Daily Log: 2. 28. 2005

Just before the day was to be underway, I was asked by the Thai people to participate in the blessing of the excavation site. So 5 others and myself paid respects to the skeletons we worked on. Paying our respects entailed praying in front of plates of offerings that were being given to the spirits. On the plates was pig, chicken, a cigarette, fruit, whiskey, incense, and a candle. After praying, we left the area in which we left the offerings, and went on with the daily activities of digging, restoring pottery, and working in the excavation site doing various archeological tasks.

Doing any sort of archeological work requires many skills and tools to get the job done. On top of being patient and careful, it’s also important to have a talent for working in small delicate spaces. A lot of different tools are used in the process of excavating. Some of these tools are a variety of flattened diamond shaped shovels. The ‘shovels’ range from large to small and are used to either scrape away a large area of soil (if it’s a larger shovel) or if its one of the smaller sized ones, it’s used to scrape away soil that lies closely to the bone. There is an art to using these tools, and I feel that they are most effective when tilted at a 45-degree angle to the dirt. Putting it at this angle creates less stress on the wrist, and the maximum amount of dirt is taken away.

When one is taking away soil from the skeleton, a paintbrush is used to dust away any loose dirt making the bones or artifacts more visible. Using a paintbrush to go over the bones (or pots) can also fleck away loose or delicate particles, so being very careful is an absolute must!!! Once all of the dirt is swept away into a pile, it’s placed into a dustpan, and poured into a bucket. The bucket, once filled to the brim with soil, is hooked onto a rope and pulled up out of the site. This is the quickest way to get soil out of the ‘hole’, because a lever is used to lift the pail up to a person who is waiting at the top. The soil is then poured through a screen to double-check the results.

Another task that’s done at the site right when a grave is excavated is sketching in detail the remains and the surrounding artifacts. A grid is placed carefully over the skeleton and each box on the grid is sketched onto graph paper that is scaled down to size. The grid is just a square meter. String is strung through the frame that creates a grid-like pattern. Jim and I did not know that there was a grid we could use, so when he and I did sketching, we did it by freehand and it took us about 3 hours! Now we know that in the future, a grid can be used if we ever have to sketch a burial!!!

So there are many different types of tools used while excavating pottery, bones, or any other artifacts that present themselves in the soil. It takes a lot of careful digging and proper usage of the tools to accurately lift the items out of the ground!

Peace,
Jamie

Daily Log: 2. 27. 2005

Today was such a hectic day! The film crew arrived last night so today was the first day of filming. We started out at the site doing some hands on digging work and examining a few burials that were just poking through the surface. Estimating which way a body would have been laid according to the positioning of the pots in the ground is not as simple as one would think. A lot of thought has to go into this because it all depends on which direction to start digging. In the two burials we did uncover, a lot it of was a baby burial located between two stacks of pottery. The second was a burial of a young male (young meaning between the ages of 18 and 23-ish). We didn’t have time to uncover the whole body because we were doing many other things for the film crew. Some of the things we did included, actually lifting bones from a grave, that would be later analyzed, stored, then taken to the local Phimai Museum for the people of the community to come and see. I personally did not get to lift the bones. Arsen did some of this and I am somewhat relieved it was him doing it. Lifting bones requires much patience and a very careful hand. The ‘lifter’ has only one chance to do it right, so it has to be done well the first time.

Another really interesting thing that was done today at the site involved the local village kids. It was their day off from school because it’s Sunday, so there were a dozen or so kids running around. I always bring lollypops with me to work, so I passed many of them out to the kids who were so thrilled to receive them. Also, a few of the younger girls taught me a song and in exchange I taught them ‘Miss Mary Mack’ (a patty-cake game). They seemed to enjoy it a lot, and they all caught on very quickly.

It was really very hot today, as it has been the last 3 days. The temperature has been 40 degrees Celsius in the shade. Forty degrees Celsius is about 103-104 Fahrenheit. The way you determine degrees in Celsius is multiplying the temperature (40) by two, which makes 80, then adding 24 degrees, which makes 104! It is a very humid heat, which makes it just that much more uncomfortable, but frequent breaks throughout the day are essential in keeping everyone healthy and happy!

