Just like Bon Jovi once said: “Ohhhh we’re halfway thereeeeee”. I am actually not sure if this is the exact halfway mark of the course, but today is the day when we switch our focus from ecology to anthropology. I am looking forward to this aspect of the course since it seems like it will still be interconnected with our past work since we will connect current environments with paleoenvironments.
For the morning, we started at the Olduvai Gorge Museum with our first formal introduction on the content from Dr. Dominguez-Rodrigo. I had a bit of deja vu during this intro since a lot of the content was similar from the ANTH 203 course I took with him almost two years ago. Luckily though, this intro reminded me of the interesting concepts from that course such as the Laetoli Footprints and the controversy around the number of individuals and size of individuals making the footprints.
Later on in the day, we got to see what current work in the field looks like by visiting some of the sites that Manuel’s team is currently excavating and working on (pictured). It was exciting to see how precise their gear (such as the Total Stations) can be for mapping locations of each artifact. I also learned about the many current and historical excavation sites. One cool fact I learned about many of these sites is that they all end their abbreviation with a K which stands for Korongo which is Swahili for gulley which describes the unique landform type of each location.
Excavation Site with Total System Gear
Overlook over some Korongos
Later on in the day, we had a bit more time to relax which was very much needed. We had a chance to visit a local lounge where we had drinks and were able to catch up on some work (or distract friends from doing their work like I did). The evening was very similar in that it was more slow paced to allow us to recover some energy. With the free time, I made sure to get a good view of the beautiful scenery and sunset at Olduvai (pictured) and prepare for more eventful days in the future.
Sunset Near the Dining Area with the Campground Cat (nicknamed Rabies by the Class)
View Overlooking One of the Camp Buildings
-Milton
