Blog Post – Sandy Schreyer – 6/24/09

June 24, 2009 – Excavated Molinoloma with pickaxes, shovels, and ibuprofen.

Molinoloma (“Mill Hill”) is an archaeological site about 1/4 of a mile from the Hacienda, up a steep slope. It is quite intriguing because it yields artifacts that can be catagorized as Colonial, Inca, as well as pre-Inca. This is our second day of excavation for the 2009
field season.

Our team consists of 2 students and 2 staff. Since this was our second unit, the staff let the students take the lead in laying out the new unit. Once that was done, they graciously
let us remove the vegetation and root mat with pick axes and shovels. I was so tired, dirty, and miserable that by noon I was sure that archaeology was not my calling.

The too-short rest and the infusion of food energy called “lunch” helped. Then we went back to work, finding bedrock after excavating less than 10 cm. We made our edges square, swept the area clean, then officially closed the unit. Our objective was achieved: demonstrating that
there were no more buildings to the north of the mound.

Our entire group was assigned to open up a new unit — a depression filled with stones the size of a man’s head. We students laid out the unit in record time and started excavating. By the end of the day, we had found a wall, several pieces of Spanish roof tile, an obsidian scraper, several obsidian points, some pottery sherds (characteristic of the pre-Inca inhabitants of this area), a modern bullet, three scorpions, several huge grubs (4 inches long) and a lizard who had lost his tail. Now this was fun!

The day was really hard work, but rewarding. I went from the depths of despair thinking that  I could not handle this much physical labor, to the joy in finding artifacts. The lesson learned is that archaeology is more fun when someone else wields the pick axe.

Sandy Schreyer