Welcome to “Tent City”

The Archaeology Field School in Ohio at the Balthaser Home Site, was a unique experience that you just cannot repeat. I have learned that Archaeology in on itself is about looking at the bigger picture and not getting stuck in the mindset of a 1X1 meter test pit. By taking in the entire site you gain the image of the homestead, the workshop, and the Hopewell way of life. Not only did I connect to the Hopewell, but also with the individuals that joined me on the field school trip.

All the students set up their own living areas at the Jackson Lake Campground, similar to how the Hopewell set up their own hamlets (4-5 families living together in one area). When everyone arrived on the first day they set up their tents and were in different groups together. We (Bloomsburg Students) set up a “Tent City” in one area and the Geneseo in another. Both schools started out as separate groups in the beginning, but came together in the end to form one complete group.

Overall, field school was a learning and connecting experience that I will remember for a long time to come. Archaeology is a repetitive excavating of units, notes, and sifting (screening for anything that is cultural from the units); down in the dirt you go. Although, every unit is different whether you get a post mold, a pit, or something else. Starting with the first day you quickly discover that dirt sticks to you as sand does from the beach. You never know if you are getting tanned from the sun or just have dirt on you. Not only did I gain knowledge about Archaeology, but also gained knowledge about myself which helped me to come out of my shell and make friends that I would not have been able to if I did not get this great opportunity to come to Ohio.

  Alyssa Theurer, sophomore anthropology major

The Field School Experience

Reflecting upon my experiences so far at the Balthaser Home Site, I have learned so much, not only about archaeology, but also about myself. I was apprehensive that archaeology would not come to me intuitively, and that there would be many challenges for me to face. However, Dr.Wymer from Bloomsburg and Dr. Pacheco from Geneseo University were crucial in helping to direct the dig in the field and sharing their knowledge of the culture called the Hopewell.

They created a stress-free, hands-on working environment in which the students can learn the basics of both archaeology and organic flotation. Their influence has helped me become more self-confident in knowing my own strengths as a leader, as well as helping others achieve their potential. This experience has provided a fantastic opportunity for meeting inspirational peers, as well as making connections with possible future colleagues. Overall, I have seen fantastic sites, made connections with wonderful professors and peers, and completed a part of my education which will doubtlessly assist in my future.

A specific experience which tested my determination happened to be the excavation of one of the largest Hopewell post-molds (discoloration of soil due to the decomposition of a wooden post) found within the Balthaser Home site, called Feature 136. When we originally saw the soil discoloration, it was dubious as to whether there was anything to be found below the surface. My partner from Geneseo and I were quite surprised as we continued to excavate down, down, and down. At times, it was discouraging to have the professors instruct us to keep digging, especially because the space we were allotted to work in was the size of a shoebox.

Thankfully, my partner and I created a routine of trading off responsibilities so that we could keep our work balanced. Our post-mold was so large that it reached around eighty centimeters below the ground surface, making it likely a large central or interior post for the overall Hopewell structure. The post-mold contained charcoal, bits of burned bone, and burned pottery, which could provide crucial information in creating an overall picture of the Hopewell way of life. Much information will be gleaned from the research done at the Balthaser Home Site, but the students at the field school will also walk away with many life lessons and experiences which cannot be repeated or replaced.

  Anne Snyder, senior anthropology, French, and psychology major

Dirt is Fun

I decided to be a part of the 2017 Ohio Archaeology Field School because I have had a lifelong interest in archaeology. I didn’t know exactly what I would experience, but I did know it would be a learning process with a lot of work. On my first day in the field, I was hesitant to sit in the dirt on the ground. I don’t mind dirt, but was worried about what bugs might crawl on me. Now, coming to the end of the field school, I sit on the ground with no hesitation. I have had so many ants, spiders, etc. crawl on me that I have grown used to it. The first week was overwhelming with how much I learned, and I am still learning different terms and processes in the 4th week. With my various team members, we found many features. However, the last feature was my favorite part of field school.

I worked with three other people to dig the dirt out of this test pit. At the end of the work day, I started leveling the test pit to see if there were any features in it. As I scraped, I saw darker areas in the center of the test pit. It was confirmed to be a post mold feature perfectly centered in the unit. I dug half of the post mold out which revealed it went 70 cm below surface.

