensive exam of everything that they had learned to do in the lab.

Keren contemplates a challenging question during the lab practicum, which tested us on our knowledge of laboratory procedures

"Dude! You didn't teach us this!" Paul searches his memory for an answer during the lab practicum

Despite the challenges of the lab practicum, Lisa manages a big smile!

Captions by Lew.

*Pottery and chipped stone analysis descriptions excerpted from
The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Lab Manual
available online here.