Another week of field school
begins, and the cerulean splendor of the Big Sur coastline is replaced with the
rolling hills surrounding Cerra Romauldo and the closest of her eight sisters. Behind
us now are the leisurely strolls through coastal scrub, every step hoping to
bring us some glimpse of cultural remnants from the distant past. No more
cautious, yet determined wading through coyote brush and poison oak to pace the
boundaries of a site that our colleagues may record its location for posterity.
No, today we set to the task of more deeply investigating those locales
described by our recent forebears. Today, we dig!
 |
| Digging! |
Arriving at a site nestled well
within Camp San Luis Obispo, amid the roving herds of motley hued cattle and
never distant enough crack of firearms training, we are introduced to the
curious blend of consternation and pride that is the excavation of a Control
Unit (CU) and Shovel Test Unit (STU). Before a single shovel or pick touches
the earth, however, the borders of the CU or STU must be marked by nail and
string, so that the precise bounds of these delvings are not undone by our
enthusiasm. With compasses set to a new declination of 15.5 degrees and tape
measures at the ready, the mysteries of staking, and then back-staking are
illuminated. Once armed with method and measure, our four person teams are set
upon the site, mine own to a point several meters from the datum to begin our
first STU.
While those at other units brave
bedrock lurking mere centimeters below the surface, or clay that mimicks the
former, I and my immediate colleagues plunge through soil that shames us with
the ease of its removal. Ever onward and downward we delve, until our efforts
are rewarded with the sight of stone untouched by human hands down these long
centuries, and a resounding from the shake table of that word which humbles and
bolsters us with its simple, sweet beauty. Flake! 
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