I dug out more of the feature to put in a soil sample bag to be looked at by other students. I had parts of the feature left after that, that I had to dig out and sift through to see if there were any artifacts in it. The center of the feature turned out to be deeper than 70 cm below surface. I was instructed to keep digging until I reached the bottom. The bottom turned out to be 113 cm below surface. My partner and I found some charcoal and a small piece of pottery. It was a unique experience to have such a deep feature to work on. The groups switched around, but I was glad to have one partner to work on the feature with because it was difficult to dig in the hole for a long period of time.

Overall, I really enjoyed this experience. I liked learning the processes within archaeology such as mapping, leveling and edging walls/floors of test pits, sifting, and more. I am glad I had the opportunity to have such a unique experience. It was nice to learn hands-on instead of in a classroom.

  Kallysta Panagakos, senior anthropology major

Field School

The first day of excavating, I was excited and a little nervous to be digging in a 50 by 50-centimeter test unit. All the students from Bloomsburg University and Geneseo University were mixed into groups of three. Every group started a test unit to learn how to properly excavate into the soil and to be able to recognize different artifacts that are culturally created versus naturally created. The hardest part for me was being able to tell the difference between cultural flint and natural flint. Natural flint has more rounded edges and cultural flint has groves, divots, and sharper edges that were created by and individual. Once, my group completed our 50 by 50-centimeter test unit we were assigned a 1 by 1 meter unit. In the 1 by 1 meter unit my group found a feature. We had to open another unit beside our first 1 by 1 meter unit to follow the feature. Excavating feature 130 helped me learn about myself and the culture. Inside feature 130 we found pottery, seeds, cultural flint flakes, and charcoal.

I excavated to 90-centimeters below the surface. When the professors can over and told me to keep digging it was disheartening knowing that I did not reach the bottom of the feature. However, me and my partner would switch between sifting (is screening the soil for artifacts) and excavating. It can be hard to keep on going when you have been excavating the same feature for a week. You see the same soil and same walls around you, but if you keep going you might just find an artifact that makes it worth it.

For me it was the Adena Spear Point, which was beautiful. The Adena are the ancestors of the Hopewell and were the first to build the mound earthworks in North America. Excavating feature 130 taught me to be more patient and to not get discouraged easily. To know that I helped to discover more about a culture and one that is known little about is amazing.

To be able to go to The Balthaser Home Site and learn how to properly excavate in Archaeology was a remarkable experience. Not only did I learn about the Hopewell Culture, but about others who share the same major. It is nice to connect to individuals that are trying to accomplish the same major, but are going down different paths. Also, I liked talking to the teacher assistants and hearing about what they have accomplished and what they are doing after graduation. It gave me different ideas of what to possibly accomplish while getting an Anthropology degree and what to do after wards. I would love to study abroad and to dual or double major. Overall, being able to participate in field school and to meeting other students was a unique experience that cannot be replaced.

  Kasey Theurer, sophomore anthropology major

Goodbye, “Tent City”

During our time at field school, we learned a lot. We not only learned about archaeology and the Hopewell culture, but how to be a team, how to live in a tent for a month, and how to thrive as young archaeologists. This experience has been so very rewarding, and it was hard to say goodbye. Our little paradise of “Tent City,” that we had grown to love after a long day of digging was no more.

Even though our tents may not be there, the friendships we have built over the month will continue to remain. It was an awkward transition in the beginning- working with people you have never met before in tight spaces and in a new environment.

Thankfully we were all new to field work and could bond over the learning experience! We became close friends with our group members, close friends with the surrounding unit members, and close friends with people from both schools. Meeting and interacting with the SUNY Geneseo students was a great learning experience for us Bloomsburg students, they had knowledge about things we didn't, and vice versa.

The days themselves seemed to drag on. Waking up at 6 a.m. every morning, getting to the field by 7 a.m. and working until 3:30 p.m. was rough on some days. I'm not going to lie, it was hard getting out of bed knowing I’m going to be digging in either rain or hot weather that day.

