EA MIN YI
Introduction
Our attachment took place at the Archaeology department of ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. During this attachment, our perception of archaeology had changed drastically and our major misconceptions about it were cleared. Archaeology is not just about travelling around to carry out excavations, there is much more work done behind the scene than we think there is. Throughout this month, we learnt that archaeological work requires a team of people in order to bring out the best of the artifacts. Our journey was filled with lots of discussion, self-directed learning and hands-on activities, which I found to be very refreshing and enriching.
Background information of projects/ tasks assigned:
- Poster (main project)
This project aims to raise awareness and educate the public on what archaeology is all about as it is a rare topic that people get in contact with. The value of this project is that we got to do an in-depth research about our chosen topic and gain a deep understanding on how our topic is relevant in Singapore.
- Presentation about ethics of archaeology
This project aims to let us discover more about the different types of archaeology and what kind of ethical issues and controversies different types face. The value of this is that we got to delve into a particular topic that we're interested in without any restriction, and during the sharing of our findings, we were able to exchange and discuss ideas with our friends and our mentor. From this, we were able to gain insights to a lot of archaeological sites and to perceive matters from many different perspectives.
- Mock excavation
The aim of this was to test if we had the skills needed for a proper excavation. The value of it is that we got to experience what excavating a site is like, and how we learnt to make quick decisions on the spot. Also, we learnt how to make the best out of the excavation even with a time limit.
- Sorting & packing artifacts
The aim of this activity was to help the archaeology unit sort their massive amount of artifacts into different categories. It was also to teach us how to sort and differentiate the many types of ancient ceramics into their clay type as well as their vessel parts. The value of this activity was that we got to touch and feel the artifacts, which is kind of a once in a lifetime kind of experience as we only get to see these pieces in the museum. This was the only activity that was related to the work at the ISEAS institute. They were in the middle of sorting artifacts from the Empress place, and the sorting is still ongoing at the moment.
- Surveying of site at ISEAS
The aim of this activity was to teach us how to map and survey an area that is about to be excavated. The value was that we got to experience how archaeologists decide which areas are the most ideal for excavation.
Elaboration of projects/ tasks done:
The process
Poster
This poster was a project done in pairs. First, we had to brainstorm ideas for our poster and choose a topic that we are interested in. We faced a lot of challenges while trying to decide on our research topic. My partner and I both wanted to create a poster about how climate change affects archaeology at first, but later realized that it was not very relevant to Singapore as the artifacts in Singapore are not affected much by climate change. We then broadened our range to researching on Environmental Archaeology and our mentor helped us by providing us with a very detailed research paper on this topic. The paper contained a lot of useful but complex information on archaeological indicators of the environment.
After a long time, we finally found a link between 2 indicators, which are Ancient Coastlines and Pollen Analysis. These 2 indicators are connected by soil. Therefore, we chose to create a poster based on the study of soil and its importance.
Content of poster (comic strip):
There are two characters in the story: Pete the dog who is an archaeologist, and Hammy the cat who is a regular member of the public. Hammy finds the soil disgusting and does not understand why Pete bothers to study it. Pete explains the significance of soil and how Ancient Coastlines and Pollen Analysis can help people get a bigger picture of what the environment was like in the past and possibly find out what kind of human activities used to be carried out at a particular area.
Presentation about ethics of archaeology
Our mentor first went through a few examples of heritage sites where controversies happen and the challenges archaeologists face in overcoming this. He then gave us a day to research on a heritage site that we are curious about and do a presentation about it afterwards.
He gave us the freedom of researching on whichever topic we wanted, but provided a list of examples:
- Belitung Shipwreck
- Bukit Brown
- HMS Repulse and Prince of Wales
- Cambodian artefacts reparation
- Archaeological ethics in armed conflict
- Geldermalsen shipwreck
- Angkor Archaeological Park
- Preah Vihear Temple
- Wreck of Batavia
- Kohinoor Diamonds
Initially, I attempted to research on something more uncommon that is not on the list, but it was difficult to even find a lot of information about it online, which made me re-choose my topic: The Cambodia-Thailand Dispute over Preah Vihear Temple. At the end of the day, everyone shared about their different research topics, which i found to be very interesting as the controversies and ethical issues faced in every site is very different and there are no clear-cut answers, just that everyone had a different point of view. The discussion was unlike any other of those that we had in school, everyone had different perspectives and shared their differing opinions about the topic, which I found to be very intriguing.
