Week 1: Excited to Get Started

My name is Matthew Capps and I am from Coats, a small town near Raleigh, North Carolina. I am an Anthropology major about to start my Junior year but before that I will be doing archaeological research this summer with the Wake Forest Anthropology department. This research is on the prehistoric Native American cultures who once lived in the Yadkin River Valley, near Winston-Salem, before colonization. Through this I hope to learn both what we can learn from these cultures to apply to modern societies but also the skills and practices of an archaeologist to advance my career in the field after graduation.

This past year, I spent a lot of my time in the Anthropology lab and in archaeology classes learning about past cultures. Most of my experience in archaeology has been this in-classroom view of the items that people have left behind. I fell in love with this field because it causes us to question our own cultures by learning about others’. I am excited to start this experience because although I love the discussion based classroom setting that I have participated in so far, I wish to participate in and discover how archaeology is actually practiced in the field at the actual site and the field experience that I am participating in this summer will provide this opportunity. Furthermore, I hope to ask questions about and pay attention to how research is done and how to begin my path in a career in academic archaeology.

Seeing the value of learning the skills needed for a career in archaeology, I also wish to set a personal goal of documenting and paying attention to how much I grow as an individual this summer through this experience. I aim to do this by journaling everyday and reflecting on what I put into my journal. I believe that through journaling I will notice better the impact that this experience will have on me.

Ready to get Going!

Matt Capps