Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 07/21/2010 - 19:59

Hi Karl, It was great reading your journal today! I was wondering why the archeologist asked you to leave the piece you found at the site? How do they determine what is important / gets studied and what does not? Also, was that a grizzly bear mom & cubs you saw out the helicopter window? Sounds like you are having a great experience - can't wait to hear more about it! Cheers, Brenda & Jim Parker

Karl Horeis

Hi Brenda and Jim! Great to hear from you! I'm snuggled in my zero-degree bag in my little orange tent as I reply - so strange to be emailing here.Yeah, these archaeologists are so disciplined that if they find something outside the specific one-meter-square unit they are digging - even if it's protruding from the wall into their hole - they'll leave it for the future. Apparently without the PRECISE location and context the artifiact was found in, it loses its meaning. This is a major revelation to me. I'm used to admiring the arrowhead collection folks found in their plowed field but these guys really stress the importance of leaving things where they are found. If we find something interesting, they request a digital photo of it and GPS coordinates.
And yes it was a sow and her cubs we saw from the whirlybird. The momma was pale brown with a dark-brown spine and the cubs were almost blond. they looked chubby from the birds-eye view as they sprinted up the draw.
Thanks so much for touching base, guys. I hope you and Yvonne are doing great. See you in a couple weeks!
Karl