Diary Of An Archaeologist - Wattys 2019 Non-fiction Winner

Intro: Debunking The Myths

Hi, my name is Alatary or Aly for short, and I am an archaeologist.

Intro:
So, when I'm at a party or birthday, and someone asks me "what do you do for a living," I get anxiety; I'll admit it. Why might you ask?

Well, my lovely stars, allow me to explain.

Archaeology is one of those professions that gets misrepresented a lot in media. I know that once I tell people, I'm an archaeologist, there's about a 90% chance they'll hear the Indiana Jones theme song in their head. And that's a great song, don't get me wrong.
But it does bring a particular image to mind that's very romanticised.

The best way I can explain it is with this chart. ⬇

I still remember my first day at university when all first-year archaeology students got a lecture called 'Archaeology; it's not what you think.'
Yes, our professors had a good sense of humour.

And the first thing the professor giving that lecture asked was: "Who here likes the Indiana Jones movies or Tomb Raider games."

*ya girl, of course, raised her hand*

"Who here dreamed of doing that when they were a little kid?"

*ya girl raised her hand again*

"And for the million dollar question; Who here thinks we are going to turn you into these people who destroy precious temples, kill people and only take the gold."

*I put my hand down faster than you can say 'heck no'*

But it did stir the entire class into a debate because there were still many students who had their hands raised and wholeheartedly stood by their decision.
And that's fine, it's their opinion, but the professor did clarify that that is not what archaeologists do and they should reconsider their major because they were not going to learn what they wanted here.

I can't stress enough how accurate this chart is. If you were wondering, I choose to study Archaeology to discover more about our shared heritage.

Point being, there is a lot of misinformation about our jobs and the purpose of Archeology in general. So, I'll give you, my reader, a rundown of the most asked questions I got over the years.

And please, feel free to ask me any questions you might have. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a stupid question, and I gladly clear up any confusion about Archaeology.

Ask Archaeologist Alatary:

1. So how many dinosaurs did you dig up?
A: None. Archaeologists don't dig up dinosaurs, that scientific study is called Paleontology. Archaeology focuses on the human past.

2. What is Archaeology?
A: Archaeology is the study of the human past through investigations of the remains left behind by these humans. Those are almost always physical remains like fragments, features and structures, although those remains might not always be so tangible as one would think.

3. Did you already find treasure?
A: This depends on what you define as treasure. If you mean a pirate chest with gold and jewels, then no I have not, and I hope never to find that either.
If you mean an artefact that might not be the most valuable, but is a key component in the research and feels like the most treasured item in the world, then yes.

4. Aren't Archaeologist supposed to be super old?
A: Just because we study ancient artefacts doesn't mean we have to be ancient. Archaeologists come in all shapes, sizes and ages; we're almost normal humans.

5. You must fly to Egypt almost daily?
A: Actually I've only been to Egypt once, and that was as a tourist, not an archaeologist. Egyptologists are the archaeologists who study Ancient Egypt, but not all archaeologists are Egyptologists. Archaeology can be practised anywhere where humans have lived, so that means we are all over the world.

6. Digging in the ground is easy, anyone can do that?
A: Yes, digging a hole is easy, but it's not archaeology. Every archaeological site is like a story, every little detail matters. It's a unique part of our history that can only be understood by appropriate documentation and speculation.

7.You archaeologists just dig everything up.
A: Honestly, we don't. The Valletta Treaty is there for a reason. It aims to protect the European archaeological heritage "as a source of European collective memory and as an instrument for historical and scientific study."
This means that not only are archaeological sites within Europe protected, but there is a strive to preserve them, only excavating the sites that threatened by development projects, natural disasters, Illicit and unscientific excavations or a lack of public awareness. The last two I've never seen being used in the argumentation to excavate a site without one of the first two criteria.
In short, we prefer a site to remain in-situ and not ex-situ.

8. Do you have a lot of artefacts at home?
A: If I did I wouldn't be an archaeologist but a thief. An archaeological site can be compared to a crime scene, everything is in a specific spot and a particular condition for a reason; it's our job to find out what that reason is. Or speculate what the reason might be. But no well-respecting detective would ever remove evidence and take it home, and it's the same with archaeology.

9. Don't we have enough artefacts?
A: I wouldn't know how many artefacts there even are, but no its not enough. Each is its own unique record and tells its own story. The context in which it is found can provide information to help reconstruct a picture of the past.

10. But we already know our entire history?
A: We've just scraped the surface. What we are thought in primary-/ high school is just the broad strokes about what the topmost layer of society did, because they are the only ones who documented things. Compare it to today's society; if people would only know what the multi-millionaires, celebrities and major political figures did, would that be a fair representation of the entire population?

11. Why do we need to know what some people who are long dead did?
A: In my opinion, those people who are long dead have led us to where we are today. Understanding how our past has shaped our world to what it is today will give you an understanding of who we are, why we are this way, and it can help us to move towards a better future.

______________________________

Hopefully, this will clear up some misconceptions you might have had, and now that we've debunked most of the myths it's time for some stories.

I'll give everyone in these stories fictional names for the sake of privacy, and will not be too specific about the places because some of these excavations or researches are still ongoing.

Without further ado, don your fedora, grab your trowel and follow me into this tomb of stories.