1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:04,100 Artifacts are not known to whisper their secrets to you. 2 00:00:04,100 --> 00:00:09,520 I was really intrigued by the challenge of trying to make sense of 3 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:13,200 artifacts. To try to pull the narrative out of dirt. 4 00:00:17,660 --> 00:00:22,140 Monticello-UVA Archaeological Field School aims to teach students basics 5 00:00:22,140 --> 00:00:25,619 about archaeological field methods, that is the mechanics of trying to take the 6 00:00:25,619 --> 00:00:29,849 ground apart in a controlled fashion and also basic analytical methods so that we 7 00:00:29,849 --> 00:00:34,199 can put field observations together on one hand with observations on artifacts 8 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,980 on the other to try to tell a more complete story about human history. 9 00:00:40,540 --> 00:00:45,560 The hands-on experience is so much more than a classroom can provide for most of 10 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:49,220 the time. Here you get to feel the differences in the texture of the dirt 11 00:00:49,220 --> 00:00:53,390 You get to get blisters on your hands and realize that this is difficult work. 12 00:00:53,390 --> 00:00:56,150 You really have to be invested. You can learn as much as you want about 13 00:00:56,150 --> 00:01:00,220 archaeology but until you go and do it, you just don't have the experience. 14 00:01:00,220 --> 00:01:04,780 Our work this summer focuses on Site Six. It's about a half mile east 15 00:01:04,790 --> 00:01:09,530 of Monticello Mansion. Specifically our work is aimed at domestic economies and 16 00:01:09,530 --> 00:01:15,650 social relationships among enslaved field laborers. Students have an opportunity to 17 00:01:15,650 --> 00:01:20,450 help us figure out how stratigraphic observations and the artifacts that 18 00:01:20,450 --> 00:01:24,740 we're recovering can help advance our understanding of the dynamics that 19 00:01:24,740 --> 00:01:29,420 comprised Jefferson's Monticello in the 18th and early 19th centuries 20 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:36,220 Unlike a lot of disciplines, it's inherently a team enterprise. 21 00:01:36,220 --> 00:01:41,680 Even just digging shovel test pits, it's a very tedious process. You need at least one person 22 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:45,729 to go and help you screen, double-check your paperwork, it's all a collaborative 23 00:01:45,729 --> 00:01:50,560 effort. It's really hard to do archaeology alone. You can't dig a site 24 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:55,420 by yourself. I consider it an honor to be able to work at a site like Monticello. 25 00:01:55,420 --> 00:01:59,710 It's a little humbling when you think about how much history is poured into an 26 00:01:59,710 --> 00:02:03,850 area like this because you're rebuilding history and re-establishing an unwritten 27 00:02:03,850 --> 00:02:06,080 way that history might have unfolded. 28 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:08,680 [MUSIC PLAYING]