FINAL DAY

FOX CLAN- This experience makes history fun & learning about it more exciting! It's better when you can do hands-on learning instead of sitting in class reading about it from a textbook or a computer. This has even made us think more about being history teachers or even archaeologists. It was a great experience & exciting to find artifacts from several thousand years ago and we e all agree that we worked with awesome people! 

FOX CLAN DAY 4

Day 4 of the dig was AWESOME! It was really fun teaching the visitors about the artifacts that we found and everything that we've learned about the dig so far. It was great because we actually know what we're doing, how we're doing it, & we knew what to tell them about everything we found. My team is a GREAT TEAM (Go Fox Clan)! We all worked together and we all found something. We were fast, alert, & helped each other! We depended on each other a lot, especially with finding artifacts & digging & also using the metal detectors. The most interesting part of our dig is that we definitely know we were digging in a mound. We found an Indian burial ground. It was cool but scary and we all know why. We learned that when soil starts to change to a different color as you keep getting deeper & deeper that means something. For instance, as we dug down past two feet deep, we found clay with streaks of white. This was the calcium that remained  in the dirt from a decayed body. It was great finding the artifacts that we found today & finding the burial ground. Also, we found pieces of charcoal, mica, and quartz flakes throughout the soil. It was also kind of sad because we had to stop digging due to us not being professionals. There were probably more grave goods buried underneath but we wanted to remain respectful and stop digging since we did not have the right type of formal training.

 (LaToria, Eglacia, Michael, Michelle, Taylor, Hannah, LaTrell, Sarah, & Chancelor)

What team are we? Wildcats! Blog Post- Day 4

What an amazing day this was for our dig team!  We started off having found more pottery shards, as Haylee  and Addie would say "pottery makes us lit,"  and we also found a knife!  Today we had many guests take a stroll, and hopefully "not trip in the coyote hole like me," MyKierston said, around our dig sites.  It was so amazing seeing how excited and bright faced our guests got when they stumpled upon points or knives, we even taught them the way of how to tell if it was pottery or not.  The Wildcats are a very special kind of group...lol..but we work together so well and Terry just made our experince on this dig even more amazing!  Danalee and Joya both now "read eachothers minds."  During this week we have depended in eachother a great deal.  No one was ever hungry, no one was ever thirsty, we all had eachother and as Megan told us day one "we are our own now on this hill," and I got used to saying "I don't know whose cup this is, but we are sharing."  I want to give a shoutout to Victoria for also being such an amazing leader and making our "living room" and bringing more than enough water and gatorade.  So much information was revealed about our site, including when Victoria pointed out "this land was lived on for different eras because of the change of color in the dirt."

PANTHERS! Day 4

(Yesterday the blog wouldn't let me attach a picture for some weird reason, so I'm posting it now with these from today.)

On Day 4, The Panther Clan started off with a bang! In the first five minutes of screening at our new dig site, we found 3 points like the one in the picture. By the first hour, we had found over 10 knives and points in the site. Cylee also found a fossilized bird bone in our old dig site when Steve and Patrick dig deeper into the pit. The "VIPs" who toured the site got to see us scrape the dirt with a trowel as Dana pointed out the ash and changes in soil color to them. Gage and Kalem were in the pit when they came, so they got to tell them a little bit about the process too. We all agree that our clan works very well together, and Cylee said "we all work as a system." Kalem said that we each have our own job, and Lakendra said that some dig and most sift. Emma said that Coach Glass, Kalem and Gage dig the most. I think we all have to depend on one another to do their specific job or else the work will not get done. At our new site, Maggie said that we found points, Namiya pointed out the changes in soil color and consistency. Kalem said that we found most all of our artifacts in the plow zone. 

FOX CLAN DAY 3 POSTED BY SEARS FOR LATORIA

We have learned that the Native Americans used a lot of fire crack rocks & knives. Also we found a big piece of grinding stone that had knives hidden under it & also a piece of a tri-pod bowl. It was actually the foot of a tri-pod bowl. Some of our students also helped Mrs. Kirby make the Wattle & Daub houses which was fun also. We learned a lot about those & I never thought they used grass to help make the mud stick to the houses, thought it was just water & mud. The quote of the day is "Our dig site is the best site!"  

