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Unable to return to the site, student archaeologists now find modern contaminates such as PVC piping and plastic netting mixed in with artifacts–indicating someone, or something, had disturbed the site while they were away. Unfortunately, being forced to stop in March didn’t help the integrity of the excavation. “It’s good to be back,” said student Anthony Allen. So far, the return is considered a success by both site instructors and students. Everyone at the site is now required to wear masks and face shields, use hand sanitizer and socially distance.

The course started back up again in September completely refitted for students to work safely in the pandemic.

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The solution wound up being a delayed grading system in which students were given a passing ‘P’ grade and the option to return for a full letter grade in the fall. Instead of letting students leave MCC without any field experience, instructors rallied to create a way for them to return to the site after the spring semester ended. “There is literally no way to do it online.”

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We are teaching our students how to excavate and record data,” said Costion. Being unable to complete anything other than what was available online during spring meant students couldn’t gain the course credits and experience necessary for the highly competitive field. Because Archeological Field Methods is a hands-on class, it often goes on students’ resumes, which qualifies them for future jobs at local archaeology organizations. Still, the opportunity to work amid the pandemic wasn’t met without challenges, and the curriculum delays have caused students to miss months of archaeological field experience. “Mainly shards… we are finding some lithics, obsidian,” said student Hanah Edington when asked what she had found while sifting through dirt at the site. Even when you find something that’s small, it’s always a good feeling, because it means you are in the right area,” said student Bill Dundas.

It doesn’t even matter if it’s actually something substantial or cool or not. “It’s always a good feeling when you find something. Several small brown bags were marked at the edges of the majority of excavation plots indicating something of value had been found there. Other students, wielding their own small pickaxes and journals, eagerly categorized the many remnants found within the other portions of the site. One MCC student, Zane McCracken, said they had found 134 ceramic shards and 42 lithic shards in the plot he was detailing in his journal. MCC instructor Kirk Costion holds an assortment of painted pottery shards. Students have discovered shards of pottery, arrowheads and obsidian, among other to-be-identified objects within the several small plots spread across the taped-off site at the end of the cemetery. The uncovered artifacts, which are estimated to be 800-1000 years old, are the leftovers of what on-site archaeologists believe was a trash dump belonging to the ancient civilization. “We are making sure they aren’t destroying anything by putting in new graves.” “We’ve found a new site working with the city on a plot of land they haven’t developed yet,” said Kirk Costion, residential faculty of the MCC Cultural Sciences Department. The archaeological field work, which is part of MCC’s ASB231 course, gives instructors and students majoring in archaeology a long-sought-after chance to work in-person after delays due to COVID-19. Mesa Community College’s (MCC) Archaeological Field Methods class is excavating the City of Mesa Cemetery in an effort to protect and identify the artifacts of the ancient Hohokam people.