19 July 2008 Meet Dr. Claire Alix, University of Alaska – Fairbanks!!

We are all in recovery mode today here at the Nuvuk Archaeology Project. The items of the day are the few things that have been accomplished. Just getting the body up and vertical today was a challenge. Thanks go to cafeteria people for having decent food at lunch, I slept right through breakfast. All the others folks are in similar shape, just weary, running in slow mode. Happy Birthday Wishes go out to Krista who turned 23 while we were out at the Point last night. A birthday to remember!!

Once again, the work we have been doing has been very productive. We extracted four large pieces and many smaller ones last night. There are lots of questions about what they are and how they go together, right now they are in the "Top Secret” category. Sorry, but archaeologists do love a mystery!!

Today’s journal focuses on Dr. Claire Alix, an archaeologist who works at the University of Alaska – Fairbanks as well as up here in Barrow. She has been up here for the last few years. Claire’s focus is on wood use among native people. She wonders about the type of wood that was used for different purposes, as well as, where the wood came from, since there are no trees in the Arctic. That’s not all though, she is a fantastic all around archaeologist who can identify itty-bitty pieces of bone as well as wood fragments, rocks, metal objects, and charcoal pieces.

Last week, I was helping Claire cut out a section of driftwood. She shared with me a great overview of how tree rings show that a tree grew different amounts depending on the conditions it was growing in. Not only that, she then explained how important driftwood was for the native people. Claire has even met with native elders at a different site who remember a specific word or song that announced to the entire village that driftwood had been sighted. The native people would then launch boats to go and pick up pieces. Needless to say, her skills have been essential for the success of the Nuvuk Archaeology Project.  

Claire and other archaeologists examine pieces of wood for a number of clues about the environment and how the native people used wood. The wood found could have been used for boat building, tool making, hunting tools, or as the frame of houses.

Claire has been in charge of the Driftwood Feature for the last few weeks. Initially, it was going to be a short stay. One thing leads to another and now Claire is going to be here for a few more weeks.

Here are some images that explain what Claire, as well as the rest of us, have been doing in the Driftwood Feature these last three days.

Claire really likes working in a tidy archaeological site. The wall behind her shows the different soil layers that we have been digging through. The two orange flags mark objects we uncovered. The bucket, Claire's favorite, carries gravel and other material out of the site, over the gravel mound that is all around us.

As mentioned before, we set up the walls and then as the weather dried the gravel and sand, they began to crumble. Claire took it all in stride, even when someone stepped in the wrong place and caused part of a wall to crumble. (It wasn’t me!!)

Archaeologists need to know where objects are in the area they are working. The transit helps record the information for maps later on. For the day to day, hour by hour stuff, Claire creates scale maps that she can then record important information on. We will be trying this at school next fall, it will be a challenge, it is an important skill, and I know we can do it.

Claire uses a tape measure and a grid to map in specific objects in the Driftwood Feature. This helps her to remember the arrangement of the objects as well as confirm that the map made by the transit is accurate.

The detail of the maps created really help when things start happening quickly and we need to know where something was, or what an identification number was.

Claire is Making Her Latest Map of the Site

One of the amazing things about the work we are doing is that there are usually duplicates or triplicates of everything. The "double check” mentality prevents lots of frustration. I appreciate Claire’s organization, it makes it easy to stay on track and get things done in a timely manner. With regards to the mapping of the objects, Claire sketches, takes lots of pictures, and uses the transit to record the placement of an object. Triple check!!

I've been explaining how important it is to sketch the objects we find in archaeology, as well as in other fields of science. An accurate photographic record is essential too.

I have been able to learn so much from working in the Driftwood Feature with Claire and the local high school students. Each of them can identify little fragments of bone or wood, tell if a rock is just a rock, and have fun while doing it. In the lab, the same is true. I must ask 100+ questions a day!!

One of the most impressive things is the sketch work that Claire does. I have been working on sketching, by myself and with students, for the last 10 years. Claire is remarkable artist, her works shows the importance of recording your observations using sketches. Here are a few examples.

I like capturing the chaos that is a person's work space. You see what is important, what is at hand, and how they arrange their supplies. Once you get the hang of it, sketching is a fine way to notice and remember details. So often, we look at something for just a few moments and then move on. Sketching requires one to slow down, look carefully, and notice easily missed aspects of the object. I work with my students and "inspire" them to sketch the objects they find when doing science or history activities. Sketching is a difficult skill to learn, but look at the detail that you can incorporate!!

Claire has a very important job to do here with the Nuvuk Archaeology Project, yet she is still more than willing to help others with the tedious tasks as well.

I always admire a person who is willing to lend a hand with the hard work. Claire has many other more important things to be doing, yet she still takes her turn shoveling back the gravel, making more room for the excavation. We have shoveled so much gravel, most of it more than once, so I thought this picture was worth posting twice. Beware, it will probably show up again!!

Thanks go out to Claire for letting me "borrow” sketches and use her story for today’s journal. Tomorrow will be Chef’s Special, which means "leftovers” from the week. Stay tuned for more stories and adventures from Barrow, AK!!