A funny thing happened at lunch today that would probably make most people cringe. Sitting on the dining table was a huge bowl, and inside that bowl was a heaping pile of fried crickets. I did not want to eat one for the fact that they were crickets and they still had their beady little eyes. But I sat at the wrong table to pass up the crickets because everyone I was sitting with forcefully talked me into having one… then two. I don’t ever remember the taste really, I was just so concentrated on the fact that I had crickets in my mouth and I could feel their scrawny little legs as I chewed them. If you aren’t grossed out by reading this, then perhaps you are the perfect candidate for eating a cricket or two. I am glad I did it but I strongly believe one experience is enough for me!

It was really nice to have the film crew at the site, and everyone had a lot of fun being apart of the filming process. The local people, the scientists, and the volunteers all had their moment in front of the lens, which really brought a different and giddy feeling to the work site! Excavating (or watching) the bones from the grave was really neat. It was almost like it was a new beginning for the dead for them to be cleaned, analyzed, and relocated to a new resting place.

Peace,
Jamie

Daily Log for 2. 26. 2005

Last night was a free night because we have off on Saturday (which is today). In an attempt to be silly and fun myself, Tyler, Rati, Pisut, Jim, and some scientists went over to a karaoke lounge next to the hotel. Karaoke is very popular in Thailand, so the place was just filled with people on a Friday night. We decided to get a private room where we can play all the songs we chose and be as crazy as possible. It was a lot of fun and I figured out that Jim and Tyler both have voices like angels. We were probably at the lounge for 3 hours or so and then everyone disappeared and went off to bed.

Some of the scientists, Harriet, Thom, Di, Anna, myself, and Rati, the community fellow, stuck around for awhile until the lounge was about to close. Because everything was quiet at that point, Harriet and I decided to go into a private room that had a lot of noise coming from it. So we barged into the room and started dancing like crazy people in front of the TV. The room was filled with 8 or so Thai teenagers, and they all had a bunch of laughs watching us. They didn’t speak any English, but they motioned for us to sit down and stay awhile, which we did. They all ended up being my age (18) and students at the local high school. So when it was time to part ways they gave me the address of their school and told me I was welcome to stop by. It was well into the morning when Harriet and myself went off to bed.

It was a lot of fun to be able to hang out with people of my own age from the area we are at. It was also nice to have a late night up socializing with everyone. Today I have no real set schedule for doing anything because it's our day off, but tomorrow work resumes as planned!

PEACE,
Jamie

Daily Log: 2.24 & 2. 25. 2005

Today I learned all of the various types of artifacts that are excavated at Ban Non Wat. Much to my surprise, there were dozens of things that differed in size, color, and usage. I had my hands-on learning experience when I started helping Harriet sort out and clean ‘Small Findings”. “Small Findings” are artifacts that are found in a burial or just throughout the soil that seem to be randomly placed or just all by themselves.

We are the last group to excavate Ban Non Wat due to the fact that their season is over the day after we leave, so Harriet and I had trays and trays of “Small Findings” to go through. When we began to wash the artifacts, Harriet gave me a brief handle-with-care talk about what I should wash, how I should wash it, and what I shouldn’t wash due to its delicate nature.

A lot of the things we were washing were just so amazing. The craftsmanship that went into making the tools, bracelets, and moulds is just incredible. I feel that out of everything, the bracelets were the most magnificent. They were usually either marble or clay and very large. Unlike the bracelets we wear now-a-days the ancient bracelets are heavy, thick, and sit high off the wrist. There were a few smaller shell bracelets that we had to be careful washing because they were so fragile and thin. Even though we were using soft-bristled toothbrushes, things do tend to break, so being extra careful is a must. Some of the tools we came across were tools used to make the pottery. They usually looked like handles with a rounded tip that would have been used to smooth out the sides of pots and shape them accordingly. I also picked up a bronze arrow head that was so sharp and intricately made. I could not wash this because the bronze would erode away more if I rubbed water on it. The last item that we both cleaned a lot of were clay pebbles. These would have been used for shooting animals with a sling shot or other pebble shooting devices. I accidentally washed one of the clay pebbles too harshly and it crumbled in my hand. I was very upset that I could be so careless, but in the end it was a learning lesson that I should remember these artifacts are over 3,000 years old and I should ‘handle with care’.

The day was over before we had a chance to get through all of the artifacts that needed to be washed so we neatly (and carefully) tucked them away for safe keeping so that when we work the next day we can start where we left off. It was really interesting to wash away all the dirt on these pieces that had been tucked away in the Earth for 3,000 years. It was almost as if I was washing away all the time that it was underground and unseen, and creating a new appreciation for it.

