A day in the life of a real archaeologist
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. - Dangerous, exciting and glamorous. That's how the latest Hollywood blockbuster depicts the life of Indiana Jones and his search for ancient artifacts.
High speed chases, gun fights, hostage situations and, of course, ancient treasures. These elements make up the job description for the make-believe archaeologist.
But a real archaeologist's job is a little bit different, and a whip isn't one of the tools he uses.
"A lot of shoveling involved and screening of dirt," said Dr. Guy Tasa, an archaeologist with the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History.
Dr. Tasa is Eugene's version of "Dr. Jones." He heads the excavation of a grave-site discovered during construction of Sacred Heart Medical Center in Riverbend.
A backhoe revealed the bones of a human, and Tasa believes the remains of more people could be buried deep beneath the earth.
"It allows us a real rare opportunity to study Oregon's pioneer folk who came out over a hundred years ago," said Tasa.
Tasa and his crew have been sifting through the dirt for a couple of days now. The most recent find: fragments of an old coffin.
For Hollywood, maybe not the most exciting nor dangerous stuff.
"Not much in the way of temples or cobras or anything like that," Tasa said.
But for Tasa, the work is rewarding.
"We're not so much interested in the objects we find completely as much as the relationship between them. That tells us a lot more about what's happening," said Tasa.
So, no leather fedoras?
"No leather fedoras for me, no," said Tasa.
Thursday was the last day Tasa and his crew would be at the site, for now. He said in the next couple of weeks, he'll recommend a continuance on the excavation to Sacred Heart's Board of Directors.