Mock excavation
This was the final task that was assigned to us before the end of the attachment. This task acts like a compilation of what we learnt over the past month as it puts all the skills we learnt to use. We were split into 4 groups, each assigned with a different area of an ancient site. Each container represents an area of the site.
Each container represents an area of the site. In order to complete the mock excavation, we were required to cautiously remove all the sand covering the artifacts. Afterwards, we were supposed to analyse the artifacts in our area to try and find out what kind of settlement it used to be and what kind of human activities used to take place there. Lastly, we were to compare our findings with the other groups in order to draw a conclusion about the ancient site. After the discussion with our mentor, it was revealed that the site was a temple with an area being used for rituals, an area which was a dump site, and the last area used to be a kitchen. We failed to recognize the site where rituals were held as the artifacts were mostly rocks and while dusting away the sand, we messed up the unique arrangement of it by accident. This taught us that in real life, archaeologists have to be very meticulous to avoid losing important information. Overall, I enjoyed this activity as it felt like everyone were detectives and we were solving a crime scene together.
Sorting & packing artifacts
This was by far one of the more hands-on and enjoyable activities during the attachment. In this activity, we were given a few containers filled with ancient ceramic pieces that were excavated from the Empress Place on 21st March 2015.
These ceramic pieces came straight from Empress Place and have not been sorted by archaeologists before. Our job was to first split them into their material type first followed by their vessel parts. Once done, our mentors would double check to make sure we did not make any mistakes as these pieces would not be sorted a second time. Along the way, he also shared with us that ceramics from each type of material can have exceptional features. Some of which that we came across are Green ware and fine paste ware. I felt very privileged to have been entrusted with this task as the mentors trusted with the handling of the pieces and gave us a lot of freedom to explore the variety of ceramic pieces.
Surveying of site at ISEAS
For this task, our mentor brought us to a small site outside the ISEAS building. We were split into pairs and learnt how to survey a site and map it out in a sketch. Within 30 minutes, we have to roughly map out the site but at the same time, capture all the important features that were present. After doing so, we compared our sketches with one another and found that the important features that we captured were quite similar. Even though this process is tedious and tiring than just taking a photo, it enables us to get a bigger picture of the site and have a better understanding of it as we would now know roughly where the important features are. After sketching, we were to think about the following questions:
- 1. Is there any kind of human activity going on at the site?
- 2. Where would you excavate? (2 x 1 box)
3 things i learnt
1. Learning how to sort artifacts
This was the main skill that I picked up during the one month I spent with the Archaeology department of ISEAS. We learnt that there are 3 different types of ceramics: Earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. Initially, earthenware and stoneware are more difficult to tell apart due to their similarity in texture and appearance.
3 Clay-types
Earthenware
The firing temperature of earthenware is the lowest, ranging from 1,000 to 1,150 °C. It has a powdery feel and is the most porous out of all the clay-types. When gently tapped on with one's fingernails, it gives a light and faint sound.
Stoneware
The firing temperature of stoneware ranges from 1100 °C to 1300 °C. Its edges are more sharp and refined, and contain lesser pores than earthenware. When tapped on with fingernails, it gives a sharper and higher pitched sound.
Porcelain
The firing temperature of porcelain is the highest, ranging from 1,200 to 1,400 °C. Its edges are the sharpest and most refined out of the 3 clay-types, and contains little to no pores between its layers. When tapped on with fingernails, the sound it gives off has the highest pitch and is the sharpest.
After sorting the ceramic pieces according to their clay-type, we then sort them according to their vessel parts: Rim, neck, shoulder, carination, body and base.
Vessel parts
After sorting the ceramic pieces according to their clay-type, we sort them according to their vessel parts: Rim, neck, shoulder, carination, body and base.
Some vessel parts are easier to identify: The rim, lug, and base since their features are much more distinct. It is more difficult to sort earthenware into their vessel parts since it is more disintegrated and flatter, making it difficult to identify their vessel features.
