Path to Success
It is snowing as I type away here at my apartment in Columbus, OH. We are expected to get one to three inches today, which is typical for this time of year. I thought, what better way to remedy my winter blues than to read about Corinth and post an entry on the work of Pausanias? But before I get to that, I will start off by explaining the field of archaeology and how I began my quest to be a classical archaeologist and geoarchaeologist for a living. It is certainly not for the money...
To my amusement, an archaeologist is ranked as a top "dream job" and you can become one for the fabulous price of $14.95!! Contrary to popular belief, the Indiana Jones trilogy does not reflect real archaeology. We are certainly not as gorgeous as Harrison Ford with his leather jacket, hat and whip. So let me lay it all out right here for you. Archaeology is hard work. It takes a certain type of person to be able to break your back, digging day in and day out, documenting the process, only to find more questions and no answers. The rewarding part for me is finding those questions, challenging my preconceived notions, and thinking about sites and surveys from a geological perspective. "Playing in the dirt" can only be fun for so long. If you do not have to tools to think about what's in the dirt and ask questions, you're going to need a lot more that a $14.95 book to become an archaeologist. But don't take my word for it, volunteers are always needed all over the world, and if you're an enthusiast, go for it! I, on the other hand, aspire to the likes of Paul Goldberg at the University of Boston. I applied to graduate school to work with him in the Archaeology department, specializing in geoarchaeology.
When I first started at Ohio State, I was a music major taking numerous geology classes on the side. I was often asked the question: "What are you going to do, sing to rocks?" I knew this wasn't going to work. I figured that since I used to "excavate" in my backyard sandbox when I was a kid, and since I loved my geology courses, why not somehow combine the two? I declared ancient history based on the fact the department offered a course in classical archaeology and courses in Greek and roman history.
Eventually it all worked out to my advantage as I have set a path leading to success. Many opportunities opened up for me in the past year, including a trip to study geology and archaeology on the most beautiful place on earth: San Salvador Island, Bahamas. I proceeded to participate in a ten week field school over the summer at Wright State University with Dr. Robert Riordan's Field School in Archaeology. There, I performed surface survey and full scale excavation on a Hopewell hilltop enclosure in Cedarville, OH. Though Native American archaeology might seem a lot different than classical archaeology, the same basic archaeological skills are necessary to be successful anywhere. With these newly acquired field skills, I headed off to Ancient Corinth, Greece, in September to collect the data for my senior thesis.
So here I am now, ready to write to you about Pausanias in my next entry.
To my amusement, an archaeologist is ranked as a top "dream job" and you can become one for the fabulous price of $14.95!! Contrary to popular belief, the Indiana Jones trilogy does not reflect real archaeology. We are certainly not as gorgeous as Harrison Ford with his leather jacket, hat and whip. So let me lay it all out right here for you. Archaeology is hard work. It takes a certain type of person to be able to break your back, digging day in and day out, documenting the process, only to find more questions and no answers. The rewarding part for me is finding those questions, challenging my preconceived notions, and thinking about sites and surveys from a geological perspective. "Playing in the dirt" can only be fun for so long. If you do not have to tools to think about what's in the dirt and ask questions, you're going to need a lot more that a $14.95 book to become an archaeologist. But don't take my word for it, volunteers are always needed all over the world, and if you're an enthusiast, go for it! I, on the other hand, aspire to the likes of Paul Goldberg at the University of Boston. I applied to graduate school to work with him in the Archaeology department, specializing in geoarchaeology.
When I first started at Ohio State, I was a music major taking numerous geology classes on the side. I was often asked the question: "What are you going to do, sing to rocks?" I knew this wasn't going to work. I figured that since I used to "excavate" in my backyard sandbox when I was a kid, and since I loved my geology courses, why not somehow combine the two? I declared ancient history based on the fact the department offered a course in classical archaeology and courses in Greek and roman history.
Eventually it all worked out to my advantage as I have set a path leading to success. Many opportunities opened up for me in the past year, including a trip to study geology and archaeology on the most beautiful place on earth: San Salvador Island, Bahamas. I proceeded to participate in a ten week field school over the summer at Wright State University with Dr. Robert Riordan's Field School in Archaeology. There, I performed surface survey and full scale excavation on a Hopewell hilltop enclosure in Cedarville, OH. Though Native American archaeology might seem a lot different than classical archaeology, the same basic archaeological skills are necessary to be successful anywhere. With these newly acquired field skills, I headed off to Ancient Corinth, Greece, in September to collect the data for my senior thesis.
So here I am now, ready to write to you about Pausanias in my next entry.
posted by Laura at 5:40 PM
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