After a decade of experience in the field, I’ve found
that the one aspect of professional archaeology for which new field technicians
are the least equipped is the matter of field safety and physical fitness.
Physical fitness is inextricably linked to field safety, because CRM
archaeology is physically demanding, and technicians cannot attend to their
duties without a certain level of fitness. For many anthropology students, who
might imagine fieldwork to entail gingerly brushing dirt crumbs away from
fragile potsherds and bones, the level of physical fitness required by
professional archaeology may be surprising. To be fair, that kind of delicate
fieldwork does happen (and is rewarding), both in academic archaeology and CRM
archaeology. But the fieldwork usually seen in CRM archaeology is far more
strenuous.
Many anthropology students and new field technicians
fail to appreciate the strenuous and dangerous nature of professional
archaeology. And so do their parents, many of whom seem to think they are
paying tuition so their children can “play in the sand” all day.
Academia does little to prepare students for the
physical rigors of professional fieldwork. In fact, I suspect that many
archaeology professors are unaware of the physical rigors of professional
archaeology outside academia, given that they spend most of their time doing
academic work, and when they do engage in fieldwork, it often tends to be of
the “brushing dirt away from delicate potsherds” variety. Even professors with
CRM experience tend to focus on the cognitive aspects of archaeology—because,
well, that is the entire point of archaeology. Whether you work in academia or
CRM, the whole purpose of your profession is to use your brain to gather new
information about the people of the past. I’m not trying to undermine the
cognitive aspects of archaeology. I think field techs should be more engaged
with the cognitive aspects of their profession, which is why I decided to start
writing this blog in the first place. But you can’t perform the intellectual
duties of your position if your physical duties injure or kill you, and many students
and field techs don’t understand how much of a concern this is.
So let me explain what professional archaeology in the
United States actually entails. Professional archaeologists in the United
States spend most of their time surveying tracts of land for previously
unrecorded archaeological sites. Some of these surveys can extend for hundreds
of miles, across all manner of rugged terrain and treacherous vegetation, from
steep mountains to sweltering swamps, and from dense woodlands to open prairies.
Archaeologists must walk across their survey areas—on foot—while carrying all
the food, water, and equipment they need for the day.
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| Figure 1. Equipment you should be able to carry by yourself in remote, rugged terrain, including a shovel, screen, tarp, and pack full of food, water, and other supplies |
Many surveys require some form of subsurface testing,
usually in the form of shovel testing, which means that the archaeologists
periodically stop to dig holes by hand and sift the excavated soil through
hardware cloth screens. They have to carry their shovels and screens with them
as they trek across their survey areas.
If you want to become a professional archaeologist in
the United States, this is what you can expect as part of your routine duties:
you will have to walk for miles, over various kinds of terrain—including up and
down steep mountains—while carrying all your food, water, and shovel testing
equipment (shovel and screen) on your person. You won’t have access to shelter.
You may have to walk miles away from your work truck, and if you are injured or
have some kind of health emergency, you will have to walk back to that truck
before driving to the nearest hospital. You will be exposed to whatever
hardships nature has to offer on that day, whether that be extreme heat,
extreme cold, rugged terrain, dangerous weather, dangerous animals, dangerous
plants, and other miscellaneous hazards.
Throughout all of this, you still have to be a
scientist, so you must maintain the mental wherewithal necessary to conduct
scientific research. Physical fitness should not be the true measure of an
archaeologist. But if you can’t handle the physical hazards of the job, the job
can kill you.
Now, it’s time to examine these hazards in greater
detail, and find out what to do when you encounter them.
Strenuous Labor with Hand Tools
Sometimes I forget that this is an issue for a lot of
students and newer field techs. I spent my college years working as a machinist
and welder in a fabrication shop, and I had to use a variety of hand tools and
power tools well before adulthood. But if you’re not experienced with tools, or
physical labor in general, you should understand that you will have to know how
to use a shovel—safely—to do your job. These shovels are often sharpened so
they can penetrate roots and sod more easily, but this also makes it more
likely for you to cut yourself. Even if you use your tools correctly, you will
probably get blisters at some point. Gloves help prevent blisters, but when you
do get blisters on your hands, there’s not much to do but apply an antiseptic,
bandage them, and wait for them to heal.
Rugged Terrain
Archaeological surveys cover all kinds of terrain. You
will have to walk up mountainsides and trek across open deserts and
agricultural fields. If you trip and break a bone, you will have to find a way
to walk back to your truck, or at least, to the nearest spot that is accessible
by vehicle (we often have to hike into places that are not accessible by
vehicle).
Many companies and agencies recommend (or require)
boots with ankle support to prevent injuries on uneven terrain. These boots can
help prevent you from rolling your ankles, but keep in mind that they make your
ankles weaker, because you don’t have to use your own strength to maintain
stability. I’ve taken to wearing hiking shoes with no ankle support and found
that this has made me less likely to injure my ankles in the long run (of
course, this is against the rules in many places, but I’ll talk more about that
later).
