ARCHEOLOGICAL DIG

At the Lava Lands Visitor Center we were invited to help prepare “archeologically significant” plots for school children. The visitor center staff was organizing an educational program for school children to learn about different artifacts when they dug them up. However, before the children could dig in the plots, the staff had to remove all the dirt and see if there were any artifacts of interest. We were able to participate in the digging and sifting and discovery of these artifacts. We were looking for flakes of obsidian that Native Americans would have chipped off their spear and arrowheads.

Step 1: Listen to the instructions!!!
Step 2: Try it yourself. Gently dig up a layer of dirt.	Step 3: Using a stick with alternating 3 inch black and white patches, determine if the area you’ve dug up is flat and at the right level.
Step 4: Carefully dump dirt collected from pit into screen box.	Step 5: Shake the screen box vigorously to remove all dirt, sand, and small rocks.
Step 6: Look for obsidian flakes and other artifacts of interest.