Ready for an #Archaeology themed #inktober?! In collaboration with fellow deaf archaeologist, @downanddirtywithnaomi, we wanted to bring the archaeology community together by doing this fun challenge throughout the month! This week’s prompt is #Excavations! 👻 I thought I’d do something a bit differently for this post! Let me know if you liked this format, and would like me to do more. Any positive, constructive feedback is always welcome! Have you ever seen before and after photos of an excavated archaeological site?! But first…. What exactly is excavation? Archaeologists attend to a specific area where they suspect there to be archaeological remains; whether there be already evidence by data or previously documented records. Excavating is a process in archaeology to expose and record cultural and material remains. Excavation can take quite a while! From a few weeks to several years! From this 2011 National Geographic article on Machu Picchu, built and maintained by the Incas (15th and 16th Centuries), one can clearly discern the differences for a fully excavated archaeological site! BEFORE: LOST TO THE JUNGLE “(Hiram) Bingham returned to Machu Picchu in 1912 with a team to begin excavation of the site, and then briefly visited again in 1915 (pictured). During his 1915 trip, Bingham wrote in his journal that he was shocked at how fast the jungle had grown to recover the excavated buildings. "... [I] nearly wept to see how it had gone back to jungle and brush," he wrote. "Only one group of buildings clear—and that occupied by six pigs! Our lovely camp site now occupied by a hut and dirt, squalor, and filth. Very little of the ruins visible. Alas, Alack-a-day!" AFTER: NEATLY EXCAVATED RUINS “Machu Picchu's ruins are seen neatly excavated in 1997. The unique beauty and historical importance of the site led UNESCO to declare it a World Heritage site in 1983. During his 1912 trip to Machu Picchu, Bingham and his team excavated some of the buildings and temples in search of artifacts—metalwork in particular. However, they were mostly unsuccessful. The scientists began finding objects of interest only after members of the farming families living at the site guided them to burial chambers hidden on Machu Picchu's mountain slope, Heaney noted. The skeletons found in those chambers led Bingham to speculate that Machu Picchu might have been a temple devoted to the Virgins of the Sun, a holy order of chosen women dedicated to the Inca sun god, Inti. Bingham's theory was based on the incorrect interpretation that the skeletons were mostly female. It's now known that the remains were about half male and half female.” 👻 What do you think of the before and after photos?! Did you know how much work goes into excavating an archaeological site?! Drop your thoughts in the comments below! Get this design printed on a product you love! Check out my shop on RedBubble! ➡️ ArchaeoAndASL ⬅️ https://www.redbubble.com/people/ArchaeoAndASL/shop?asc=u Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/7/110722-machu-picchu-before-after-excavation-peru-inca/ #ExcavationsArchInk #ArchInk #archaeology #deafarchaeologist