But, I loved every day for its own reasons. The field school as a whole however, went by like a blink of an eye, I can’t believe it’s over. From the day we started digging, to backfill day, it was all an amazing learning experience.

I am thankful that Bloomsburg, along with the Anthropology dept. has given us such a great opportunity to learn, explore and achieve new levels of learning. They have helped many of us as students to decipher which way our educational paths will go and they continue to give us the tools to conquer anything in our paths! Thank you for a great field school!

  Julia Stein, sophomore anthropology major

#CollaborativeLearning #HuskySummer #HuskyUnleashed

DeeAnne Wymer, professor of anthropology, and a group of Bloomsburg University students hit the road each spring in mid-May to spend four weeks in southern Ohio digging at a Hopewell habitation site. The archeological field school experience enables student teams to rely on new imaging technologies to uncover another living site of the Mound Builders from 2,000 years ago.

Dwarfed by the beauty of the natural world

After 10 days in the field, we had our first day off from digging and had an opportunity to venture to a different part of Ohio. We packed up some hiking gear, plenty of trail mix and piled into the vans to see Ash Cave and Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills State Park.

It was refreshing to see the forests and waterfalls, a stark contrast to the open fields and hot sun that we’d grown accustom to. At Ash Cave, there were audible gasps of amazement as we wandered into the immense rock shelter. It was shocking to see something so large and beautiful. For eons, water and wind carved the soft rock and left this 700-foot-long cave.

The human influence, little trails and names carved into the stone walls, were dwarfed by the beauty of the natural world. It was strangely freeing to feel so small in the shadow of that cave. I realized that if I’m so tiny in the grand scheme, my worries are even smaller and it felt like a burden was lifted.

That carefree feeling set the tone for the rest of the day as we explored more of the park land. We ventured to Old Man’s Cave, which proved to be an excellent hiking and climbing spot. We spent the day clambering over rocks and wading through streams.

As the entire field school group stood knee-deep in a plunge pool and skipped rocks into a waterfall, I forgot that we had just met each other a mere two weeks ago. Laughter and jokes rang out across the water, and we all agreed that the hiking trip was exactly what we needed to recharge. We snapped plenty of pictures and were pleasantly exhausted by the end of the afternoon.

I returned to camp ready to dig again the following day, hoping that some cool artifacts would surface from the new units we had opened.

— Keelan McDonald, is a junior mass communications major and anthropology minor.

#CollaborativeLearning #HuskyUnleashed

DeeAnne Wymer, professor of anthropology, and a group of Bloomsburg University students hit the road each spring in mid-May to spend four weeks in southern Ohio digging at a Hopewell habitation site. The archeological field school experience enables student teams to rely on new imaging technologies to uncover another living site of the Mound Builders from 2,000 years ago.

What lies beneath!

When we first arrived at the Balthaser Home site in Ohio, it looked like any other farm field, the remains of soybean stubble covering the rolling hills. Now, the field is covered with tripods and sifters and tarps and shovels.

From the road, it’s nearly impossible to tell what is occurring in the southwest corner of Balthaser. What are we doing here? Spearheaded by Dr. DeeAnne Wymer and Dr. Paul Pacheco of SUNY-Geneseo, students from Bloomsburg and SUNY Geneseo are collaborating to dig up the remains of a domestic Hopewell site. The Hopewell are an indigenous American people known for their earthworks and ritual sites, but little is known about their daily lives.

Out in the hot sun, we dig and sift. Occasionally, someone will yell out “bladelet” when they find a small, thin flint blade, still sharp enough to cut your fingers 2,000 years later, and Doc Wymer does her famous bladelet dance.

The best part of field school is the shared enthusiasm among the students, professors and the occasional amateur archaeologist visitor. You’ve never seen a group of people so excited about different colors of dirt. Students are broken into different teams composed of Geneseo and Bloomsburg students to excavate specific unit. Because of the generosity of Dr. Jarrod Burks, we are able to have a sense of where to dig based on the magnetic readings at the site.

My team is in the process of excavating a pit feature, which is very exciting because we have no idea what we may find.

(DeeAnne Wymer) - I am pleased to note that Keelan's team recovered a large number of very large fragments of pottery from their fire pit/earth oven! All their hard work paid off and they have every right to be very excited.