FOX CLAN DAY 1 (FINALLY POSTED BY SEARS FOR LATORIA :) )

FOX CLAN- The first day of the dig was tiring but exciting! We all felt that it was hot of course but it was fun. I enjoyed getting dirty. Our first expectations was for it to be fun but it was more fun than I thought. Others figured for it to be boring but at the end of the day, they said that it was fun. Everyone in my group found something. Some of us were disappointed (Eglacia) lol, but ended up excited in the end (Eglacia's facial expressions). We all worked very hard & Michael was there on every seen to help us when needed. We are really looking forward to more days & as you, Mrs. Sears, said yourself, "I'm happy that the cornfield was chopped down because it wasn't last year." We agree with you on that also. We're ready to start some more digging! GO FOX CLAN! 

What team are we? Wildcats! Blog Post- Day 3

It is day three of our achelogical dig and today seemed to be one of the more important days.  My group found pottery and we are so estatic!  Colby mentioned "finding even the little things are really exciting"  and Danalee added to it, "but big finds aren't too shabby either."  Anyways the group and I have learned so much in just the past three days, Joya said "I'd rather be in dirt all day learning than in a class room" and MyKeirston said "or learning how to not fall of the back of a truck instead of Y=|A| (function)(kx+c)+d" bt we also leanred alot of cool things about acheaology, we think it is so interesting that people can just look at dirt and know the whole story behind it.  When Dana said "what does the dirt say to you?" Megan picked it up and put it to her ear and said "it says it's old" ..LOL, but in all we have leanred that acheaolgy is basically like time traveling.  This history of our dig site is actually very interesting, our area doesn't flood so that is a big plus and the specific site on the hill where we are at hasn't been dug on yet, and since there is so much red clay I am positive there will be many places where pots are!  Addie and Haylee both have said "the clay may be harder to dog in but it is worth it."  We have learned many things about eachother, I guess when the hot sun is beaing down on your back, you say about anything.  I have learned that we all may have our differnces in our group but we all have the fun, energetic, and the right amount of diligence to get us through this.  Liz said at the end of the day today, "Terri, you have the 'family' this week who puts the fun in dysfuntional."

PANTHERS! Day 3

The Panther clan has learned lots about the history of Wedowee during the dig. Kalem said that we learned "the dig site was located on a floodplain," and that "the Indians were really smart." I said that "both Indians and later white settlers lived here," and Cylee said that "the area is in a horseshoe shape around the creek." As we expanded our pit from yesterday to an 8x8 foot pit, Kalem said he learned that "archaeology is a slow process and that you have to be really careful." Maggie said that we "had to stop a lot when it seemed like someone had found an artifact," and I said that "there is a lot of guesswork that goes into the process." Because this has been a long and tiring week, we have also learned lots about ourselves in the process. We learned how to work as a team and divide the work accordingly. We learned to compromise as a group instead of all trying to be the leader. Kalem learned that he likes to dig holes, Namiya said that she was more patient than she thought, and Emma said that she found out that dirt tastes good. (Let's be honest... we've all tasted a little too much dirt this week.) I said that I found out that I always try to remain optimistic, and Lakendra said that she leaned that she is a really hard worker. Maggie also said that she found out that it is very hard to get around a cornfield on crutches. Overall, today was a good day, and we are hopeful that tomorrow will be even better, and that we will find better artifacts than the Fox Clan:)

Fox Clan - Day 2

As part of the fox clan at lunch today we decided that we have a clear siting of our site today. We've found plenty of artifacts, nice artifacts that is, but yet we still have more to dig. As today went by it started to come to light that we have to actually shovel very carefully, kind of like shaving the dirt instead of just shoveling hard because we could miss an important artifact that could be very important. As we started to dig our group had found three to four pieces of plow, knives that were used to cut or skin animals for food, and also pieces of pottery (maybe from a bowl) and fire crack rocks. Tomorrow my group expects it to dig further and find more pieces of pottery, plow, and also to learn more about the Natives Americans and more about how they lived. Quote of the Day: We have God on our side. If we had God our on our sides who's against us . COACH GLASS!!

What team are we? Wildcats! Blog Post- Day 2

Today the Wildcat clan offically got all of our dig sites marked; we have site A, B, C, and D all in a circle.  We got farther down today thanks to our STRONG boys..Colby and MyKierston..lol, there may or may not have been more than a few water breaks as the day got hotter for the boys.  The day started off hotter which now we know causes aggravation for some of our group members as Colby said, "We are still in dang section A" when Victoria simply asked what section we were in.
All of our finds today were more spear heads and points and when looking at the artifacts watch out for the tent and tripping over it.  As Danalee would tell you, "The tent attacked me!"
We also discovered about our site that there were definitely stomp dances, probably during the Green Corn Ceremony, because the dirt/clay was so compact, MyKierston pointed out while digging "geez, this dirt is going to kill me."  Megan said "I bet it was bring your own meat, to those cerimonies,"  and Joya replied to her, "wasn't it a fasting?"
This convosation carried on during lunch while Haylee was fighting off a bee and said "well Imma just hurry and eat this before the bee does."
Liz pointed out that since it was a Green Corn Ceremony place there might be broken pottery as we dig deeper
Victoria by the end of the day had come to the conclusion, "When it is us against the wilderness, the wilderness is winning."
Tomorrow, I expect we will have the motivation from our discoveries today to dig deeper and work harder!

