Sleep came to me speedily the night before, and I woke up more refreshed than the day before. My joints still hurt and I feel 30 years older than my actual age, but I think I may be getting the hang of sleepi ng like our ancestral hominids used to. But I do think sleeping on the ground is harder when you have your temperpedic pillow at home to compare it to.
Today was a magnificent rest day. I even got to sleep in until 6:15 and go to bed at 10 pm. Crazy. Today was also the first day of the archeology/anthropology part of the course. I am typically more invested in ecology, but I will say that this portion is looking to be very intriguing.
We first started off the day with breakfast, which I had a peanut butter and honey toast situation that was a staple in my off campus housing stint last year. We then went to the museum at Olduvai Gorge and got a personal tour from Manuel, which was incredible as he basically made the entire museum that many people frequent. One of the many cool things he has participated in, is that he was one of the people that re-looked into the first humanoid footprints and realize that it was not a small set and a large set of footprints, but instead, a small set of footprints and then three sets of footprints that were layer one on top of the other. This completely changed what was previously known. We were also able to see an entire Peleorvis skull, which was absolutely massive, as the humanoids used to hunt them at the time. It was crazy to see something that I just gave a presentation on the day before in real life, especially since it is extinct. After the tour we had a few minutes to get re-hooked onto the wifi to respond to the outside world and our many adoring fans, before we quickly had to leave the wifi and continue on our tour of the Gorge.
(Pelorovis skull found at Olduvai)
We visiting a few of the different dig sites around Olduvai Gorge including the site where Mary Leaky found the fossil of Lucy. We saw many active dig sites, and saw some of the hippo and elephant that was recently dug up. The arechologists were so nonchalant about handling everything, stating that each piece was “1.8 million years old” and tossing it around like it was nothing. It was insane I was worried that I would break something and ruin years of research, but I guess they see stuff like this all the time. Dr. Manuel was so casual with it, that he showed us how a 1.8 million year old hand tool was used except instead of using a random piece of quartz, he starting chipping away at a 1.8 million year old quartz tool. He chipped at the quartz like he wasn’t destroying the work of a hominid 1.8 million years ago. I think the whole class was stunned into silence, but the quartz tools must be so common here its like finding an acorn under an acorn tree.
After walking around the gorge for a little bit and learning about how all the fossils are preserved in the clay portion, and they have to excavate whole hillsides to reach it, we had a couple hours of a break. After the break we went to a nearby lodge where we were able to try a local Serengeti beer. It was pretty good, and it was nice to have a cold drink.
(an excavation site we visited)
We ended the day with two presentations, and for some reason the moon was not out and I was able to see so many stars. The most stars I have ever seen in my life.
In other news, my appetite finally came back so I am no longer force feeding myself, I have now learned the beauty of taking day showers as the air temperature and wind chill is not as frigid during the day, I think I might be getting scammed by the locals when I buy their goods, I am still constipated, and I am getting tired of containing my dawgs in my socks. They need to run free.
Until next time,
Isabella-2024-Bovini