Some groups are meticulously excavating post molds, which may indicate the location of a Hopewell house, while others find projectile points, ceramics and paper-thin sheets of glittering mica. Centimeter by centimeter, we begin to get a clearer picture of the ancient lifeways of the fascinating Hopewell.

— Keelan McDonald, is a junior mass communications major and anthropology minor.

#CollaborativeLearning #HuskyUnleashed

DeeAnne Wymer, professor of anthropology, and a group of Bloomsburg University students hit the road each spring in mid-May to spend four weeks in southern Ohio digging at a Hopewell habitation site. The archeological field school experience enables student teams to rely on new imaging technologies to uncover another living site of the Mound Builders from 2,000 years ago.

Snake Den Group Earthwork … and Goodbyes

The last few days in Ohio were possibly my favorites among the entire field experience. A few of the fieldschool students were relocated and assigned to work at Snake Den (and I was among that group), while the remaining students stayed to complete excavations at our main site – the Balthaser Home Site.

(DeeAnne Wymer) - The Snake Den earthwork which is located a few miles north of the Balthaser site and sits on a high plateau overlooking the valley may have been the ceremonial center for our people who had lived at the Balthaser site homestead some 1,800 years ago. The earthwork includes an embankment and ditch outlining the plateau with mounds and other traces of ceremonial activities inside the embankment.

In 1907 a few "archaeologists" excavated the Snake Den Mounds without real proper care of the site. Techniques for digging were not as precise as they are today. In this year, silver nuggets were discovered within one of the mounds and taken off the property without notifying the landowner. To shorten a long historical background surrounding Snake Den, there is only one piece left of silver remaining at the state museum in Columbus, Ohio.

(DeeAnne Wymer) - It looks like this was the only officially noted early exploration of this earthwork and it has remained virtually untouched since that time – protected and cared for by a great local family – the Barrs.

One can only imagine the excitement to be assigned to work at this site. It's been many years since the site has been excavated, properly at that, and to be one of the first students to work on it was a good feeling. The last few days during our time in Ohio we were split into groups to “open units” at this earthwork site to ‘groundtruth’ the results of a new technique now used to ‘see’ below the ground before excavation.

(DeeAnne Wymer) - Dr. Jarrod Burks is the third archaeologist who works with Dr. Pacheco and Bloomsburg’s Dr. Wymer on these Hopewell moundbuilder sites. Dr. Burk’s uses magnetometry which senses slight changes in the magnetic field just below the soil, creating a map of potential features (pits, earthovens, etc.) for us to explore – any disturbed or burned soil, for example, will have a higher magnetic reading.

Our groups were placed in 1m x 1m test pits that showed high readings on Jarrod Burks' magnetometry results. Within 20 centimeters and less than an hour of digging we found a few bladelets and flint ridge flakes typical of the Hopewell culture of 100 B.C. to A.D. 400. This was good news for us as it meant that we were definitely coming across something good.

(DeeAnne Wymer) - This unit had been placed over a mysterious circular ‘blob’ revealed by the new sensing equipment that showed two long rows of large (3 foot in diameter) circular features, lined up almost like an avenue, that went from the center of the earthwork to the south outside the area that had been surveyed for magnetic readings.

After a while of digging we found charcoal and we immediately thought it meant it was a ceremonial fire because of its location and the amount of items we had come across. After we exposed the feature more and more and plan mapped it, it was time to cut into it and see what we could find.

Properly cutting into the feature meant leaving one half untouched so we could see what the feature would look like as a whole (the profile reveals the interior/internal ‘shape’ of the ground disturbance made by these ancient peoples). After much digging (around 60 centimeters into the dirt) we finally realized that we had come across a giant post mold that measured around 90 cm. (nearly 3 feet) in diameter.

What was even more exciting was that it was the biggest one ever found! We were all pretty happy, as by the time the feature had been fully exposed it was our last day out at Snake Den. It felt like we were really part of history because the site remained untouched for so many years. It was truly an honor to be a part of the first team to really have worked on such a site even if it was just for a few days.

