When I say “archaeologist” to most of the people I meet, the usual response ranges from “Indiana Jones” to “digging in fields” to “Pardon?” or even “Do I know you?”. By and large, almost every response reveals one common thing: digging from the surface, down.
Now, don’t get me wrong, lots of archaeology does rely on looking at where people lived and died, but here’s the thing that’s true about humans the world over, no matter when they lived:
Humans go everywhere.
Dark, dank cave? They’re in there. Seas or lakes? They’re getting boats ready to go. Dangerously high mountains where the air’s too thin and it’s easy to freeze to death? Too late, the humans are up there and they think the views very pretty indeed, thank you for asking.
Accidents happen, shipwrecks occur, sometimes things are built. Whatever the reason, humans leave a mark, and those marks are siren calls to archaeologists aching to understand why.
Of trowels and tea 