Peace,

Jamie

Daily log: 2. 23. 3005

I had never in my life seen a wildfire. Shortly after lunch, I was given an idea of the severity that goes along with a fire. While Jim and I were vigorously sketching away at the plot lay out, we smelled smoke. Then it seemed as if all of a sudden everyone started yelling, climbing out of the pit, and running towards the rice fields. At first Jim and I just stood there, shocked by all of the commotion and yelling in Thai. A few minutes later we emerged from the pit, and made our way down to where the smoke was coming from. I don't think anyone had any idea of how intense the fire was, but it became more obvious the closer we came to it.

The road that led down to the fields is only about a couple of hundred feet long, which means the rice fields are right next to the houses. The houses in that area are made mostly of wood and cement. This meant that water needed to be brought down to the fire as soon as possible, so Jim and I hurried back to the site, found a dozen buckets and started filling them with water. Everyone was running up and down the road carrying buckets and buckets filled with water. Luckily I had my camera on me at the time, and I was able to snap a few photographs of the people, the smoke, and the effort being made to stop the fire.

This part of Thailand has been without rain for 5 months, which means everything here is bone dry. This meant that the fire was spreading quickly and going towards the houses. Nim, our truck driver, pulled the truck up to the area where the buckets were being filled with water, placing the buckets in the back of the truck and then driving them down to the areas of the field that needed the water. This was so much better than everyone running back and forth up the road, which was taking a little bit of time. After Nim came to pick up the second round of buckets, I hopped on to the truck and drove down to the fires with him. I was absolutely amazed at how far spread the fire was. From where we first saw the fire you couldn’t tell that it was actually surrounding most of the village.

Luckily with the help of everyone, the fire was stomped out, but it was just incredible to think about how quickly someone’s life can go up in flames. The majority of the people in the village rely on the rice fields as a source of income and food, so it really puts into perspective on the situation they were all in.

For hours after the fire was put out the air was still heavy with smoke and little flecks of ash were blowing with the wind. It felt so nice to be able to lend a hand to the people that were bringing the buckets, filling them up, and splashing them onto the flames. Everyone lent a hand and it was amazing that a little bit of team work and frantic running around can put an end to a fire which could have potentially gotten a whole lot more serious.

I know this log is a slight tangent to the usual science based daily logs, but I thought everyone should know how fragile the land in Thailand is. Tomorrow’s log will be more about the work that's being done. :-)

Peace,

Jamie

Daily Log 2. 22. 05

Today I switched up my assignments at the site. I started the day off digging in the same area I have been, but at around noon I was interested in learning something new to do, and later I would come back to my ‘area’. For the first time since we started, I emerged from the ‘pit’ and went over to the pottery area. Harriet, who is one of the scientists, was sifting through hundreds, possibly thousands of broken pottery pieces with two Thai workers. I joined the three of them in their efforts to pick out pieces of pots that were from the base or rim of a no-longer-existing pot. Removing pieces of rim and base will give the scientists an idea of exactly how many pots were being produced and used in the area around Ban Non Wat.

It was such an incredible feeling to have all of those pieces of pottery dating back 3,500 years at my fingertips. It’s as if each piece has its own history, its own story to be told. Once we went through the same batch of pieces twice, we spread all of the ‘shards’ along the table to be photographed for record keeping. Once the pieces or ‘shards’ are photographed, the rims and base pieces are placed into plastic bags which indicate what they are. The rest of the broken pottery is tossed into a HUGE pile. The pieces in the pile will later be used to fill the site back in, so they actually are never removed from site. (Only the pieces used for scientific reasons are removed.)

After tea, myself and a few other volunteers left the site to go to the Phimai Temple. The temple is an old ruin built around the 11th and 12th centuries. It’s a walled area made up of numerous stone buildings, housing various depictions of Buddha. There were tons of little rooms, and separate areas to explore and revel in the artistic beauty of the walls, ceilings, and floor. The temple was also filled with hundreds of Thai school children, probably there on a school trip. They were excited to see western people at the temple and a few of them even asked to get a picture with me!

Sadly we only had about an hour or so at the temple. An hour is definitely not enough time to take in the atmosphere, which is why going back is an absolute must. One of the things I have been looking forward to most before coming to Thailand was going into the Buddhist Temples and having a chance to feed off the incredible energy that’s found within them. I was so glad to go to the Phimai Temple and I can’t wait to explore that one more, as well as others that dot the entirety of Thailand.

