Why does nobody talk about the old guy who runs the dig site tours in Tucson?

I was on a tour last month at the Hohokam pit house site, and the guide pointed at a plain patch of dirt. He said, 'That's where someone sat and made a pot 800 years ago, you can see the worn spot.' It made me realize we look for big finds but miss the small human marks. Has anyone else had a guide point out something simple that stuck with them?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_carter24d ago

That guide in Tucson nailed it. The best stuff is often the quiet stuff. Had a ranger at Mesa Verde show us a handprint in dried clay inside a kiva, just some kid messing around centuries ago. It hits different than a whole pot. Makes you ask what they were thinking about that day. Guides who point out those small marks are the ones you remember.

johnson.betty23d ago

Honestly, I'm there for the big finds. Those small marks just look like dirt to me.

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tessarodriguez23d ago

Totally get that! I used to be the same way until a guide at Chaco Canyon had us all sit down and just look at one wall. She pointed out this tiny, worn down groove in the stone. It was from generations of people sharpening their tools right there in that spot. Suddenly I wasn't just seeing a rock, I was seeing someone's daily life. Now I love finding those little signs of use. They feel like a direct link.