(DeeAnne Wymer) - But what also made this special is that the landowners were so interested and so pleased by our work that they want next year’s fieldschool to come back to the site for further exploration.

I cannot think of a better way to have ended my experience in this field school. The last day was backfill day and we all worked together to close down the units and refill our units created by our hard work. It was a bittersweet feeling to leave but I feel as if my time spent in this field school was truly wonderful and worthwhile. I have never felt more confident that Anthropology is what I was meant to do.

Being in a site of around 2,000 years old can be a truly humbling experience. The way people lead their lives, how they function as a society and what is important to them, past or present, is something that I feel will always be important. We are different, and we are alike, and truly understanding the diversities of people and what it is to be human is truly stimulating to me. I learned so much about myself, as well as understanding the field of archaeology and that's all I could have asked of it.

— Jasmin Velez, is a junior anthropology major.

#CollaborativeLearning #HuskyUnleashed

DeeAnne Wymer, professor of anthropology, and a group of Bloomsburg University students hit the road each spring in mid-May to spend four weeks in southern Ohio digging at a Hopewell habitation site. The archeological field school experience enables student teams to rely on new imaging technologies to uncover another living site of the Mound Builders from 2,000 years ago.

Finally an awesome find!

My group and I had been working on exposing a brick kiln for a week before we finally completed it. It was a special project Dr. Pacheco, “Paco”, had chosen to do as a favor to Don, the landowner of our site. The brick kiln that we were excavating actually made the bricks that were used to build Don’s home and he was very excited to also see the project come to a close.

At the closure of our unit, which was now large enough that most of us can sit in it; we were moved over to a new unit that Don claimed to always find bladelets, flakes and flint in large amounts.

That very day we went through the 20 centimeters and uncovered a large amount of flakes and flint pieces. While that was exciting the following day proved to be much more worthwhile.


As my group and I dug our unit the next day we were constantly stopping and running for cover as scattered storms started and ended periodically throughout the day. By noon my group and I covered as much ground as possible completing the goal of 40 centimeters.

While we were cleaning the walls that caved in the deeper we went into the ground it just so happened that a pretty cool find would soon pop out. The minute the trowel scraped against the walls of our unit, a beautiful, pretty intact spear point fell right out.

What was cool about it was how great of a condition it was in. Our group who had been used to seeing mostly brick for the past week jumped up and down screaming from delight.

As we were furthest from most of the group (we nicknamed our unit The Sahara for the lack of people and large amount of heat) no one knew why we were jumping around. The sun really does do crazy things to the mind.

I screamed out towards Doc and Paco who were pretty far away but walked over expecting to see just a small blade or arrowhead. When they saw the find they too seemed impressed by its condition.

It turned out that the spear point was a middle woodland Hopewell Snyder point, and it was the best one in Don’s collection thus far. That day really made it all worthwhile. Sometimes when you find yourselves digging for hours and having nothing to show for it, it can be discouraging.

However I cannot even begin to describe the feeling that one has when they finally do find something as beautiful as a spear point. To know that what you are holding in your hands was once used for the survival of a native tribe is pretty exciting…not the mention that it was almost 2,000 years old!

— Jasmin Velez, is a senior anthropology major.

#CollaborativeLearning #HuskyUnleashed

DeeAnne Wymer, professor of anthropology, and a group of Bloomsburg University students hit the road each spring in mid-May to spend four weeks in southern Ohio digging at a Hopewell habitation site. The archeological field school experience enables student teams to rely on new imaging technologies to uncover another living site of the Mound Builders from 2,000 years ago.

Ash Cave and Old Man’s Cave

After 10 long hard days under the sun of digging we finally reached our day off! It doesn’t seem like 10 days is a very long time but working eight hours a day in the scorching hot field does take a toll on ones physical body…and let’s not fail to mention the things the sun can do to ones mind. Needless to say, when we were came to end of our tenth day and were awarded with a day off everyone was more than excited.

The next day we all awoke gratefully at 9 a.m., a considerable amount of sleeping in as we had been waking up everyday at 6 in the morning since our arrival. We reached dressed and packed up our lunches and rode in our school vans from Canal Winchester (the location of our camp base) about an hour to Hocking Hills State Park where we were to visit both Ash Cave and Old Man’s Cave.