Packing
Before packing the pieces into small packages, they need to be separated into marked and unmarked pieces. Marked pieces are more than 2cm while unmarked pieces are 2cm or shorter. Also, we had to further sort the pieces into decorated and undecorated. Lastly, we had to sort them according to whether they were glazed or unglazed. The glaze can be either over-glaze or under-glaze.
2. Excavation skills
Before this attachment, I never knew what the word 'excavation' means. It showed how archaeology is such a rare topic of study and that not many people know much about it due to the lack of exposure. Excavation is the act of digging out artifacts from the ground. The process of excavation is a long, tedious and tiring one, and it contains two parts: Site surveying and the actual digging.
Site surveying is done before the retrieval of artifacts, and is necessary because archaeologists need to map out important features of an archaeological site and decide on a particular spot that is worthy of an excavation.
The picture shows our field trip to Fort Canning, a place that had been excavated before.
There are several methods of carrying out an excavation, some of which our mentor taught us. For artifacts less than 2 cm, the sieving method is used to slowly and carefully remove the soil from the pile, preventing any unnecessary damage. For artifacts that are bigger in size, we remove the soil layer by layer. During excavation, sketching is helpful as it helps archaeologists gauge and track where the artifacts were found at a site. Examples of artifacts that can be found are: Ceramics, glass, metal, flora, building material, rocks & stones, and fauna remains.
3. ethics of archaeology
During Language Arts lessons in school, we covered many global issues, and most of these issues have controversies and ethical issues. After this attachment, I found out that the same applies for archaeology. Our mentor told us that archaeologists are responsible for communicating their discoveries to the public accurately and truthfully. Archaeologists can sometimes be tempted to exaggerate their findings in order to instill interest to the public. However, at times like this, they need to keep a clear mind and remember their objective of providing the public with accurate information about the past. In their line of work, archaeologists should always keep their main purpose in mind, and must consider whether there are any implications in their actions and whether a particular site is worthy of an excavation. Examples of this would be the Bukit Brown Cemetery controversy in Singapore, where digging up graves is a highly unethical act. Our mentor also told us about Public archaeology as well as Cultural Resource Management and how they are important. Examples of problems faced in Cultural Resource Management are the conflict between 2 countries over a heritage site or cultural object, and the debate of whether an artifact is to stay in its country of origin. Real life cases of these include the San Jose Shipwreck where countries fight over it due to its monetary value.
Field trip to the central of Singapore
Asian Civilizations Museum
Central area
Fort Canning
2 interesting aspects
1. Hands-on experience
One of the reasons why I found attachment really refreshing and fun was because of how there was a good balance of paperwork, research and hands-on activities. In school, all we did was paperwork and listen to teachers teaching, and there were seldom activities that were hands-on. It was nice to sort and pack artifacts while chatting with our mentor and friends. Also, by attempting to sort the artifacts by ourselves rather than relying on our mentor's teaching and books, we were able to more effectively grasp the skills needed in Archaeology.
2. Enlightening and self-directed learning
What I really liked about this attachment was that our mentor gave us a lot of freedom to do our own learning and research. He did not hold us tightly by the reins and allowed us to trial and error and we can approach him when in doubt. I really appreciate this style of learning as there are no restrictions and we were free to be curious and discover things that we are personally interested in. The place that we work at was also very conducive for discussion and the people there were really open. The people who worked there all had different things that they specialized in and it was nice to see them share their expertise with one another when they work together in the artifact room. I found it impressive that they were so open-minded and shared their opinions freely.
1 takeaway for life
I think the key thing that this attachment taught me is to be passionate about the work that we do. It really showed how being passionate is all it takes to make work life enjoyable no matter how tough it gets along the way. Our mentor told us that there were only 5 full- time archaeologists in Singapore, which shows how little people are dedicated to pursuing archaeology. He mentioned how tough this line of work can get at times, and despite the lack of government funding they had, none of them gave up their passion for archaeology. I felt very inspired upon hearing his life story, as his path to archaeology was definitely not an easy one and they the amount of effort they had to put in to be recognized as archaeologists was really unimaginable. I will always keep in mind that even though some dreams seem impossible, it is still worth chasing as we would never know what the outcome would be. Also, if we truly want something, we need to be initiative and take action instead of just waiting for things to happen.