That time a dig supervisor stopped me from brushing away a tiny stain

I was working a site in New Mexico last summer, about to sweep this little dark spot off a bone fragment with my brush, and the old supervisor grabbed my wrist. He said 'That's not dirt, that's a tool mark from 800 years ago, you just destroyed the evidence.' Now I don't brush anything until I've stared at it for 30 seconds. Has anyone else had a close call like that on a dig?

2 comments

2 Comments

kai7791d ago

That 'destroyed the evidence' line got me. I used to brush first and ask never.

wendysmith1d ago

It's funny how many little rituals we build up just to get by. Brushing before questioning is a classic one, like straightening up the coffee table before the guests arrive. We're all so focused on presenting a clean version of ourselves that we forget the real story is in the mess. I see it with neighbors who wash their cars before a rainstorm, or folks who pay a bill the day after it's due and hope nobody checks the date. We're a society of covering our tracks, usually for no good reason at all.