If the terrain is rugged enough, you’re at risk of
doing much worse than simply rolling your ankles. You could fall off a cliff or
roll down a steep mountainside if you’re not careful. Even on flat terrain, you
can trip over stumps, logs, or fallen branches.
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| Figure 2. Rugged terrain where I've done fieldwork in northeastern Wyoming |
Extreme Heat, Dehydration, and Sun
Exposure
To office workers, summer heat can be little more than
an inconvenience encountered while walking to and from their cars. But to an
archaeological field technician, outdoor heat can be life threatening.
As of the time of this writing, a young archaeologist
has recently died while participating in fieldwork in Louisiana. Her death was
heat related. The dangers of heat are not hypothetical—heat has killed people,
and will continue to do so. However, I hope that a greater awareness of the
dangers of heat in CRM archaeology—and knowing how to treat heat exhaustion and
heat stroke—might prevent some future tragedies.
Extreme heat is not limited to Louisiana or other
parts of the Deep South. When I lived in Belle Fourche, South Dakota—which is a
lot closer to Canada than it is to Louisiana—summer temperatures often exceeded
100˚ F. The best way to prepare yourself for the heat is to acclimate yourself.
It doesn’t matter where you live—if you spend all your time in air
conditioning, you simply won’t be prepared to spend eight hours a day in
extreme heat with no shelter.
Once you’re in the heat, you need to remain hydrated.
You will sweat a lot, and you will need to replace the water you’re losing.
Keep in mind that you will probably need to carry all your water for the day on
your back, because you won’t be near your work truck. If you run out of water
in the field, miles from your truck or the nearest water source, you could die.
So this may be the most important lesson to take from this post—always carry
enough water. You could die without it.
Many older field techs will say that the most
important rule of the field is never to get separated from your lunch, but I
would argue that it’s more important to make sure you always have water. You
can last about a week without food, but in some environments, you will die in a
few hours without water. You may have to work in those environments. I always
carry at least four liters of water, and sometimes more, and I’ve found that on
long, hot days, I end up dehydrated even after drinking four liters or more.
Keep in mind that, as you sweat, you lose more than
water. You lose electrolytes (specifically sodium and potassium), and you need
to replenish them. Electrolyte drinks can help, but it’s also useful to eat
salty snacks in the field.
Extreme heat in humid environments poses different
threats than extreme heat in dry environments. To understand why, you need to
understand that your body’s cooling mechanism relies on the evaporation of
sweat from the surface of your skin. But in humid environments such as the Southeastern
United States, your sweat may not evaporate because there is already so much
moisture in the air. No evaporation means no cooling mechanism. No cooling
mechanism means potential overheating.
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| Figure 3. Typical humid environment in the Southeastern United States |
In my experience, the best way to cool down your core body
temperature in humid environments is to drink cold water. When I was a child, I
was taught that drinking cold water on hot days will make you sick, but as an
adult, I frequently do so with no ill effects, as does everyone else I know.
You won’t have access to a refrigerator in the field, but you can refrigerate
your water before you go into the field (or freeze it, if your hotel room has a
freezer), and you can keep water in a cooler in your truck so you can drink it
at the end of the day.
In dry environments, such as deserts, your sweat will
evaporate very quickly, so your body’s cooling mechanism should work (in
theory). The downside is that dry weather dehydrates you more quickly, so you
may need to carry a lot of water, and you might die if you run out. Deserts
tend to have fewer trees than humid environments, resulting in less natural
shade. In fact, deserts and prairies typically offer no shade at all. This
means you will have full exposure to the sun all day.
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| Figure 4. Typical desert environment in the Southwestern United States |
Full exposure to the sun makes it more difficult to
stay cool, because it’s usually cooler in the shade. It also introduces you to
the threat of a painful sunburn—and eventually, skin cancer. To avoid sunburns
(and skin cancer), it’s advisable to cover as much skin as possible, by wearing
long sleeves, a wide-brimmed hat (I find cowboy hats useful), and possibly a
bandana on the back of your neck. One of the benefits of long, loose-fitting
sleeves is that they can keep you cool when they become drenched with sweat
(long sleeves also protect against thorns and other hostile plants, but that’s
another topic).
It’s also advisable to use sunblock or sunscreen,
which are not the same thing. A sunblock sits on the surface of your skin and
physically blocks solar radiation. A sunscreen is absorbed into your skin and
undergoes a chemical reaction with the solar rays that penetrate your skin.
Sunblocks protect against Ultraviolet B (UVB) rays and sunscreens protect
against Ultraviolet A (UVA) rays. Both UVA and UVB rays contribute to sunburn
and cancer, but UVB rays are more powerful, and are thus the main cause of
sunburn and melanoma. If you’re looking to prevent sunburn or skin cancer, a
sunblock designed as a barrier against UVB radiation might be the better
option. Whether you’re choosing sunscreen or sunblock, you should pick SPF 30
or higher, but there’s probably no need to go as high as SPF 100. SPF 50 blocks
98% of the sun’s rays, so SPF 100 is only slightly more effective.
