By Ryan Miranda, 2017 Summer Intern in Maryland Archeology
As the summer archeology intern with the Maryland Historical Trust, I was excited to make the most of this great opportunity. My first day included introductions to the archeology team of Dennis Curry, Matt McKnight, Charlie Hall and the rest of the staff, after which I began to help with setting up the equipment for the annual Tyler Bastian Field Session in Maryland Archeology, held this year at the 17th century Calverton site in Calvert County.
Pipestems from Calverton
During the field session, I experienced all parts of an archeological excavation. I laid out several units, broke ground, removed turf, excavated and sifted through the loose soil to find artifacts. My main role during the field session though was lab manager and paperwork supervisor. While I had experience in the excavation side of field work, I had little experience in the lab work side. With the help of the Kirsti Uunila, an archeologist and planner with the Calvert County government, the experience exposed me more to how to properly clean, count and organize artifacts. I learned the vital role of organizing paperwork in the field and keeping accurate records up-to-date. Archeology is a destructive science. Without proper documentation and organization, artifacts and paperwork with the provenience details and description of finds could be lost. Important details from the past would remain uncovered.
Measuring oyster shells
The next part of my internship was co-authoring a field report with Charlie Hall. This report described work at a Late Woodland Native American site that was excavated in 2009—a site which contained a shell midden despite being a few miles upstream from where oysters are usually found. My portion of the report focuses on the cultural settings of the site and the oyster analysis. The cultural settings section examines the general prehistory of the area, from the Paleoindian era to the Late Woodland. It included explanations of settlement patterns, subsistence, technology and how they all evolved through time. The oyster analysis section entailed researching how to properly measure oysters and interpret the findings. I then continued the work of a previous intern to measure the shells to help determine the possible environment that each was grown in. This part of the internship familiarized me with the research side that is crucial to archeology. I found it fun to discover new information about objects and times with which I was not familiar. Simultaneous to the oyster shell project, I was also cleaning artifacts from the spring field session, which afforded me the opportunity to handle some amazing objects.
The author conducting maritime survey. Photo credit Troy Nowak.
The final part of my internship was spent working with the Maryland Maritime Archeology Program. I worked with one of the State’s underwater archeologists, Troy Nowak, and was able to go out into the field (or should I say, out on to the water) to help document several shipwrecks along the western shore of Maryland. I helped plan and execute side scan sonar and magnetometer surveys which allowed us to obtain clear images of what was beneath the waves. This was an incredible opportunity to get hands-on training with the tools of a maritime archeologist and learn more about Maryland’s maritime history.
Though my time here at the Maryland Historical Trust was short, I have valued the experience and the lessons I have learned here. I would like to thank the staff for welcoming me into the community and making this internship an amazing experience.
Our History, Our Heritage 