THE THRILL OF THE DIG THE THRILL OF THE DIG

tshould be so qualified.

And speaking of science, Smith covers methods used by archaeologists to date artifacts. Many non-archaeologists have heard of radiocarbon dating. But how many have heard of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, which is commonly used in the field as well? Smith doesn’t shy away from this one; very simply she gives readers all they need to know for a basic understanding of the OSL concept. (In case you’re wondering, OSL is a technique that dates when sand grains were last exposed to sunlight).

Archaeological science is an important and specialized part of the profession. But especially in places like our coastlines, Smith emphasizes, it should be supplemented or blended with Indigenous knowledge, which has been passed down through hundreds of generations. Like rock wall gardens used to capture fish, for example.

Overall, Dig Deep is a well-illustrated volume, including images of youngsters happily working on a dig. There’s good discussion in the early chapters describing what archaeologists do and the “hows” and “whys” of their doing it. Kids will be fascinated by some of the lesser-known and surprising specialties like garbology (guaranteed to elicit an “ee-ew” response).

Smith rightly cautions that if you find one as an amateur, most countries have laws that forbid collecting in order to protect and preserve national heritage sites.

Stimulating and thought-provoking questions are interspersed, presented in a style befitting a grade school teacher, making Dig Deep valuable as a classroom teaching aid. Smith’s field experiences will appeal to middle school readers even if archaeology is not all like the Indiana Jones life made popular in movies. Smith shows how finds can be exciting in other ways. Like the time she was working with the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation along the west coast of Vancouver Island and the Mukah People from the Olympic Peninsula, both of whom have a long tradition of whale hunting. Smith spent a summer with them in the Broken Group Islands off Vancouver Island’s west coast excavating a structure built from whalebone. Four metres down they found the skull of a humpback whale with a remnant of a harpoon blade made of mussel shell embedded in its skull. Who could resist picturing the action story behind that?

Where interpretations tell a story, Smith is careful to use ‘needing more evidence,’ ‘indirect evidence,’ or ‘suggesting,’ as any scientific explanation

Speciality fields like these lead up to showing how archaeology helps reveal humans’ effect on our environment, our oceans and our climate: the Industrial Revolution with all its pollution; modern fishing boats with their high-tech gear vastly overfishing our oceans; and, importantly, the latest damaging impact of humans with our use of plastics. We might as well call this The Plastic Age. Smith takes care to include information about what we can be doing about the damage we have caused, and continue to cause.

The

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For kids excited by the stuff in Dig Deep and wanting more, a brief list of resources, both print and online, wraps it. Every school library should have copies of this volume.

Vancouver-based archaeologist and freelance writer Graham Chandler has worked on projects in Belize, the High Arctic, Turkey, Greece, and Pakistan. He holds a PhD in archaeology from the University of London.