We’re Hooked on Archaeology
The staff at MOA wanted to share how we became hooked on archaeology. We would love to hear how you got hooked on archaeology too, so please leave us your story in the comment section below!
Joan, Executive Director
Some of my earliest memories as a child are the many family visits we took to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum and the RCMP Museum. I can still clearly visualize many of the exhibits that fascinated me as I imagined what life must have been like so many years ago. My interest in people and cultures led me to Anthropology in university, but it was my first field course in archaeology that set me on my career path. We were excavating a bison pound site and the experience of uncovering the bone bed and tools needed to hunt these massive animals and survive on the prairies was exciting.
Cindy, Administrative Officer
Not coming from an archaeology background it wasn’t until I started working at the Museum many years ago that I really learned about what an archaeologist did. Now after seeing the vast collection of artifacts that the Museum has, meeting many archaeologists, both professional and amateur, as well as experiencing some archaeological digs, I can also understand why archaeologists are such passionate people and I must admit, a bit odd too! I guess that is why I fit in so well. (:
Nicole, Curator
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When I was a child I was always told I wanted to know where everything came from. I can still remember when I was 4 and I found raccoon bones when exploring the field beside my house (not knowing they were raccoon bones at the time). I looked through tons of books and articles until I found what it matched then proceeded to learn everything I possibly could about it. I took my love of problem-solving to Laurier and pursued the Honours Classical Archaeology program and had the privilege of my first field experience excavating Hellenistic Greek family tombs in the necropolis of Orgame/Argamum near Jurilovca, Romania. Having the opportunity to find something that hasn’t been handled by another person in 2000 years is truly an amazing experience.
Katie, Learning Coordinator
As a child, I loved everything to do with history and the ancient world. It’s hard to peg down what first interested me in archaeology, but I remember telling my mum, at about age 9, that I wanted to be and archaeologist when I grew up. She discouraged me with: “archaeologists don’t make any money,” and I quickly switched to architecture and then animation. I never really thought beyond the A’s, apparently.
I do know what enticed me to study archaeology in university, however. In grade 10, I had the opportunity to take ancient Latin. It was taught using the Cambridge Latin Course, which focuses as much on the social history of the Latin-speaking world as it does on the language itself. Over my three years of high school Latin, I fell in love with each successive section of the Roman world, as I discovered it through their language; starting with Pompeii, and then Roman Alexandria, and finally Roman Britain (we only made it to book 3!).
Alison, Community Coordinator
Archaeology always fascinated me as a child, I loved learning about ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. My love of history really grew in High School, but I really got hooked on archaeology when I saw a documentary on the mummy bundles found in Puruchuco, Lima, Peru in Grade 10. I knew I would be taking History of the Americas in a few years during Grade 12 so I was really excited– I couldn’t wait to learn more about Peru and Latin America. It didn’t take long for me to realize I was hooked on archaeology! I wanted to keep learning so I went to Western University where I was able to take part in fieldwork at the Gallinazo Group in Peru, and eventually conduct my Masters research on archaeology at museums at Huacas de Moche.