Peace,

Jamie

Daily Log 2. 21. 2005

The second day of work gave everyone insight into the labor that goes into having an archeological site. After I worked on the area that I had worked on the previous day, I began to drudge out 5 cm, then 5 more centimeters, then 10 centimeters worth of loose soil. The reasoning behind taking a small layer off at a time is to observe the possible where-abouts of bones, pottery, and other artifacts that might lie in the earth.

After a while, digging can really be tiring. I was very eager to find something underneath all the dirt so I ignored the hand cramps and kept going. As a result of my hand hurting just a tad, I was shown new techniques on digging, scraping, and clearing away the soil, which benefited me greatly in the end. (I had no idea there were various ways of extracting soil from the ground!) By the end of the day, the whole level I was working on was taken down a few inches to give way for new digging.

Directly after mid-afternoon tea, we took a trip over to another archeological site to compare and contrast with ours. The other site had been long turned into a museum where visitors from all over the world go to see an ancient neo-lithic burial site. It was really neat to think about the people at this site and the people at the site we work at. They weren’t very far from one another so could they perhaps have known each other? Did they live similar lives? What were they like before they died? So many questions can be conjured up in just looking at an archeological site. The only main difference I noticed between the sites was that the skeletons in the museum site were placed very close to one another, where as in the site we work at the burials are much farther apart.

Once we were done examining the other site/museum we headed back to the Inn for dinner, rest, and relaxation. The day was long, but very interesting, informative, and exciting. New digging presumes tomorrow which means tomorrow may very well be the day I uncover the burial I am so desperately searching for.

Have a NICE day!

Jamie

Daily log 2. 20. 05

Today was our very first day of fieldwork! All of the volunteers and scientists met downstairs for breakfast at 7 a.m. sharp and talked about what we all hoped to expect when we arrived at Ban Non Wat. After breakfast, the team piled onto two different trucks and began the 40-minute journey to the archeological site.

When we first arrived Charles, the Principal Investigator, gave us a brief tour of the excavation area and the surrounding areas around the site. Once our introduction was over with, we each were given tasks to complete over the next few working days. My task was to uncover an area around a series of broken pots, which might be the location of a burial. I was so excited to possibly uncover a neo-lithic skeleton, that I excitedly sifted away the dirt and minerals that surrounded the pots.

It is proven that pots are an indication of a possible burial site, because they were laid at the head and feet of the body when it was laid to rest as offerings to the dead. The area I was digging through was butted up right against the excavation site walls, so it is very possible that the skeleton would not be found, because it lay deep in the walls of the site. If I were to stumble upon the remains of a skeleton, I would have to dig carefully around the bones and try to clear away as much sediment from the remains as possible. Then the bones would be wiped down with water and photographed for documentation. Before the bones would be lifted from the site, a diagram of the placement of the bones would be constructed on paper, which could be used later for educational purposes and general reference.

Unfortunately, I did not find remains on my first day but I did have a wonderful time uncovering more and more pieces of 3,500-year-old pottery. I worked very slowly which is why I might not have uncovered as much ground as I should have, but I was being very careful not to destroy any of the artifacts.

Four o’clock came very quickly and it was time to board the truck and make the journey back to the Inn. Dinner was much appreciated by everyone who was so exhausted from the sun and shortly afterwards everyone departed to his or her rooms.

The first day of work proved to be very exciting and I enjoyed working in an area that has been basically untouched before our arrival. I can only hope that tomorrow I will uncover that 3,500 year-old skeleton and if not tomorrow, I will keep carefully digging until I find one!

Peace!
Jamie

Daily Log 2. 19. 05

Today was the rendezvous at the Maruay Garden Hotel in Bangkok. Everyone was excited to go which is why we were all packed and ready to go 2 hours before we were to meet up with the other volunteers.

Once the time came to depart, we met the volunteers and packed our entire luggage onto a van and headed off to the bus station. After a 20 minute van ride, we arrived at a bus terminal. At the bus terminal, we bought some snacks to hold us over for the 3-hour bus ride and headed onto the bus that would take us north.

The bus was packed full of people and hotter than the sun. I sat next to one of the group members for the expedition and we talked most of the ride. When we weren’t talking, we were watching a Thai film, which appeared to be a comedy sketch about a group of men, talking, singing, and dancing in weird ways. The video was hilarious and I wish I was able to read the Thai subtitles that bounced across the screen.

