Author: crowl3y

On our first day of cemetery data collection it was a fresh/cold Friday morning around 11 p.m. as the cold front lasted all throughout the afternoon. When Dr. Rowe arrived at the cemetery she proceeded to take out all the equipment that we will be using for the remainder of the semester, which include: a ruler (to measure the graves), a permanent marker (to check mark the graves that are completed), and a legend (of all the possible graves that would be available to input into KoBoToolbox). The only tool that we must bring ourselves is our cellular phone or device with internet connection to input the data of the grave. One of the main tools that we are using is the total station to map the grave site. that tool is delicate and takes precise instructions to set up or else will not properly function, this device shoots a laser to the prism that is used to mark the grave, this data is then stored in the total station which in return is used to mark the graves. Dr. Rowe has also used the drone to have an aerial view of the cemetery, as well as the GPR, which is penetrating radar that is also used to properly mark the graves.

on the first day I was operating the Total station along with other classmates that where handling the prism. This was a good day for data collection because it was not a typical hot Texas day which enabled us as a team to collect and map a good number of graves on our first day of data collection. Based on my observation it is amazing how old this graveyard is I have come across a couple of graves from the 1800’s, the work that is being conducted in this cemetery is astonishing and helpful not only to the individuals that have been laid to rest, but to their families and the community as a whole, this public archaeology mapping is essential to learn more about our past in our Culturally diverse Rio Grande Valley, upon further investigation I have also stumbled upon a grave in which the man was from Sweden the epitaph was written in Swedish, in addition the grave was also from the 1800’s.

Overall the first day of data collection had a profound impact on me, because it seems as if the cemetery is split in two just like our society, there are the graves that have lush green grass around them that are mowed weekly and watered almost daily with marble and granite headstones, while the other half which is the help that we are mapping is dry with weeds and dirt covering a lot of the headstones, the only clean graves are the ones that the family of the deceased come to pay their respects and offer maintenance to the graves. the graves remind me of the forgotten people of the Rio Grande Valley that in my opinion are the poor that lives in colonias and respectively had a very humble lifestyle.

ethics are needed not just for everyday living, but they are extremely important in the field of anthropology, ethics are needed because often times the archaeologist may be working in foreign countries and are working on indigenous lands. Which is where The Society for American Archaeology’s principle number eight comes into play, principle number eight states: “Given the destructive nature of most archaeological investigations, archaeologist must ensure that they have adequate training, experience, facilities, and other support necessary to conduct any program of research they initiate in a manner consistent with the foregoing principles and contemporary standards of professional practice.”

It is also important to report any and all objects, artifacts or burials that are found by archaeologist, otherwise what is the objective of the archaeologist if he or she does not report what he or she has discovered. The archaeologist must record and publish her or his findings to as many publication as possible. as it states in principle number 6 “The documents and materials on which publication and other forms of public reporting… archaeological sites  must be taken into account when publishing and distributing information about their nature and information.” For this reason we need ethics and principles in archaeology, because the public needs to know and learn what public or any type of archaeologist are doing.

Another principle is the respect of intellectual property. For example archaeologist discovers a tomb or a buried artifact he or she has the right to claim the principle founder of the object or place this is principle number five, however it follows principle number six very close. In doing so the archaeologist should not perceive it as personal possession of the objects or place in the ethics of archaeology it quotes the following about principle number five: “Intellectual property, as contained in the knowledge and the documents created through the study of archaeological resources, is part of the archaeological record. As such it should be treated in accord with the principles of stewardship rather than as a matter of personal possession. If there is a compelling reason, and no legal restrictions or strong countervailing interest, a researcher may have primary access to original materials and documents for a limited and reasonable time, after which materials and documents must be made available to others.”  Principle number five is closely related to principle number 5, because both principle require for findings to be publicly published.

The last principle in the ethics of archaeology is principle number nine, Safe Educational and Workplace Environments. Archaeology is a job/profession, obviously there must be rules in the workplace such as no sexual harassment. Furthermore, their should be no scrutiny on people based on their sexual orientation, religion, and ethnicity.  In addition ” Archaeologist in all work, educational, and other professional settings, including fieldwork and conferences, are responsible for training the next generation of archaeologist.” this i believe it to be one of the most important principles because i believe that upcoming archaeologist should be properly trained by well experienced archaeologist to pass on the great skills to keep up the excellent work this fairly new field of study.

public archaeology to me means that archaeologist are working on public land to preserve or excavate archaeological sites or as in our case trying to map out a cemetery. however, archaeology has both practice and theory, in practice it is a fairly new field of study that is gaining traction. public archaeology may be an umbrella term that encompasses various political, socio-economic, and of course public aspects, as quoted from the article. “Holtford Archaeology is a brand! The meaning of Archaeology in contemporary popular culture “offers three models for the practice of public archaeology: The ‘education model’ , the ‘public relations model’, and the ‘democratic model’. The ‘education model’ suggest that archaeologist need to support the public to ‘come see both the past and the occupation of the archaeologist in the same terms as the professional archaeologist themselves’. (The meaning of archaeology in contemporary culture. Oxford: Archaeopress). The ‘public relations model’ suggest that an increase in social, economic and political support for the professional archaeological sector will arrive only if the archaeologist can improve their public image.”

Public archeology does not just fall into one specific category but several, and as far as theory goes, it varies, because archaeology is also political, theories may vary from country some coountries may be more lenient in the way that public archaeologist carry out their work, while other countries may be more oppressive and leave little to no input on the public archaeologist input on how the archaeological work should be carried out. a quote from the articles states the following about theory in public archaeology “Differing theoretical approaches to archaeology can be found in different countries, depending on the history of the foundation of the national disciplinary tradition. These approaches have developed alongside the socio-economic and political circumstances under which publicly accessible and publicly understandable archaeology takes place, ad is subject to policy, which varies from nation to nation”. Our cemetery project align with this in both practice and theory for the following reasons. Dr. Rowe mentioned that they city of Edinburg reached out to map the public cemetery. they gave permission to do public archaeological work, the city was concerned that there are many unmarked graves which allows the public sector to work with public archaeologist for a common goal, to reunite families with their deceased loved ones.

The lines of investigation that I am interested in pursuing is finding out exactly how many graves are unmarked. Because it comes to show just how poverty we have in the  Rio Grande Valley. Dying is a very expensive process, and to get buried it includes funeral services that are estimated at ten thousand dollars including the casket and burial. plenty of families do not have the financial stability to lay to rest their loved ones. which is why i am interested in seeing just how many graves  there are that are unclaimed. because, there might be a correlation between poverty  and the number of unmarked graves there are in the Hope Cemetery. with any luck our group might be able to mark the graves.