Our first stop was Ash Cave, named as so because large piles of ashes believed to be remains of Indian Campfires were found by the first settlers to arrive. It didn’t take too long to be captivated by the beautiful scenery.

Within the first five minutes of walking down a man-made path we were greeted by a small waterfall that can be seen by standing under a larger cave looking up.

If one chose to keep walking, which you would’ve been crazy not to, you would soon after follow another man-made path this one of stone stairs which led to a higher point where you can overlook the entire cave and it’s surroundings.

It was large enough to make anyone feel small. Like most people would, a few of us decided it would be a great idea to sit by the very edges of the cliffs to take some cool photographs.

After an hour lunch at Ash Cave we drove the five miles to our second destination for the day at Old Man’s Cave. If one thought Ash Cave was large they would have quickly rethought that previous statement, as the caves here felt almost never ending.

The paths led you up and down, over and under, and back around so many times that if there weren’t any signs telling the directions towards the next sections you would have definitely have gotten lost.

Just like our last genius idea of sitting near the edges of cliffs at Ash Cave, this time we decided to climb up the highest of rocks and into enclosed spaces to explore.

The paths took longer to explore, but the sights were just, if not more beautiful, than they were at Ash Cave. The best part was when a group of us ran into an old man sitting on a rock wearing a robe. Whether it was for show, or it genuinely was just an old man sitting on a rock we all found amusement in the sight. The cave was named after a hermit man who lived there in the 1800’s and the old man only added to the excitement our of explorations.

With a quick visit to the gift shops to buy promised souvenirs for parents, siblings and friends most of us bought snow cones to end the day before we headed back to camp to return to our routine the next day.

— Jasmin Velez, is a senior anthropology major.

#CollaborativeLearning #HuskyUnleashed

DeeAnne Wymer, professor of anthropology, and a group of Bloomsburg University students hit the road each spring in mid-May to spend four weeks in southern Ohio digging at a Hopewell habitation site. The archeological field school experience enables student teams to rely on new imaging technologies to uncover another living site of the Mound Builders from 2,000 years ago.

A record Hopewell discovery?

Lately at the Balthaser Home Site there have been some really exciting things happening with the feature I was working on (feature 14). About a week and a half ago we discovered a significant amount of pottery sticking out of the north wall of the south-west quarter of our feature.

When we were finally able to begin excavating the north-west quarter, we discovered that this pottery was so large, that Doc and Paco both think it to be one of the largest most complete pots ever found from the Hopewell during this time period.

At the same time we added two new people to our feature and began excavating the south-east quarter at the same time. In that area we discovered some more pieces of mica and some larger fragments of bone.

Finally with only 10 cm of Feature 14 in the north-west quarter left to expose it was time to get the pottery out of the ground. The morning of the extraction we learned that it was going to rain a mere 5 hours from the time of arriving at the site, which meant we had that amount of time to micro-excavate the pottery and remove it from the ground.

Two Geneseo Students and I working very closely, calmly and quickly to remove all pieces inside of the larger portion of the pot got the task done just in time before the rain. All together we took out over 70 pieces inside of the larger piece of pot! Towards the end we used the help of several other students, teaching-assistants, and professors to help extract the large portion from the feature. We were able to get everything done just minutes before the rain started to fall!

Today I was able to assist in the soil sample flotation of a bunch of different samples from all over the Balthaser Home Site. Fortunately I was able to also process some samples from feature 14. We were able to perform the wet lab outside at Mound City in Chillicothe, Ohio. In some of the feature 14 samples we were able to recover a lot of organic material, some pottery fragments, flakes, and even saw some flakes of mica!

The experience at mound city today gave me time to reflect upon myself and upon what I have been a part of for the last 18 days. Truly, I have solidified my passion in anthropology and I don’t think I would have had such an amazing experience at any other university or with any other professors leading the students to such great knowledge and giving us the tools to use to become truly successful one day.

I am so thankful to be a part of such an amazing archaeological dig!

— Stevie Spishock, is an anthropology major.