After the 3-hour bus ride, we arrived in a small bus station where we met up with staff members from the project. After we did a quick introductory of names, we loaded all the luggage onto an open truck and headed off to the Pimai Inn. Our last ride was only about 45 minutes and the sun was setting so the view on the ride up was amazing.

Shortly before the sun was to set, we arrived at the Inn and got ourselves checked into our rooms. It was such an exhausting day for all of us and we were all completely famished when dinner arrived. During dinner Charles, the Principal Investigator, gave everyone a run-down of the things they should expect during the next 2 weeks. The project itself seems very interesting and from what he said everything is ‘hands on’ work.

It was not as early as it seemed when I headed to my room around 8 to go to sleep. All the traveling was finally over and the project was underway. I can only imagine the doors that will open for us, and the incredible things we will learn about archeology and early civilizations.

Till Tomorrow,
Jamie

Daily Log: 2. 18. 2005

It was so great to wake this morning to the sun sitting high and burning fiercely on the city of Bangkok. It took each of us a little bit of time to roll out of bed and obtain enough energy to shower and get some breakfast in the hotel restaurant. I ended up going down and eating by myself, which gave me time to relax and take in the beautiful view from the restaurant windows.

After breakfast, I went up to Arsen’s room and we brushed up on our international daily news. We were all eager to leave the hotel, so once we did finally leave around 12 we walked out to the street and picked a direction to walk in. The stores that lined the street were very open and very small. We mostly saw a bunch of motorcycle repair shops and little mini markets where food and drinks could be bought. Much to our surprise though, we stumbled upon a 7-11! This of course meant we had to go in, and try ourselves a SLURPEE.

Once we were done exploring the streets around the hotel, we went back for a little rest and relaxation. We are all still getting used to the time change, so down time was a must.

Dinner time came before we knew it, and we all collectively decided to take a cab into downtown Bangkok, and try our luck finding something to eat there. The cab ride was CRAZY, to say the least, and we finally arrived in “downtown Bangkok” after we drove through what looked like 10 parts of Bangkok that could be considered ‘Downtown.’ I had no idea that the city was that huge and that there were so many different bustling sections that all seemed to have tons of things to offer.

The restaurant we ate at was a traditional Thai restaurant with Karaoke. The dish I ordered ended up being not as good as it sounded, which is fine because you live and you learn! The rest of the food we got was excellent though so I definitely was not walking away from the table feeling hungry.

After we had dinner we decided to walk around and hopefully buy some things off of the street vendors which lined the streets for miles. I ended up buying a really cool skirt and a CD called Krishna Beats. Around 10:45, we all decided that it was time to call it a day and we flagged down a cab to take us back to our hotel. I think the only thing each of us could do the second we arrived back to our rooms was completely zonk out and anticipate the day ahead of us tomorrow.

Jamie

Daily log: 2. 17. 2005

So after 30 hours of traveling numerous planes, we’ve finally made it to Bangkok! It's 1:30am here, which means I believe it is around 12:30 in the afternoon on the day before. It’s crazy to think of being in a completely different date zone.

The flights were not as tiring as I would have imagined, despite their length. The flight I took from Dallas to San Francisco was about 4 hours. Then once I arrived at the airport, there was a 2 hour layover. Upon arriving to SF I had yet to meet up with Jim and Arsen, so I just hung around in the terminal and talked with a Marine named Jerry until they arrived. The flight from San Fran to Tokyo was just one minute short of ten hours. I slept most of the flight, which is all I could have asked for. I think I would go completely mad if I was awake the whole flight. We had to connect with another flight once in Tokyo, so we were rushing against time to buzz through the security checkpoints and make our way to the gate we were departing from. It seemed like the flights would never end but none of us had the audacity to complain, because we were headed to Thailand, ‘The land of smiles.’

Our last flight from Tokyo to Bangkok was only about 6 hours long. It was a very packed flight, and everyone was alive with conversation. The excitement to reach Thailand was full throttle and all I could do was twiddle my thumbs in my seat until we landed.

We landed around 11:30 at night. The second I stepped off the plane I felt a wave of heat and humidity. This is a much different feeling than the chilly February air I’m used to. Everyone in the airport greeted us with smiles and open arms. It was so nice to finally be at our destination!!

After we cleared customs and hailed a taxi, we made it to our hotel. The hotel is a nice building nestled in the middle of smaller buildings which appear to be apartments of some sort. All that I want to do now is crash in my bed, and use the 12 hour time difference as an excuse to sleep for the next 5 days!

Talk to you tomorrow!!!

- Jamie