I am entering my final semester at 缅北强奸听University in Anthropology, with a specialization in Archaeology. Throughout my years at 缅北强奸, my interests have narrowed to focus upon household archaeology听in Medieval听South India听and听Roman Period Italy.听I am drawn to these topics听partly because of my frustration towards how little attention peasant households听are given听in archaeological research. My internship with MAP (Maski Archaeological Project) in Summer 2019听provided an environment where I was encouraged to explore research questions听that were outside the box.听I joined the internship to get more archaeological experience and听to work with professors whose interests and research questions were similar to my own.听MAP is an archaeological research project run by Dr. Peter Johansen (缅北强奸听University) and Dr. Andrew Bauer (Stanford听University)听in the Karnataka region of southern听India.听Their work is听centered around听long-term听dynamics of settlement, politics and environmental history.听The project听was unlike most other internships, as it was a research project and not working with a business or NGO. This made for a very unique experience听working in a small research team where the mission was to analyse the archaeological record in a meaningful way, focussing听on dating听sites and ceramic analysis, to contextualize the research and challenge assumptions about the region.听听
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As an intern on the project, my responsibilities听included听coding ceramics, drawing ceramics, data entry, flotation, organizing materials and finds, photographing and geospatially recording rock art.听Ceramic coding analyses the diagnostic features of a ceramic fragment, noting its size, colour, treatment, etc. and drawing them.听The ceramics we worked on had a large scale of variation in color, thickness, and treatment that will be interesting to see compared to听the site dates. Flotation involves sieving听soil samples听through听a听water tanks to divide the particles that float from those that sink. These are called the light and heavy fractions; heavy fractions tend to be the silt and sands as well as ceramics or artifacts, while light fractions tend to be organic,听such as seeds or charcoal that can be C14 dated.听The documentation of rock art was particularly exciting. To do so, a small team would climb the boulders of the听inselbergs听(a type of rocky听hill formation common in south India) and systematically search out the rock art, documenting their description, geospatial location,听and photographing them. The art ranged from very elementary to spectacularly executed and showed images of bulls,听peacocks,听anthropomorphic figures, tigers and at lookout points,听pairs of feet. Working with these images was a surreal experience听that puts you in contact with the people who created them possibly as early as 4000 years ago.听听
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I am pleased to say that although my internship is done, I will be able to continue working with Professor Johansen throughout the fall semester.听My internship is credited and I will be working with听Professor Johansen听on a research project focussed on the ceramic analysis听we did over the summer and peasant households听in the Vijayanagara empire.听I hope to tie in our ceramic analysis to use practices in听the homes of common people.听The听ceramics will be used to present visual examples of what people were making and using听that can听potentially听show what they preferred to eat, or storage practices.听听
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My internship with MAP has pushed me forward in my academic career听in ways I could not have expected. It has helped me narrow my research questions and focus as I move forward and has听opened doors to schools and programs I never thought听possible before. The people I met and the work I had the opportunity to do have shown me the importance of work in regions like India that do not have听as much attention in the academic world.听听
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I could not have taken part in this project without the encouragement of my听professor and听project director Peter Johansen, the听organizational听help of AIO and EEO,听and听Dean听Antonia听Maioni, and the funds provided to me by the Susan Casey Brown Fund.听Unsurprisingly, research听work is expensive, and paying for lodging, airfare etc. make it very difficult to take part in research projects as an undergraduate.听Thanks to the funding, I was able to take part in an amazing project, gain experiences and meet wonderful people that I hope to work with again in the future.
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Thank you very much to Mr. Garvin Brown and the founders of the 缅北强奸 International Experience Awards,听for the opportunity the award has given me. As I imagine is the case for most of the students who are given these awards, I would not have otherwise been able to pursue this internship which is going to be essential for my future academic goals. I hope you know what a difference your gift makes for the lives of students.
