The end of a yearlong anthropology internship had finally appeared in front of me. I didn’t expect the conclusion to resemble an approaching parade of children kicking up dust down a trail in the Fullerton Arboretum, but if I had mentally grasped anything during this scientific journey it would have been the understanding that observing an outcome is better than predicting one.
Archaeology Day at the Arboretum had arrived on Dec. 6 and even with ominous clouds and random bursts of wind the place was thriving with life. Some people shopped for plants while others explored the lush grounds, but nestled up against the east-side fence sat 24 children with ages ranging from six to 12 learning about some of the old traditions of Native Americans during an educational series titled, "California Indian Plant Uses from Past to Present."
I recognized the interest set rigidly inside the kid’s brows while they lined up for a brief introduction by archaeology professor Brenda Bowser, who, along with a group of anthropology interns and colleagues, organized the event titled, “Archaeology Day at the Arboretum.” However, I didn’t catch a glimpse of fear, or hesitation in their eyes. Maybe it’s the age difference, but fear and hesitation is what I experienced. I was full of doubt when I decided to take my education outside of the classroom.
Over a year ago I strayed from my comfortable college routine and meandered in to Bowser’s office to inquire about the creative grant she had mentioned in class. Receive a grant and knock out a requirement for graduation by fishing? I had to try it. The strange idea fit my personality perfectly… and the project sounded easy. It sounded easy until “fishing” morphed into “collecting different species of fishes for the Anthropology Department’s comparative fishbone collection.”
I felt the cold sensation of imminent failure blanket my nerves. I didn’t have the confidence that these children seemed to have. They calmly marched on to the Sandbox Archaeology Project site, sat down and started participating in all the different activities that took over a year of extensive research and hard work to prepare – and they excelled.
“The goal of Archaeology Day at the Arboretum is to engage children in to the science of archaeology,” Bowser said in a phone interview. “[Also] to teach them about the lives of Native Americans from the past to the present in this region, and to integrate concepts that teachers are required to teach about archaeology according to the California state standards.”
The children were taught how to smash and grind acorns into a floury mush, make stone tools out of obsidian, make soap from Soaproot, create rock art, play old dice games and identify some of the plants within the Arboretum. They were also taught about California obsidian sourcing and were given the chance to taste acorn pancakes and prickly pears. They seemed to truly enjoy the adventure.
“We did acorn processing, which was the biggest staple with Native Americans,” said Holly Eeg, an anthropology intern. “The children love it, they’re happy with the food.”
These kids had already figured out the last few lessons I learned during my internship. Dive in. Participate and explore new things as often as possible, and don’t be too scared to try a prickly pear.
“I like helping kids, because I grew up being a life guard helping kids,” said Jamie Gray, an anthropology intern. “I want the kids to [learn] that Native Americans are still around and these are the things they did.”
I didn’t get to try obscure fruit, but the education I received outside of the classroom provided me with a full list of opportunities. Soon after that initial meeting with Bowser I was thrust into a world of bagging, tagging, logging, measuring, weighing, cutting, gutting, boiling, freezing and stinking. Yeah, I stunk. There’s no getting around it. In order to build up a comparative fishbone collection one must first catch a fish and then proceed to remove all the fleshy bits from the bones, or in other words macerate the specimen.
The work turned tedious in the last few months, but I accomplished my main goal. I supplied archaeologists and students with an array of fish and fish bones for their work in the field and future projects. Although the comparative fishbone collection is far from complete (I realized I wouldn’t be able to single handedly accomplish such a feat when I failed to catch any fish on my first day), the task has begun. Now students can pick up where I left off and go fishing for school credit.
I feel privileged to have been part of the beginning of a five-year educational journey between the Anthropology Department and the Fullerton Arboretum – and the only thing I had to do was dive in.
“We developed a memorandum of agreement between the Department of Anthropology and the Fullerton Arboretum to give us five years to work on this project,” Bowser said. “We proposed that the first year would be spent in planning and that we would begin our public educational activities in our second year, so we’re right on schedule.”
For more information about upcoming Sandbox Archaeology Project events visit the Fullerton Arboretum’s Web site at http://fullertonarboretum.org.
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