The Forest

I've been in San Bartolo for a week now, and as predicted the limited bandwidth and 3-hour daily ration of gas-driven electricity has limited my connectivity, for the better. Which means no heavy photo uploads any time soon, mostly just words.

The trip from Antigua to the Petén was long and filled with a good conversation and a mediocre nap. The conversation, which took place during the wait for my overnight bus out of Guatemala City to Flores, was with Marwin De León, an anthropologist from G.C. who 1) conducts forensic work on mass grave sites from the Guatemalan civil war in order to create a historical record for a period that is seldom discussed here, as far as I can tell, 2) works with indigenous communities in Colombia to determine more economically efficient and environmentally beneficial ways to conduct agricultural practices, and 3) is designing a television program aimed at increasing public awareness of Guatemalan heritage through illustrating the aims and practices of local anthropologists and archaeologists. I got his contact information and will soon be asking if he needs an assistant or can spare even one of his jobs.



If you remember last year's injunction you'll know that I can't talk about what I'm excavating. It will have to suffice to say that I am excavating, which is a step up from last year in my book, when I mostly just wrote notes in a book (not mine). Actually the mentality here is that the archaeologists do more desk work while hired ayudantes do the hard digging, but personally I like the physical aspect of the work. It engenders a visceral understanding of how things are superpositioned in the ground, makes the verticality of time felt by the body rather than coolly comprehended by the eye.



A note on archaeology and the body: Archaeological digging requires varying tools and levels of refinement. A shovel is rarely used to break ground: it is an extension of the torso, a poor tool for comprehending the subtleties of the buried past. Better to use a pick, an extension of the arm; a trowel, extension of the hand; or, in especially fine cases, a dental pick or razor, extensions of the finger and nail. (Machetes are fun but unless you're properly trained tend to be at best inefficient, at worst limb-hazardous.)


-Josh