PANTHERS- Day 2

Today, the Panther Clan changed dig sites to a "better site," as Gage said, which helped us gain a clearer picture of how Native Americans lived. Since we were mainly located near the creek yesterday, today was a change as we moved into the cornfield (MUCH hotter!!!!!!!)  We used the probe to find a spot with loose dirt, and set up our site there. At our new site, we found four points in our screens. The work was harder in the hot sun, and I said that "screening gets harder the farther you dig because the dirt turns to mud and clay." Kalem, Gage, Patrick, and Coach Glass discovered red streaks in the dirt as we dug from where the field had been plowed, black spots from burning and decaying plants, and lighter soil spots where artifacts might be located.  Namiya pointed out that we also found red clay, mica, brick, and coal. Coach glass said that we could expect "more sun and more dirt tomorrow," and the group agreed when Lakendra said we would probably change spots again tomorrow. Cylee said that she hoped we would finally find artifacts tomorrow, and Patrick and Kalem want Dana to come and check out our hole with the rocks near the creek from yesterday because we still feel like it is important. Oh, and we also finally got our flag put up today... even if we did have to duct tape it.

What team are we? Wildcats! Blog Post- Day 1

We came to this dig today as a group with many diiferent thoughts going through each of our minds; however, we all came thinking one thing...that we were going to sweat a lot.  My expectations were that we were going to be digging in mud and we would be sweaty, dirty, and just ready to go home, but by one o'clock, I think we could all agree we didn't want to leave.  We were all really suprised on how much we actually enjoyed today.  Yeah, we may have came back to the school with headaches and some of us having to pee badly because..port-o-potties aren't for all people, but we all were lauhing on the bus as we talked about eachothers group.  Also, we knew that the Wildcats had Terri, let's just say, we have the best group;)  but honestly Terri was one of the reasons we all enjoyed today and helped today exceed our expectations!  and Terri has given almost all of us nicknames.  Danalee is Pretty Eyes,  Liz is Country Girl(oddly), Addie is Truck Driver, and Victoria is Gabby..even though she doesn't think she talks that much.  I feel like day two will be so much easier and smoother sailing than day one.  Many hilarious things came out of our mouths today as we become hot and diluisional..

"Dang, it's hot out here.."-Megan

"I swear if someone poops in this port-o-potty, I'll kill them." -Liz

"Oh my God, look at that rock!"-Danalee

"Uh, which key?.."-Addie

"What team?  Wildcats!"-Joya

"I don't think I talk that much guys.."-Victoria

"Terri..you look like the mean one.."-Haylee

"I can't believe I have to teach you how to set up a tent.."-Colby

"I gotta go back to pre-cal."-Mykierston

and only if you knew the story behind these..lol.

Panther Clan- Day 1 Blog

On the first day of the archaeological dig, the Panther Clan had many interesting experiences. One thing that the whole team agreed on was that, as I said, "this dig is not at all what I was expecting." Not only is the dig more fun (and hotter) than we had anticipated,  but the work is harder and slower. Emma said that she "expected to get dirty," which was an expectation that the we all agreed had been met, but Gage said that he thought we would actually be in a flowing creek instead of an old site where a creek used to be, which in reality was different than what we had expected. Cylee also said that she had been expecting to get his dirty, but had been expecting to find more artifacts in a shorter amount of time. As our team split up and worked in two different locations, one group went to the cornfield to search for artifacts, and my team dug a hole where the creek used to be located. We found some large stacked rocks, which Kalem and I both agree are going to be important once we uncover them more tomorrow. Lakendra thought that her group will have to move sites to a new spot with more artifacts and she thought that they might find some arrowheads when they get there. Patrick thinks that we will find more rocks as we dig deeper into the hole tomorrow. Although our expectations for the dig may have been pretty far off and we have all learned that we are VERY unprepared to be archaeologists, we are having fun and hope that will continue throughout the week.