#CollaborativeLearning #HuskyUnleashed

DeeAnne Wymer, professor of anthropology, and a group of Bloomsburg University students hit the road each spring in mid-May to spend four weeks in southern Ohio digging at a Hopewell habitation site. The archeological field school experience enables student teams to rely on new imaging technologies to uncover another living site of the Mound Builders from 2,000 years ago.

Hard work and plenty of dirt

The site we are working at is in Ohio near Canal Winchester, called the Balthaser Home Site. The site is on land that is currently in use for farming, so this area is pretty rural.

Accompanying a group of Bloomsburg anthropology majors is a group of students from the Geneseo University in New York, who are also anthropology majors. We are excavating what we believe to be a site where the Ohio Hopewell Indians once lived.

We are all living in tents at a local campground for a month. So far it is clear that some students are more cut-out for the tenting life than others. It seems to be a common thing between students that they do not really deal well with insects.

The First few days we spent digging test pits and learning some techniques for our archaeology. During this time it also became clear to some students that archaeology may not be as glamorous as they had once conceived.

The hard lesson also became clear that sunscreen is not optional when working in a field for 8 hours a day with no shade.

Currently I am in a group of three students and we are excavating Feature-14 of the Balthaser Home Site. It currently is a 2-by-2 meter pit divided into four quadrants. The first quadrant below the plow zone we began was the north-east quarter. In this section I and two team members, discovered mica.

The piece we found was relatively large and in good condition. Mica was typically used for ceremonial purposes. The next day we discovered some of the largest pottery that both my advisor and the Geneseo Professor had ever discovered or even seen in their careers.

So far archaeology is everything I thought it would be: hard work, and always being covered in dirt.

— Stevie Spishock, is an anthropology major.

#CollaborativeLearning #HuskyUnleashed

DeeAnne Wymer, professor of anthropology, and a group of Bloomsburg University students hit the road each spring in mid-May to spend four weeks in southern Ohio digging at a Hopewell habitation site. The archeological field school experience enables student teams to rely on new imaging technologies to uncover another living site of the Mound Builders from 2,000 years ago.

Getting into the groove of things

The week has passed by much faster than I think most of us anticipated. It feels like just yesterday most of us were getting down the basics on how to learn to scale sites to grid paper as well as changing our minds from the Standard System to the Metric System.

A week later we have now become pros at understanding how to convert our paces to a simple mathematical equation that converts them to meters.

However besides the technological processes it feels as if we have grown close to all the members in the field school in such a short matter of time.

Perhaps it's our mutual feelings towards getting up at six in the morning, or becoming accustomed to working in such hot climates that we have a mutual hatred of the sun and a newfound appreciation of shade and the wind; whatever the reason it can be rest assured that everyone surrounding you in every minute of the day is willing to take a few minutes to help you apply a bit of sunscreen so you don't burn to a crisp.

We have become experts at digging up pits and understanding the importance of keeping our units leveled as well as keeping note of every detail from soil color changes to noting the little rocks sticking out of the walls of your unit.

Compared to the first day to now day seven of working on the field I feel as if we've finally gotten into the groove of things and are only going to become much more efficient in our digs.

Even cooler to me is how quickly my group and I have been able to identify the differences between natural rocks and flint compared to Hopewell worked items.

While I can say we've found mostly a ton of fire-cracked rock and a few couple items here and there of bladelet pieces I am hopeful that our search and hard work will only lead to a great find. We've had a couple so far, one pit even found Mica!

My group that has been assigned to a historic feature picked up by Doc and Paco's friend Jared's magnetometry, has been pretty lucky to have been able to expose the feature and identify that what we thought was an old sugar mill is actually a brick kiln…and boy is there a LOT of brick. For now though we will continue on our digs in the morning and enjoying the campfire bonding at night.

— Jasmin Velez, is a senior anthropology major.

#CollaborativeLearning #HuskyUnleashed

DeeAnne Wymer, professor of anthropology, and a group of Bloomsburg University students hit the road each spring in mid-May to spend four weeks in southern Ohio digging at a Hopewell habitation site. The archeological field school experience enables student teams to rely on new imaging technologies to uncover another living site of the Mound Builders from 2,000 years ago.