Extreme heat, dehydration, and sun exposure are
closely linked with one another, and as such, many of the same protections can
be applied against them: drink plenty of water (with electrolytes), stay in the
shade when you can, and cover your skin. But even after taking these
precautions, you and your co-workers may find yourselves suffering from
dehydration, sunburn, or a heat-related illness. This is how you treat those
conditions when they occur:
Sunburn
Sunburn is fairly evident to most people once they
have it, but sunburn looks different on different skin tones. People with pale
skin will turn red after being burnt. People with dark skin won’t see their
skin turn red, but they will feel the discomfort and sensitivity associated
with damaged skin. Once you feel the discomfort, your skin has been burnt, and
peeling is likely to follow. If you have sunburn, take cold baths and apply
aloe products to the skin.
Heat Exhaustion
Symptoms:
- Headache
- Dizziness and confusion
- Loss of appetite and feeling sick
- Excessive sweating and pale, clammy skin
- Cramps in the arms, legs, and stomach
- Fast breathing or pulse
- High temperature of 100˚ F or more
- Being
very thirsty
Treatment:
- Rest in a cool place (you won’t find any air conditioning in the field, except in your truck, but you might find shade under some trees)
- Drink cool fluids (no soda or alcohol)
- Try cooling measures (soak towels in cold water and apply to skin, or sit directly in a cold stream)
- Loosen clothing
Heat Stroke
Symptoms:
- Confusion, altered mental state, slurred speech
- Loss of consciousness
- Hot, dry skin or profuse sweating
- Seizures
- Very high body temperature
- Death
Treatment:
- Call 911 immediately (but be aware that it takes time for emergency responders to reach remote areas)
- Apply ice packs to patient’s armpits, groin, neck, and back (you may not have ice packs in the field, but you should have some ice in a cooler)
- Immerse patient in cold water
- Be aware that unconscious patients cannot safely be given water to drink
Extreme Cold
Fieldwork can occur in extremely cold weather as well.
I’ve assisted with a magnetometer survey in a windy field in eastern Iowa in
the January of 2013, when the wind chill temperature was -20˚ F (not an
exaggeration), and I’ve dug countless shovel tests in cold, wet snow.
When it’s cold, the best advice is to bundle up. Wear
layers, so you can remove some articles of clothing as you get warmer. Wear a
coat, hat, gloves, and waterproof boots. Keep extra socks and gloves with you
in case a pair gets wet from the snow.
One of the hazards of fieldwork in cold weather is
often overlooked—we often have to remove our gloves to write on our field
paperwork or use our GPS devices. Removing your gloves exposes your hands to
the cold and increases your risk of frostbite.
Exposure to extreme cold can result in frostbite or
hypothermia (or both). The symptoms and treatments for these conditions are
detailed below:
Frostbite
Symptoms:
- Cold skin and prickling feeling
- Numbness
- Changing skin color
- Hard
or waxy-looking skin
- Clumsiness due to joint and muscle stiffness
- Blistering after re-warming
Treatment:
- Soak skin in warm (not hot) water (105-110˚ F) for 20 to 30 minutes
- Don’t apply direct heat (such as a stove)
- If frostbite is severe enough, the patient will need professional medical help
Hypothermia
Symptoms:
- Shivering
- Exhaustion or feeling very tired
- Confusion
- Fumbling hands
- Memory loss
- Slurred speech
- Drowsiness
Treatment:
- Call 911—unlike frostbite, which only requires professional medical attention when moderate to severe, hypothermia is always a medical emergency
- Be
gentle; do not massage or rub the patient or cause sudden, jerky movements
- Move
the patient out of the cold
- Remove
wet clothing
- Cover
the patient with blankets, but leave the face exposed
- Insulate
the patient's body from the cold ground
- Monitor
breathing
- Provide
warm beverages (no alcohol or caffeine)
- Apply
warm, dry compresses to the neck, chest wall or groin (never to the arms or
legs, because this will force cold blood back to the core and cause the core
body temperature to drop)
- Don’t
apply direct heat
Dangerous Weather
Weather is unpredictable, and if you work outdoors
eight hours a day or more, you will get caught in bad weather. Sometimes bad
weather is inconvenient, but it can be dangerous. You could be caught in a
thunderstorm, hailstorm, blizzard, or tornado.
In the event of a thunderstorm, the greatest threat is
lightning. If you see lightning, find shelter. Go to your truck if you can. At
the very least, don’t stand in a wide open field or on top of an exposed
mountaintop. The heavy rain that accompanies many storms can be dangerous if it
causes a flash flood. If the rain is coming hard and fast, don’t stand in a
stream channel at the bottom of an arroyo or canyon. Seek high ground.
For other advice about saying safe in the field, please see the following two posts.
Updated on April 9, 2023
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