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My old professor told me to always check the spoil pile, and I'm glad I did | Archaeology Discoveries - Vivisector

My old professor told me to always check the spoil pile, and I'm glad I did

Back in my field school days, a professor named Dr. Carson gave me a piece of advice I thought was silly. We were excavating a test unit at a site in southern Utah, and he told me, 'Abby, always sift through the dirt from the spoil pile at the end of the day. You never know what got missed.' I figured our screening was careful enough. On the third day, tired and ready to quit, I almost skipped it. But I did a quick check anyway. My trowel hit something hard in that pile of what I thought was just backfill. It was a complete, tiny bone needle, about two inches long, that had slipped through our quarter-inch screen. That find helped date the occupation layer we were working on. It taught me that the job isn't done until you've double-checked everything, even the stuff you're sure is just dirt. Has anyone else had a simple piece of field advice turn up a surprise?

4 comments

4 Comments

olivia_knight4mo ago

A complete needle that small slipping through a quarter-inch screen is honestly wild. That professor must have seen some stuff in his day to know to check the spoil pile like that lmao.

holly_wood5mo ago

Totally see that in my own work. I mean, how many times have I almost skipped checking a wire connection cause I was sure it was fine, only to find the real problem. It's always the last look that saves you.

harris.andrew5mo ago

Wait, is it really the last look though? Sometimes the simple check @brianmurray mentioned IS the first look if you learn to do it right away. That shift saves way more time than finding it last.

brianmurray5mo ago

Oh man, @holly_wood, isn't that the worst? I've lost count of how many times my own stubborn "it's definitely not that" guess has cost me an extra hour. The last check always feels so pointless right up until it fixes everything. I've learned to just swallow my pride and do the dumb simple check first. It saves so much time, even if it makes me feel a little silly.