Something you have already moved, it will be never again in its original position. That mean that before doing this you must be very sore of how you are going to excavate and record everything that will appear. This is not random. And it is based on the previous questions you plan in your research. The archaeological objects exist in our world today, and they are part of our present. But archaeological data obtained from these objects, do not exist by themselves: We generate them by doing research. And the most important thing in research is above all, the question, never the answer. We need a way of excavating and recording suitable to our questions.
Locating remains in space
Each layer of sediment or shell is located in space by using topography, and once excavated, its volume is measured to understand how they where distributed in space and its importance in the configuration of the archaeological site. And every element that we consider it is representative of how yamana people lifestyle was, we locate it in space (in three dimensions): worked stone, whalebone, fish vertebrae accumulation, harpoons, ornament made in mollusks, fireplaces. But we also record all that elements that are not striking at a first sight: we collect all charcoals from different fireplaces (anthracology allows us to recognize what species were used to make fire and how they burn), and sediment samples so we can recognize if there are animal fatty acids, so we can tell if there was animal consumption without the presence of a bone. In specific occasions, some fireplaces are removed entirely (by cutting the sediment) so we can excavate it in the laboratory.
Recovering all this in good conditions, without contaminating the sample, with no mistakes in the spatial location (that’s why we use a total station) requires a very accurate job. That’s why sometimes we excavate with brushes. Or with surgical equipment (scalpels, spatulas). At the end we will be able to reconstruct in three dimensions the location of the entire material in the site, adding the result of our analysis.
Are excavations slow?
Many people are surprised that excavations are so "slow". People ask us if we would prefer to excavate with more speed, and "reach the end" before. The answer is no: we prefer to continue with our brushes, they make things talk.
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